Assignment 5

For the Love and Hate of Television

Television is a good form of entertainment, it is something that captivates millions of people who keep 'tuned in' each week to see a new episode of their favorite show. There are shows made for every sort of person from history buffs to people just looking for a laugh. With television the advertisements come with it. Everyone hates to see Ads interrupting their shows, but it has become something that we are just used to by now. Can you imagine planning to watch a show on good ol' television without commercial breaks? Probably not. But these ads are becoming more and more obsolete with things like DVR, and internet viewing sources that may have fewer to no ads at all. Television is a waste of time, essentially. This is because most of the time, you are gaining nothing from watching it, however this means that pretty much all forms of entertainment is a waste of time, whether it be television, or going to the movies, or even playing a board game. So while television is essentially a waste, so is most of what we humans do anyways, so it's not important where we get our entertainment from because it's all a waste in the end. Television can very much be all three of these traits, it helps out advertisers with their products, keeps us consumers happy with good shows, and gives us an easy form of entertainment to waste our time with.

Assignment 6:Create Your Own Adventure

What interests you? What is your point of exigence? What's on your mind?  What do you want to chat about? Rant about? Learn about? 

'Cause really, isn't it all about you? <wink wink nudge nudge>

This week, create three writing prompts that you find most intriguing. Then, choose one prompt and respond to it. 

Note:
Please don't make the other prompts "dummy" prompts - I'll be revisiting these options later next semester.

Ready...

Go!

Due Sunday, September 29th at 11:59 pm

Long Live the New Flesh

Since being introduced to the United States in 1928, television has become one of the most monumental innovations of all time. It has changed the way we entertain ourselves, the way we receive our news, and even changed the world with it's images. Is it possible, however, that television has become too much a part of our lives, and to some even more real than reality itself? Master director David Cronenberg explores this idea in the best science fiction film ever made, Videodrome. In this film, Cronenberg looks at television a bit like a modern version of Plato's cave. To the viewers, the figures on television, like the shadows in Plato, have become more real than those they see in their own life. This may be a bit of an abstract concept to most, but regardless of your view, it's interesting to ponder. Television has changed the way we live so much, that it has really become life. After all, how much of what we see and believe is influenced by what we see? Like the oft-repeated motto in Videodrome says, "Television is the retina of the mind's eye." If TV can control what we see, then it can control our entire lives, maybe even until it is our lives. Television is a valuable resource for both education and entertainment, but like Cronenberg predicted, it has undeniably become more manipulative than anyone could have guessed. There is nothing real outside of our perception of reality, and if TV changes that, then it arguably is our reality. But this blog post is getting incredibly pretentious, I apologize, so I'll just end it here in the way all great things should end: Jeff Goldblum.

Assignment 5: Siobhan

It's a rare occasion when you find me parked in front of the T.V. on a school night. Don't get me wrong, I like watching television just as much as the next person, but I just simply don't have the time. My schedule is incredibly demanding and the ounce of free time I do have is spent sleeping, or catching up on sleep. I get a feeling of anxiety doing something so mindless and unproductive when there is a list of things I need to get done accumulating in my brain. 

When the saturdays and sundays are slow I will watch T.V. on Netflix. My latest obsession? Gossip Girl. My favorite aspect of that show is the fashion, the very thing that "geeks" me out. It' a great asset to the show and keeps me interested when the plot gets slow (which is a very rare occasion in the lives of Manhattan's elite)

A show I've never been a fan of is South Park. I find it offensive and it encourages stereotypes and ignorance.  I've heard the argument that its all suppose to be a joke but when satirical humor is taken that far I am just turned off by the whole affair. 

Assignment 5

I used to be one of those people who watched TV or played video games about every night of the week, but over the past few years, ive stopped watching TV almost completely. Although, I still do watch TV when I have nothing else to do or my favorite sports team is playing. I guess I just realized that it gets addicting and wastes a lot of time. You start off watching a show a friend recommended and then you have to watch the entire series in the same week so you can talk about it with your friends. And after that you find another show, and another, and another. But yes, TV is very entertaining, it has shows for just about anyone. My point is that TV is entertaining and is there for you when you have nothing to do or when you're bored, but don't get addicted to it because it will waste so much of your time.

