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TV Nation

Submitted by allisonmaggy on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 02:22

I  was struck by something that was discussed in class on Tuesday in regards to a comparison of the times and the notion of people in today's society picking up and moving out west.  "People wouldn't do that now... we wouldn't want to leave behind our TV."

 

Are we really living in a world today where we can't pack up and move in search of a better life because we're too afraid to leave our television sets behind?  Is the prospect of watching someone else's glamorous (or unglamorously comical) life on television enough to keep us where we are?  Are we so wrapped up in media and the world of make believe television has created for us that we can't free ourselves from its grasp?  Why make the effort to pack up and move? Why look for a better life when we could just watch someone else's life?

 

Or maybe it's a measure of "stuff." The television set is merely a symbol; for luxury, for wealth, for status, for power. The Joads had to leave everything behind, as did other families heading out west during the Great Depression.   They're viewed as vagrants and thieves.  They perservered, though, despite the hardships.  Sure, they didn't have TV's , but they left their valuables behind because it was about saving themselves and saving their families. How sad it is we can't swallow our pride and leave our TV sets behind.  

 

http://www.csub.edu/library/images/dustbowl.jpg

Unplugging

Submitted by lemonmon on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 14:48.

It is extremely difficult to let go of our electronics whether it be televisions, cell phones, iPods, etc. We as a society have become so attached to using these devices and see them as something more than a symbol of wealth. When we travel, modern technology is inescapable, it's everywhere. Planes now have televisions and radio channels, and more places across the world are attaining wifi access for an easy portal to the internet realm. We live in a culture where we are completely swamped with information and availability to see virtually everything possible with the click of the mouse. This luxury turns into laziness when we take this information and incorporate it into believing that seeing pixelated images is just as good as the real thing. I personally think that traveling is a key to opening up to a world that's something bigger than yourself. The only way to do this is to leave behind outside influences for a few days and discover what's out there. Our life isn't a montage of .gif images, we need to motivate ourselves to fully experience what the road has to offer.