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fandomhigh2010-08-04 10:20 am
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2010-08-04 10:20 am
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Teevee for Beginners, Wednesday
Mitchell had sprawled back in an armchair of his own today. If he looked visibly relieved to be here, well-- back home wasn't exactly pleasant at the moment.
"Today, we'll be discussing recent television," he started, "It's faster-paced than it was in the old days, cut more rapidly, making its departure from the theatre. Some say it's because our cultural attention span has gotten so short. Some say it's simply because we can absorb more information than we did previously. I'm not a scientist, I can't tell you which one it is, but I can tell you that modern standards of comedy seem to have fallen quite a bit."
"The television medium is much more scattered now. There's far more channels than in the past, when at best you'd get five or six. Now, you can watch a hundred different things or more, geared towards your tastes, wishes, and expectations. Cooking channels, comedy channels, news channels. Anything you might want to learn, anything you might want to follow, anything you might want to have fun with? It's there on the TV. Just a click of the remote away."
He went into a bit of a routine about sci-fi and fantasy channels and fiction, but it was a bit sketchy. "Science fiction and fantasy have grown popular as a genre nowadays," he said, "After a stint of being mostly ignored. Basically, they're the same kind of thing: speculative fiction. Except science fiction is about the future, and fantasy is about an imagined past. With dragons, that kind of thing." He smiled. "Then there's the sitcom. Developed back in the 50s, perfected in the 80s. Situational comedy. A cast of characters operating from the same 'situation', like a drama with jokes. It's often about the dialogue."
He pointed at the TV with the remote. "Today, we'll be watching different channels. You'll discuss what defines each and every one of them. What are the most obvious visual markers? Who does the channel seem to be geared at? Would you watch it on your own?"
"Today, we'll be discussing recent television," he started, "It's faster-paced than it was in the old days, cut more rapidly, making its departure from the theatre. Some say it's because our cultural attention span has gotten so short. Some say it's simply because we can absorb more information than we did previously. I'm not a scientist, I can't tell you which one it is, but I can tell you that modern standards of comedy seem to have fallen quite a bit."
"The television medium is much more scattered now. There's far more channels than in the past, when at best you'd get five or six. Now, you can watch a hundred different things or more, geared towards your tastes, wishes, and expectations. Cooking channels, comedy channels, news channels. Anything you might want to learn, anything you might want to follow, anything you might want to have fun with? It's there on the TV. Just a click of the remote away."
He went into a bit of a routine about sci-fi and fantasy channels and fiction, but it was a bit sketchy. "Science fiction and fantasy have grown popular as a genre nowadays," he said, "After a stint of being mostly ignored. Basically, they're the same kind of thing: speculative fiction. Except science fiction is about the future, and fantasy is about an imagined past. With dragons, that kind of thing." He smiled. "Then there's the sitcom. Developed back in the 50s, perfected in the 80s. Situational comedy. A cast of characters operating from the same 'situation', like a drama with jokes. It's often about the dialogue."
He pointed at the TV with the remote. "Today, we'll be watching different channels. You'll discuss what defines each and every one of them. What are the most obvious visual markers? Who does the channel seem to be geared at? Would you watch it on your own?"
Watch the Channels
Food Network
Re: Food Network
After establishing that, she moved on to considering who might watch these programs on a regular basis, besides people who wanted to make themselves hungry.
Travel Chanel
Mitchell might have a sense of irony today.
Comedy Central
Re: Comedy Central
...it could take a while. Rilla wasn't exactly up on 21st Century politics.
CNN