Assignment 5- Margaret Cashman

I am addicted to TV. I don't say this lightly either, I honestly don't think I could function without my TV.  It's my way of turning my mind off, the way I chill after a stressful day. You can sit and tune out the world for a few minutes ( that may be an understatement), but who doesn't like to turn off their brain for a bit? My main vices happen to be Under the Dome, So You Think You Can Dance, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Modern Family, and The Vampire Diaries. As you can see I dedicate a good majority of my time to TV watching. More often than not the TV is the background noise to my homework time, though mainly because I hate working in quiet. I see nothing wrong with TV, it's basically the same as spending your time reading. Both of them tell stories, just in different ways. In fact, I've decided that since I've spent a good half an hour doing homework it's now break time! American Horror Story, here we go.

Assignment 5-Eliot Smith

    The majority of modern television struggles to capture my attention. I'm usually not in favor of engaging in brainless activities for a long period of time, a trait that characterizes various sitcoms and shows. For something to really capture my attention, it has to make me work towards some goal, such as arriving at a specific conclusion regarding the meaning or outcome of a production, supply meaningful information, or make me laugh.  These are not distinguishing traits of shows like The Walking Dead or famous award ceremonies like the Emmys (no, the best actress for some mindless show is not important).  The shows that have succeeded in attracting my attention are Breaking Bad, a show that is laced with symbolism and cognition-inspiring conflicts, Family Guy and South Park, both hilarious shows that leave no stone unturned when poking fun at contemporary issues, and any national news channel.  These are all productions that require a vast amount of time and work to make and, in return, are rewarded with my viewership. 

     The answer to the question, "Does TV provide a good form of entertainment," relies on the meaning of "good".  If by saying a "good form of entertainment" one means a time-consuming action that requires small amounts of reflection, then the answer is yes, television excels in this field.  However, if one intends it to mean a valuable and informational hobby that will better the watcher in the long run, then the answer is no, with the exception being a very select few of choices currently being aired. Whether or not television is an inane use of time depends on what you watch, and for how long you watch.  Although one might watch meaningful content, spending inordinate amounts viewing can result in the same destruction that watching trashy television can cause.

    I believe that almost any individual would agree with my opinion that it is absolutely tragic that celebrity-centered events attract a higher viewer count than one that centers on the intellect.  We have transitioned from a nation of Albert Einstein wannabes to one of unmotivated, lazy sad sacks that remain stationary on their couches wishing they could be one of the people they see on the screen; tired with their own lives and doing nothing to change them.

Assignment 5- Julian

TV is the downfall of our society. The end is near. GAME OVER, MAN.
Maybe not, though. We were wrong about that whole Y2K thing, too. Television has been wrongly placed as the brain juicer we think it is, but for all the right reasons. It isn't stimulating, it damages the eyes, it leads to unhealthy lives, and it Jersey Shored us. This once great nation that we call America has been Snookied. Bamboozled, I say! We're been fed this "quality entertainment" in the form of ads, spray-on tan, and more ads. We actually give people money in order to watch 2 or 3 of our favorite television shows a month before they are available for free on the internet or via Netflix's subscription service, and we do this willingly on a time frame we have to work our schedules around. Well, you know that they say: "Nothing says convenience like the opposite of convenience."
I say that, anyway. I say that because it's true. This is what TV has taught companies. Companies can get away with being inconvenient and outdated as long as what they're selling is something we can't live without. Maybe we can't live without our daily dose of Dangerous Truck Drivers on Frozen Water or It's Forever Bright in Philadelphia, but we can live with a better way to get our fix. Netflix is a great company doing great things for television, and it lets you watch on your time, without ads, because a service that you pay for should not be limiting your access to the very same service. TV in the generic sense is an invention now used to sell products. The shows are just there to keep our attention until the next ad, and that is not how it should be. The shows should be the main attraction, not half and half split between entertainment and commercials trying to get more money out of the consumer. There are even ads in the shows themselves, as if there wasn't already enough time in the day for advertisements.
So the dilemma at hand is what to do about this. Companies go where the money is, consumers supply the money, and we are the consumers. That is all there is to it. Society will either move forward, with Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming networks, or society will stay where it is now. This choice is what will decide what television will become, and if it will even be in our future. It is not an active choice, rather a very passive one. It is our unspoken choice, to unknowingly choose as we see fit. We decide how this (very relatively) new art form will change, just as it has changed us before.

