It is always a good idea to look back at history. History tells us about our ancestors, what they did right, what they did wrong, and how we should do it differently. The history of television in our country is an excellent example.
The invention of the television opened up new and wonderful worlds. It brought the country, and ultimately the world, together as nothing else could. Suddenly the common man could have a front row seat at presidential inaugurations, coronations of royalty, operas and concerts. People were given the opportunity to have a close-up view of their elected officials, stage and film stars, and musicians. No longer did a ticket to a famous play or musical event cost a week's wages. News was no longer just something to read about in the newspapers; it could be witnessed first hand. Sporting events became something everyone could attend, with better seats than anyone else at the stadium.
Along with all these opportunities came television entertainment. Westerns, dramas, serial shows and children's shows. Families began to congregate around the television in the evenings for "family time." Shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "Laugh In" became family favorites. This new family entertainment even prompted the invention of a new type of furniture: the TV tray. Families began eating their dinner in front of the television; a modern day at-home dinner theater.
Soon came the early sit-coms. "The Little Rascals" was one of the earliest. Then came "The Honeymooners," "Leave it to Beaver," "Father Knows Best," and of course, "I Love Lucy." Television comedy took off like a rocket and is still one of the most popular forms of television entertainment.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, another type of television genre took hold: the soap opera. The soap opera was geared toward the stay-at-home moms we had grown to love on TV: June Cleaver and Harriet Nelson, among others. Our society was evolving and in the midst of some serious growing pains. The common belief was that since the men were working and the children were going to school, the women at home must have something to do, so why not daytime television to fill their otherwise useless days? Soap operas were designed to draw in the viewer with slow-moving story lines that never really ended.
As time marched on and color television became something everyone had in their homes, the market for children began to expand with the advent of all new cartoons and children's programming. After-school specials, puppets, and children's comedies and dramas began drawing our children off the playground and into the family room.
Cable TV made its debut in the late 1970s which opened up a completely new world of television and exponentially more channels and programming to choose from. Movies which had been limited to the big screen were suddenly being watched in living rooms around the world. VCRs soon followed and not only were we watching movies that had before only aired once a year, if that, we now could also tape and re-watch absolutely anything on television. We began collecting libraries of tapes: pre-recorded movies and things we taped ourselves.
MTV, which debuted in 1981 brought television into a new era which pushed all the boundaries and broke many of the rules that had been long established. People now could not only watch concerts of their favorite music artists, but also short dramas, comedies and even horror flicks set to the tune of the most popular songs. VH1 soon followed and the music video industry took off.
In the late-1990s, nearly all the jokes, drama possibilities, old movies, and westerns had been shown or tried over and over. The public needed something new, and reality television gave the TV industry the shot in the arm it was looking for. With the overwhelming popularity of "Survivor," reality shows about any and everything began popping up all over the networks and cable shows. People seemed to be willing to do anything to be on television, and the world in their living rooms, was willing to watch.
Today, the rules are still being pushed and boundaries are falling all over the place. Things that are seen on TV today would have been cause for imprisonment in the 1950s. Things that are seen on TV today would have been cause for taking the show off the air and even fines, in the 1970s. Things that are seen on TV today would have been surprising and even shocking in the 1990s. Are we becoming too open and calloused? Do we have any limits? How far are the reality folks willing to go, and how much are we willing to watch? Will we ultimately desire to see what the Romans hoped for when they flocked to the coliseum to watch the gladiators? I shudder to imagine it.
Perhaps we need to rethink where we're going and look at where we've been. In an effort to continually entertain and draw in a viewing audience, television has gone from being a source of information and entertainment to the controlling focal point of our lives. Television is revered like a god, set in each room like a shrine with its many videos and remote controls surrounding it. How far will we go?
The movie, "Fahrenheit 451," based on the book by Ray Bradbury, depicted the protagonist's wife as completely obsessed with her life-sized television friends. Their home had one room with a giant screen covering each wall. Anyone who went into this "TV room" could actually interact with the people on the screen, for the ultimate in reality television. The woman became so involved in the lives of the on-screen characters that she lost all sense of reality and wouldn't leave the room. Virtual reality had become her reality.
Our children have stopped playing outside and childhood obesity is on the rise. Violence is at an all-time high. Marriages are breaking up as people look for that perfect person like they've seen on television. There is a constant sense of dissatisfaction in our society because real life is so monotonous and boring. Instant gratification and problems that can be wrapped up in 30 minutes or less are so much more appealing.
Television is a very useful and wonderful invention, but we need to take back our lives and the lives of our children before it gets out of control. Perhaps it already has.
