Jesse White wrote:
The power of television and its images is well known. Why then do we
allow the control to continue. It is simple to turn it off. As I watch
my teenage daughter and the French student attempt to find something to do
other than major media events, it strikes at my core value system that our
cultural memory is increasing dependent on silicon chips and less on
organic material.
Your article brought back a lot of memories of how my family "managed
without television" for over 15 years overseas. We were much more
creative with our children, and I remember them being much more creative
as well. We socialized within the local communities together as a family.
And yes, more symbols and gestures, than actual words were exchanged.
Whether it was cultural festivities, family hospitality, or the boasting
of cultural history and pride that brought our families together, I can
say for certain that television played absolutely no part. Actually, the
most powerful (and popular) international language of all that usually
brought us together-was food! Games like charades, Pictionary, and
Scrabble helped too (with a good bilingual referee)!
I would agree that our dependency on silicon chips to entertain us is
quite controlling and possibly even addictive, depending on their use.
But in the educational and communications arenas, they have opened up many
avenues to other cultures. I envision a day when I converse with my
friends around world and have them upload some boneless fried chicken from
Japan, tsadziki (sp.?) and baklava from Greece, a brick oven-baked pizza
from Italy, and a jug of mead from England to my "cyberoven" and
"cyberfridge" terminals! I only hope I may live that long!
Thanks for the television wake-up call!
Bill Hancy
obfusc8@erols.com
--"William T. Hancy" <obfusc8@erols.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>