Assignment 5

TV sucks me in.  I genuinely love cuddling up with a blanket on a comfy couch by the fireplace and watching just about anything.  Sometimes, depending on how much homework I have, I might even become distracted by some dumb Disney Channel show.  When I was younger, I remember being at the mercy of the TV guide, hoping and praying that a decent show might be playing at the particular time I was hoping to watch TV.  Then, I was introduced to the DVR, one of my favorite inventions ever.  I could now record shows that I liked and have them available to me at any given time.  The only frustrating thing about that is that sometimes the only episodes that would be recorded were be reruns or episodes I had seen about 5000 times.  My most recent obsession is Netflix.  With Netflix, I can watch any show anytime I want.  My two favorite TV shows are 24 and Friday Night Lights.  24 offers action and adventure.  Friday Night Lights provides drama and romance.

Assignment 5: I Don't Love or Hate Television

Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate? I don't love or hate television; you could say that I feel indifferently about it. In order to sit down and watch television, I feel like you have to have a considerable amount of time on your hands. One episode of any given show runs for roughly 15 minutes, 30 minutes if you count the advertisements. Half an hour guarenteed to be taken by television, time too precious to be indulging in things like that. I simply don't watch TV because I find other things to take up my time. If I'm not at school, doing homework, or working, im spending my freetime doing things around the house or napping. Sounds boring, I know, but if you were to enlighten me with your weekly-scheduled show recordings I'd feel sorry for the both of us. But don't take that the wrong way- if watching TV is what helps you unwind when you have free time, then keep on keepin' on! There are two shows that I do like to watch. One is the Bachelorette (a seasonal show), which I watch with my brother and Mom. It wouldn't be the same if I were to watch it alone, we all enjoy making fun of the guys trying to pursue this one girl and all of the drama that comes along. It gives us a good laugh. The other show I like is Portlandia, which is an older show that can be found on Netflix now. It features a man and a woman who do a bunch of little skits and put them in this one show. As random and strange as they might seem, I get a kick out of them because I never know what to expect. Unfortunately, I've run out of seasons to watch, so there hasn't been anything new to watch and I don't suppose there will be again...

Assignment 5- For the love and hate of television

I personally do not watch TV very often. The only show I watch is breaking bad, and I do not watch it on TV, I watch it online. It is more convenient for me to watch breaking bad, other shows, or other forms of entertainment online, because I can choose exactly what I want to watch, and when I want to watch it. The reason I can almost never watch TV shows when they air on Television is because I usually have no time during the school week to basically do anything besides schoolwork, swim, eat, etc. Over the weekend in my spare time at home I catch up on breaking bad, and occasionally watch something that's on Netflix, however most of my time online would probably be attributed in watching youtube videos. There is simply so much content on youtube its hard to not find something that interests me. Television is great, however I feel like in the future the most common way of watching shows will be through the internet on websites like Netflix, Hulu, or youtube. These websites have less advertising and the advantage of more flexible time constraints for the viewers.

Andy- Assignment 5

       Once I watched TV almost every night of the week, usually hours a week. Though I have grown away from the television I still watch it with my family occasionally. On these occasions I often see many sides of TV. I see violent murder mysteries, crude adult cartoons, and trashy reality TV shows, but there are still beacons of light in bleak landscape of the channel guide. (Semi) educational channels like the Discovery Channel and the History Channel can show us many new and interesting things throughout the world. We can get in touch and learn about our communities through local programming. Educational programs can assist parents in developing their children's minds. Millions of people in the United States and around the world rely on television to deliver news to them. TV is a very powerful tool, one that could be used to make the world a better place, but it has become a way for the average person to escape from their problems and simply stop thinking. I believe that even though TV has become a mindless form of entertainment and profit, given time and collaboration it can be a source of productivity for the entire world.

