Most television has become a vast wasteland, but during a COVID spell, it was my refuge.
Much of television is a vast wasteland, but it brought a welcome reprieve during a recent COVID spell.A few months back, I contracted a breakthrough case of COVID. During my isolation/recovery, I did something I don’t usually do: I watched a lot of TV, particularly daytime television.
But there is no question that television over the decades has contributed greatly to the “dumbing down” of America. You may recall former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow’s famous quote from 1961. “Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off,” he said. “I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.”I am of the generation that learned to read before watching television. My students would marvel at that when I mentioned it.
Some people scoffed at paying for TV, but many were won over by the prospect of no commercials. Well, that didn’t last long. Television is many things: long-distance communication, dispenser of education, public service messenger and purveyor of entertainment. But the main purpose of TV, I learned, was as a marketing tool.
The long trail of the wasteland has progressed from “The Jerry Springer Show” to “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and through countless other shows with audiences that howl, heckle and jeer, becoming part of the story. Imagine trying to teach audience etiquette to students who have been influenced by such spectacles.However, during my telethon, I did come across a show I felt had some redeeming qualities, “Homestead Rescue.
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