You know... If I could afford a true film projector, I would not own a television, at all. I would not, and why? Because television is the root of most evil, second only to religion. It is. Plain and simple, case fucking closed. It is a vile and vicious invention, and not because it supposely encourages violence, because it doesn't. No folks, television doesn't bring about violence, we're a vile and belligerent lot, hellbent on killing. it's inherent in our nature, but NO! That is not why I loathe the television...
I loathe the idiot box for many reasons, and all are equal. But we'll start on one I noticed yesterday...
It goes into the attention span of the human breed. First, let's break down the average network television program, or even basic cable for that matter. The movie channels are the only exception to this rule. But, the average television program, let's say an hour long program, since most of what's on is hour-long Reality TV fuck offs, or bogus photo-static copy forensic shows, that's a good place to begin. Five minute of program, two minutes of commercials, five minutes of program, two minutes of commercials, and the commercials themselves are thirty to forty five seconds in length. What effect does this have on the culture? A nation of mindless ADD numbskulls.
But, the attention span lingers past the idiot box for a good long while, like a fart that just won't leave. It effects their daily lives, and their friendships. It effects their loyalty to anything. The phrase "that's so ten minutes ago" reaks of that, it does, and they carry that onto their friends. Back in the fifties, you heard about friends for life, true BFF's (and the next person who uses that within earshot of me, that I know is getting fucking kneecapped. That fucking glitch of popculture thinking is horse shit. [Also folks, there's another problem I have with that, best denotes only. The Best. You cannot have Two Bests. It simply does not compute. You cannot have Two Best Friends. Best and Closest is so outmoded, it's repulsive. It has lost all it's bloody meaning, and is truly fucking annoying when I hear it... and when I do hear it, guess what I do? Chuckle silently to myself, because they're fucking delusional morons.] But! Also, that BFF shit has most certainly put a shelf-life on FOREVER. Forever is horseshit. Forever does not exist anymore. Only life lasts forever, because when you die, so does forever. Forever is a catchphrase that means fuck all, like Love... but, I digress)
The fact of the matter is this; Television programmes have totally fucked the attention span of the mass collective. There is no sense of loyalty anymore, because we're unable to fixate our attention for more then ten minutes at a time before being interrupted by commercials....
And commercials themselves have a high place on the list of issues I have. Telling us how to be, what to wear, where to live, where to go on vacation, what to buy, how much we should spend, it has turned our culture into true consumerists. We have to buy, buy, buy. Sell our souls for the almighty thumbs up from Hollyweird. It doesn't tell us what to buy, but what to eat, what drugs to take. They're advertisements for how the Powers That Be think we should be, turning us into a docile herd to be lead from our homes and into the depths of the ocean where we can rest peacefully. Commercialism needs to burn in hell, it serves no purpose.
But also, the television has destroyed the nations ability to read. More than a page of email, text messages, or IM's. If it's longer than that, no one can stand to read it... they're like; oh, let's just buy the movie and save ourselves the effort. And while, in a sense, I'm attacking movies here, but it's the truth... and I have to confess, the movies as of late are complete shit and cannon fodder. Adaptations of comic books or juvenile bullshit that dumbs down the masses even further. No, there is very, very little intelligent film out there anymore, and what is, is ridiculed for being too deep, too hard to understand (a la David Lynch films), involving too much thought. Too much thought? Is there such a thing? Really?
What is so wrong with thinking? With being able to hold an intelligent fucking conversation? Is it really such a bloody sin?! That truly does irritate me, that everyone is expected to be a moron by their peers. The "nerds" are all but lynched in high school, but, you know, those nerds are the ones who're making millions and the jocks are making ten grand flipping burgers for the rest of their fucking lives, because they gambled on the extremely small chance they'd get picked up for college sports or even the pros. That's a slim to none game there, slick.
No, no... Why is it so damn cool to be "stupid"? What's so wrong with being educated? Could someone please explain that to me? Please, I'm begging you!
That's another problem with television, it condones stupidity. It really does make my brain hurt, trying to process it, because it's bloody illogical as all sin.
Oh well... I could go on for hours, and I may continue this later... but at the moment, I'm too damned irritated thinking about that last point...