Assignment 5- Katy

I begin by announcing I have muted my TV to do this assignment. I have a love/hate relationship with television. At times I love to spend a rainy day watching reruns of my favorite shows like Criminal Minds and Pawn Stars, but I find that I am not very productive on those days. I sometimes find TV as a distraction to things I need to get done like homework or chores. But I can't help the temptation of pushing that red "ON" button every time I slump onto the couch after school.
My theory is that I either watch TV because it is not a very demanding activity and can lead to relaxation, or have the opposite effect and make me think outside my normal realm of thoughts. For example when I watch a marathon of Full House or Friends (one of my many guilty pleasures), I am relaxed in my bed, laughing along with the corny jokes of either Joey (Full House) or Chandler (Friends). I would say Full House and Friends are not very stimulating shows and I do not ponder many troubling thoughts. However, when I watch shows like Criminal Minds or 48 Hours, I am always trying to challenge the detectives on TV and figure out a suspect before they can (of course I have an advantage on Criminal Minds as it shows the suspect early on). Then after an episode (or three) I always get in the state of mind asking "Why would someone do this?" or "Who would want to hurt innocent people?" These questions only bring about ideas of limiting the kinds of criminal behavior that people make TV shows out of. Sometimes I even wonder "Are we praising the criminals by giving them TV shows like this?" I haven't reached a decisive answer.
Obviously you can tell my range of shows that I like is quite large, but there are certain shows I cannot stand to watch. Almost every other teenage kid would disagree with me (and would love to debate their opinion vs. mine) but I do not like South Park, Family Guy, or American Dad. I do not hate them because they are cartoons; I enjoy some cartoon shows. I just find that their humor is low and unappealing. The perverted jokes and rude comments to people do not attract me in watching them. I honestly can't even understand how other people like the show or find it remotely funny.
Although there are some crappy shows out on cable, I do not plan on unplugging my flat screen anytime soon. I will continue to waste time and procrastinate assignments (like my homework today) in order to enjoy my shows. Hopefully I will be able to multitask with the rest of my homework as Duck Dynasty is having a marathon tonight. Wish me luck!

Assignment 5

Confession time: I love television and I watch entirely too much. I can sit on the couch and get completely absorbed in what my mom calls “crap TV”.  I hate to say it but I watch marathons of The Real Housewives series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, pretty much any terrible reality TV show. I will also watch the occasional sitcom or drama or the movies that are on constant replay.  I know, I know, potentially TV is an inane use of time but it is also a good form of entertainment. It does just that; entertains you when you have nothing better to do (or many times even when you do). After a long day of school it is perfect to just sit back, procrastinate and watch Friends reruns.

Assignment 5

So much time and money is spent on award season. The dresses seen on the red carpet cost more than all of the clothes in my closet combined, the earrings more than all the shoes in my house. Why does society put such an emphasis on these "stars"? Why don't we put this emphasis on other things like Nobel Prize winners? People are selfish. We only like to concern ourselves with thinks that directly involve ourselves. Sure the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry discovered some cool thing, but how is it going to effect us? Celebrities do concern us because we see them on TV and in the movies all the time. This also occurs on a global scale. When a tragedy strikes in the US everyone is quick to point out what went wrong and how they feel so badly about it. For every major US tragedy there is hours upon hours if news coverage in newspapers, magazines, and TV. But much more awful things happen across the world everyday and there is no news coverage over it. Everyday there are people dying from awful loving conditions in refugee camps in Jordan, work camps in North Korea, countries divided by civil war. People all across the world will be dying tonight from tragedies but the United States won't know because they will be seeing who has the most expensive gown walking down the red carpet. 

Assignment 5 Kaylyn Torkelson

Watching TV may seem like a total waste of time, but it's always been something that my family has participated in, even though we often don't give it our complete and undivided attention. Sitting in the family room and "watching TV" is kind of the family way of winding down for the night, even though my sister and I are doing homework, or my mom is in the kitchen putting things away. Watching TV is something that we can all do together at the end of the day, and for that reason, I do think it is good entertainment. I don't personally subscribe to the award show media hype that goes on, just because I don't find award shows useful at all. I'd rather watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my dad or one of the many fabulous shows on HBO in place of the Emmys or the Grammys or whatever other award event that's happening. Sure, they're probably fun for a certain number of people, but I honestly don't care what show receives the most critical acclaim. I watch TV to be entertained whilst doing other things, and the Emmys just doesn't do that for me.

