the Study of Modern Visual Culture (and the silence in between)
I was going to write a post about stuff in general - like, that I got my hair cut finally. But then I watched some Genshiken and it got me thinking - and no, this post is not about anime.
It's about television in general.
Some of my friends (some of whom are on LJ, heh) hate TV - lots of people think it's pure evil. I think that's a lot like saying that, say, alchohol is evil. Sure, some people are pretty irresponsible about it and have no taste in the finer aspects of it, but others DO and make an entire culture out of it (like going to wine tastings) that effects other aspects of their lives. Perhaps socially, how they dress, who they hang out with, how they talk...
Television is like that. I, too, don't care much for people who get drunk off TV. If they're idle at any given moment, they MUST be watching TV, and it doesn't matter that nothing that great is on, they'll watch it anyway. No, I don't like that and I don't DO that either. I actually don't watch that much TV at all - maybe two or three hours a week. It would be more if I were still watching Stargate, or if Lost and BSG were on. Point being, I - like most of you - am pretty selective about what I watch - don't get me wrong, there's DEFINETLY a lot of garbage on TV. However, what I do watch I don't watch mindlessly. I think about it, let it seep in, talk about it with others, let it marinate and affect me, enrich my imagination.
Television changed our world. Radio was huge, yes, but with TV, you could SEE what was going on. You could SEE stories. I don't think this diminishes the imagination, either, but rather jump starts it. After the show is over, your mind continues on with 'what if's. But moreso than carrying stories, I think TV influences our culture, or, rather, spreads it more rapidly. In some corners of the globe, we're out of touch with what's the latest and greatest - not necessarily in fads, but in ways of thinking, too. Sci-fi shows are great at this - discovery, accepting of that which is different and new and being UNAFRAID of those differences. Things our current world could do a great deal of learning from.
I know I'm pretty much preaching to the choir on this one. Many of us met here on LJ because of things carried by television - mostly Stargate. And if that's not how we met, a lot of us do share some form of visual culture that we share as well. Maybe it's ANTM or anime. It's amazing the people I've met here on LJ through these instances, formations of pixels on a screen. People I'd otherwise never of met, people with vastly different backgrounds. You meet people who have seen the same bits of story you have seen and there appears a crack in the ice between you, even if the ice is thick. Sure, there are lots of other hobbies and mediums to bond over, but television does have the benefit of being far-reaching, shows being translated all over the world and often happening concurrently or close to it. A single episode is a flash in a pan compared to a novel, but unlike a novel, the story goes on for much longer. Once you're done with a book, there's only so much discussion to be had afterward. But with a series, lines of communication are open for much longer.
I inadverntly got cut off from one of those major lines last winter - Stargate. I wasn't as into it anymore as I was becoming with BSG and Lost, but I did want to keep watching. I still cared about SG1 and I was getting to know and like the Atlantis team. But more importantly, I felt like it kept open the ties to many of my LJ friends. I'm not sure how many of us are still watching or not... people aren't posting and commenting near as much as they used to and I know *I'm* not contributing because I am not watching so I feel like I cut myself off and I miss it.
See, things like Stargate or Lost or anime do something to get me through the week. We don't have a lot of fantastic things going on in the world right now. But I watch these things and I share them with others and even though they're just stories and not real people, I'm reminded that it *could* be real, if only we followed their example. It's enough to motivate me to help a lost dog get back home, to help someone find an item at the store, or ask a bummed-out looking stranger if they're all right. Sure, they're not earth-shattering acts of epicly heroic proportion, but every little bit counts.
And it was all inspired by my personal study of modern visual culture through television.
Thank you Genshiken.
It's about television in general.
Some of my friends (some of whom are on LJ, heh) hate TV - lots of people think it's pure evil. I think that's a lot like saying that, say, alchohol is evil. Sure, some people are pretty irresponsible about it and have no taste in the finer aspects of it, but others DO and make an entire culture out of it (like going to wine tastings) that effects other aspects of their lives. Perhaps socially, how they dress, who they hang out with, how they talk...
Television is like that. I, too, don't care much for people who get drunk off TV. If they're idle at any given moment, they MUST be watching TV, and it doesn't matter that nothing that great is on, they'll watch it anyway. No, I don't like that and I don't DO that either. I actually don't watch that much TV at all - maybe two or three hours a week. It would be more if I were still watching Stargate, or if Lost and BSG were on. Point being, I - like most of you - am pretty selective about what I watch - don't get me wrong, there's DEFINETLY a lot of garbage on TV. However, what I do watch I don't watch mindlessly. I think about it, let it seep in, talk about it with others, let it marinate and affect me, enrich my imagination.
Television changed our world. Radio was huge, yes, but with TV, you could SEE what was going on. You could SEE stories. I don't think this diminishes the imagination, either, but rather jump starts it. After the show is over, your mind continues on with 'what if's. But moreso than carrying stories, I think TV influences our culture, or, rather, spreads it more rapidly. In some corners of the globe, we're out of touch with what's the latest and greatest - not necessarily in fads, but in ways of thinking, too. Sci-fi shows are great at this - discovery, accepting of that which is different and new and being UNAFRAID of those differences. Things our current world could do a great deal of learning from.
I know I'm pretty much preaching to the choir on this one. Many of us met here on LJ because of things carried by television - mostly Stargate. And if that's not how we met, a lot of us do share some form of visual culture that we share as well. Maybe it's ANTM or anime. It's amazing the people I've met here on LJ through these instances, formations of pixels on a screen. People I'd otherwise never of met, people with vastly different backgrounds. You meet people who have seen the same bits of story you have seen and there appears a crack in the ice between you, even if the ice is thick. Sure, there are lots of other hobbies and mediums to bond over, but television does have the benefit of being far-reaching, shows being translated all over the world and often happening concurrently or close to it. A single episode is a flash in a pan compared to a novel, but unlike a novel, the story goes on for much longer. Once you're done with a book, there's only so much discussion to be had afterward. But with a series, lines of communication are open for much longer.
I inadverntly got cut off from one of those major lines last winter - Stargate. I wasn't as into it anymore as I was becoming with BSG and Lost, but I did want to keep watching. I still cared about SG1 and I was getting to know and like the Atlantis team. But more importantly, I felt like it kept open the ties to many of my LJ friends. I'm not sure how many of us are still watching or not... people aren't posting and commenting near as much as they used to and I know *I'm* not contributing because I am not watching so I feel like I cut myself off and I miss it.
See, things like Stargate or Lost or anime do something to get me through the week. We don't have a lot of fantastic things going on in the world right now. But I watch these things and I share them with others and even though they're just stories and not real people, I'm reminded that it *could* be real, if only we followed their example. It's enough to motivate me to help a lost dog get back home, to help someone find an item at the store, or ask a bummed-out looking stranger if they're all right. Sure, they're not earth-shattering acts of epicly heroic proportion, but every little bit counts.
And it was all inspired by my personal study of modern visual culture through television.
Thank you Genshiken.