chosehumanity (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2010-07-14 06:36 am
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2010-07-14 06:36 am
Entry tags:
Teevee for Beginners, Wednesday
"Today, we're going to be talking about people," Mitchell said, once they'd all filled into the classroom. Anyone paying attention may have noticed the large table full of bags upon bags of crisps off to the side of the room. "People watching television, to be precise." You know, in case they'd thought he was going to talk about something a little less savoury. "Academics call television the 'electronic hearth', because where families used to gather before the fireplace, they started to gather in front of the television instead. It grew very very quickly from being a novelty to being in every household, in every family. It became a place where they met up in the evenings, after a long day at work. Back in those days, of course, everyone watched the same thing - so it was a little like sharing your hearth with everybody. In the mornings, you could go out and discuss the programme, and mostly rely on the fact everyone had seen it."
He gestured at the television. "These days, some might call it being couch potatoes," he said, wryly. "Being people who spend too much time in front of the television, until they're as heavy and big-arsed as potatoes. They have a little food, have a little drink, and let the programmes flow on past. Wasting their lives away, never looking for some meaning in life, never bothering to find out who they really are, what the world's really like." He smiled once. "The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle. Television nowadays is a unifier, it brings people together, but it also sets them apart. Especially now that it's become possible, through satellites and cable, to stuff multiple channel signals into a TV. Thousands of channels. It's all fragmented now."
He wandered over to the table, patting it with his hands. "Now for the fun part," he said, "Snacks are a vital part of the modern television experience. Sometimes, it's entire meals, pizza and Chinese food." Mitchell was a great appreciator of the art. "But at this hour, that may be pushing it. Crisps," he picked up a bag and waved it around, "Are excellent television chow. I want you all to pick what looks like it may taste good, and if you're not sure, ask your fellow classmates about it." He set the bag down. "Today is all about people. About audiences, which we all are when we're watching the television. So go on, make yourself comfortable. Be an audience, meet people, see what the social contexts are all about. See if it works for you, if you get it."
He took a seat on his own couch. "Have fun. That's what television's all about."
His eyes searched out Chloe in the class, but he didn't say anything yet.
He gestured at the television. "These days, some might call it being couch potatoes," he said, wryly. "Being people who spend too much time in front of the television, until they're as heavy and big-arsed as potatoes. They have a little food, have a little drink, and let the programmes flow on past. Wasting their lives away, never looking for some meaning in life, never bothering to find out who they really are, what the world's really like." He smiled once. "The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle. Television nowadays is a unifier, it brings people together, but it also sets them apart. Especially now that it's become possible, through satellites and cable, to stuff multiple channel signals into a TV. Thousands of channels. It's all fragmented now."
He wandered over to the table, patting it with his hands. "Now for the fun part," he said, "Snacks are a vital part of the modern television experience. Sometimes, it's entire meals, pizza and Chinese food." Mitchell was a great appreciator of the art. "But at this hour, that may be pushing it. Crisps," he picked up a bag and waved it around, "Are excellent television chow. I want you all to pick what looks like it may taste good, and if you're not sure, ask your fellow classmates about it." He set the bag down. "Today is all about people. About audiences, which we all are when we're watching the television. So go on, make yourself comfortable. Be an audience, meet people, see what the social contexts are all about. See if it works for you, if you get it."
He took a seat on his own couch. "Have fun. That's what television's all about."
His eyes searched out Chloe in the class, but he didn't say anything yet.
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