As I predicted, we watched a documentary about Robert Frost in my English class. I wasn't in the mood. I turned two computer screens towards my desk and read by the glow of a web page. The light bright enough to illuminate my pages as my mind was trying to block out garbled lines of poetry.
My classmate told me that documentaries are OK to watch. Even after I explained to hear I am trying to stay away from all TV, including the noun form. The eerie luminescent dull glow. She still told me that education gleaned from a televised documentary is a good thing. I refuse to accept this. As I was reading by computer light, my eyes would often wander to the television screen, catching brief flashes of a graying old man telling us he took the road less traveled by. During one of these very brief interruptions from my Palahniuk, I remembered an article I once read about the effects television has on our brain chemistry. How it releases a chemical that puts you into a state of dumb euphoria, flipping your brain switch to alpha mode, making your more receptive to hypnotic suggestions.
Do you really believe you want to eat that food your eating or watch that new movie coming out? They implant thoughts into our head while we are switched off. Suggestions are made. All television is a marketing drug, slipping you pills to keep you comatose and happy, waiting to be told what to do.
This link pretty much sums it up without a lot of big scientific words.
How TV Rots the Brain.
With this new information, you can see that it doesn't matter whether its television, a movie, or a video game, the effect of just having the TV is the same result.
Hypnotic trance.
NBC, CNN, ESPN, FOX, ABC, BBC. We have replaced the gold watch that swings back and forth in front of our eyes with thousands of brand named pixels printing their images onto our Occipital Lobe.
My goal at the end of the thirty days. A smashed TV, on video, so I can always remember.
Projects coming up in the next 29 days. Letters to the 5 biggest media conglomerates! Questioning people on the street? Maybe a staged protest at a local news channel?
2 comments:
This is a very interesting project. I wish you the best of luck.
I think if I were to take on a similar endevor, the biggest problem I would have would be my classes. I have one prof who has decided that the second half of the semester should be taught by videos. I'm sure the information in the docs they show you in class is good. Maybe you could talk to your teacher and see if there's an alternative to watching the video. Maybe you could read about Frost (or whoever the next poet is) and skip the class when they show the video. Just a thought.
By the way, I'm a friend of Aaron's and I found you through his bog. Hi. :)
Thank you, and welcome!
I believe I am going to talk to him on Wednesday about the videos. Maybe I can step outside while its playing, as you said, and read about the authors. We still have a month left and now he wants to shows us Drama on video. Like Shakespear. Id much prefer to read.
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