Assignment 5 - Hannah Pulley

I remember a time when my mom and I were dedicated crime-drama followers, but not anymore. My reason being the fact that schoolwork, late night swimming workouts and friends on Skype took up most of my time, while hers was the difficulty in justifying the cost of a cable subscription that we never had the time to use. Even when I did have the time, it felt like there was nothing on that would hold my attention, or maybe my attention span had just shortened over time.  

One of the links in the prompt leads to a collection of articles, arguing for and against television. While the internet can just as well be a pointless waste of time, I do agree that it is easily justified by a difference between the two: computers are interactive, while television is passive. You can choose what you want to watch, read, or learn about, while with TV, you’re at the mercy of the network programmers. The internet does hold wide array of options for those who just want to talk to other humans about how much they love TV shows, movies or music, and it becomes a more enjoyable, two-way interaction.

(For the record, I don’t hate awards shows; I just don’t like parts of people they bring out. It seems like a three-hour montage of arguments waiting to happen and attention seeking stunts, and maybe some of that should be used to bring attention to more worthy causes.)

Assignment 5

No one in my family really watches TV. There, I said it. But boy do we love our movies. That explains our Netflix account, the Amazon Prime account, and frequent trips to the two Red Boxes down our street. We also always watch movies together, unless someone isn't home. Just last night, we watched 2 movies. Recently, however, we have been obsessed with Under the Dome. Watching that show every monday night became a tradition. However, I do believe that the internet is replacing TV. Almost all of my friends prefer YouTube rather than TV. For example, it's much cheaper and easier to put an ad at the begining of a You Tube video. The You Tuber gets paid by the company every time you don't press "Skip Ad" and watch the whole advertisement. Though I believe there are aspects of TV that cannot be replaced, but man will eventually grow and evolve to replace them.

Assignment 5 - Drew

I personally don't watch a lot of network T.V., and let me give you the primary reason. My family at one point subscribed to cable (where a viewer had at their disposal almost 1000 channels), but finally came to the realization that, of those 1000 channels, we watched less than 20 of them, and of those we only regularly watched 10 of them. So now we watch the few channels afforded us by the digital antenna, and almost exclusively watch those for sports.

But I wouldn't say I don't watch T.V. The rest of the family and I do spend time watching the television, but not in the traditional network sense. Through a device called Apple TV, we get Netflix on the television, and we watch it on a regular basis. Many people don't like this approach because they don't get the newest shows. But we as a family realized that, having watched network T.V. during our subscription to cable, really didn't watch many of the "new" shows. Netflix not only gives us on demand access to hundreds of series of shows IN THEIR ENTIRETY (something you can't do with cable), but also gives us instant access to programs that don't (and probably never will again) air on network T.V. For example, my family and I regularly watch portions of all 5 series of Star Trek (the Original Series, Next Gen., DS 9, Voyager, and Enterprise), my dad has gone through the entirety of Numbers and the newer Battlestar Gallactica, and we've periodically watched episodes of such shows as MacGyver and the A-Team.

Assignment 5- Thomas Ueland

I probably watch way too much TV. As I am writing this, the TV is in the background and the more I think about it, the more it has become a routine; I do much of my homework in front of the TV. Most of the time I watch sporting events, but I also keep up with shows like Breaking Bad, Tosh.0, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It provides a constant flow of entertainment as something that I can rely on if I want to laugh, get scared, etc, and also helps me wind down after a work-filled, exhausting school day. I think TV is an excellent source of entertainment, but often people (myself included) abuse it. It can be used for good, like to catch a presidential address or find the weather, but it can also be a medium for procrastination and about the lowest level of productivity one can have. I can’t bring myself to say that it is an insane use of time, perhaps because I watch so much and I don’t want to think that I am spending my days in an ‘insane’ way, but it is definitely a mindless way to pass the time. Lastly, to address the final prompt, the fact that the Emmy’s get more coverage than the Nobel Prizes’ speaks wonders (atrocities) about our society. At least for the USA, it certainly feels like more emphasis is being placed on entertainment than actual academic advancements. Professional sports leagues are multi-billion dollar businesses, and you can become a millionaire by being good at putting a ball through a hoop. I’m not here to offer a solution, but rather just another complainer of the wavering morals in today’s society.