Ok, This is a rant and is probably going to come across as judgmental and narrow, so you can stop reading right here if you want. My blog is my blog and I feel the need to write a few feelings off my chest.
We don't have TV.
The biggest reason we don't have TV is because everything, and I mean everything that comes across that screen is packaged for consumption, and I detest a sales pitch.
I don't like people calling my house and acting like they care about the kind of day I am having when they only want my money. I don't appreciate emails from people that make me feel guilty because I don't pass along a message that conveys their world view, even if I agree with it. Therfore I really can't see the point in paying for entertainment, loosely speaking, that is simply advertising, whether it's commercials, shows, or news.
At least the commercials are honest in their purpose. "We are trying to sell you the best thing ever made and we are shameless in our commercialism. You need it. We've got it. Come and get it."
The shows themselves, though, are nothing but product placement opportunities.
I do like "The Office" because, as simple as it is, it's not making any attempt to force me to think anything. There is no laugh track, so it's not trying to tell me what's funny. The characters are all real people, with chub, bad skin, lousy timing and personalities that I recognize. They aren't trying to tell me how to dress, do my hair, what to buy, and how socially inept I am.
The Home Improvement shows are just basically commercials, kind of infomercials with a plot.
It's kind of fun to watch the makeover, but it is such a push for cosmetic improvement and the message that what you have isn't good enough if it's not outrageously expensive . Sure, it's great to give a homeless family a home, but to sell stuff from Sears and Home Depot and to make it look like the huge house and all the latest goodies are just coming from the goodness of the hearts of the producers, is so phony! Just sell the stuff and donate money to "Habitat for Humanity"! If you built several houses and filled them with new but less expensive appliances and furniture, it wouldn't be as sexy, but wouldn't it be more effective? No, helping people is not the point.
But the worst, the most deceptive and packaged programming on the tube, is the news. Wow.
What are they selling? Power and the Kool-Aid of the left.
How do they make a profit? People have bought the idea that there is something to learn from tuning in and they believe that Katie Couric has the same interest in the truth as David Brinkley. (Did he have an interest in the truth?)
Tune in to any of the big three networks, but don't expect anything objective. Some truth may leak through, not because that's the point, but because it's not threatening to the product. There is a momentum that was built in the 50's and 60's that lulled the viewing public into believing that what they see on network news must be true.
Do a little research.
"The Office" has more truth than anything you will see on "The View".
What's really scary is the number of people that suck it up and buy the whole package.
I'm sure you aren't one of those people, I'm just saying...
