Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear Ben Round de Block,
I've never had a TV here in all my 19 years, a fact that absolutely staggers the students when they learn that. Life without a TV? Unthinkable.
And I've found that I very seldom watch anything now even when I'm home on holiday. Oh, there are some shows I like ( if they're still on ): Law and Order, 60 minutes, ( American ) football games, Six Feet Under,
West Wing, to name a few. But cripes - there is SO much trash on. Same with the movies - the last one I actually went to a theater to see was - give me a minute here - oh yes, " As Good as It Gets " - I do enjoy Jack.
Regards,
John

[scot47]

One of the great things about life as a tefler for me has been escaping from the "gowks' kist", the "idiot box" the "boob tube"

Look again at 1984 and see the role of television in Orwell's world.
Horrifying ! Mind control !

[veiledsentiments]

I was overseas for most of the last 20 years. When I came back for a year in the late 90's to take care of some business, I did part-time office work for a friend's company in downtown Washington DC. Often I would pass through the lunchroom to make a cup of tea. I was appalled to realize that these people had only two topics of conversation. Sports came up once in awhile depending on how many males were in the room, but mostly they discussed the latest movie or what they said on TV last night. All characters were discussed as if they were real people. These people were educated urban professionals and this seemed to be all they had to talk about.

Being here during the current 'war' and its attendant flow of daily propoganda on the airways here has proven to me that Scot is absolutely right. Daily we are bombarded with 'black is white' and 'white is black.' Orwell was right, he was just twenty years off on the date. I can't watch it any more and limit myself to one 30 minute BBC newscast daily.

My fellow Americans are shocked that I have been in a movie theater exactly twice in the last 20 years and the only entertainment program I watch consistently is Six Feet Under. I am proud to be able to say that I have never seen the Jerry Springer show (but loved Zakiah25's spoof thereof).

[travellingscot]

Apart from the song lyric(Home is where the heart is) i think this is quite an interesting issue.
In my Merchant Navy days around 1974 there was no satellite tv so when i was away for even 4-6 months i realised upon returning to UK that my world for those 4 months consisted of about 20 people sharing similar interests to a varying extent.
My foreign travel recently has been limited to maximum 1 month job hunting trips but even then i have found lots of pleasure without a television so leading me to agree with most of what has been said here.It amuses me to sit in a cafe here and listen to conversations revolve around television, nightclubs,drug-addicted pop stars,and perhaps the annual visit to some strange land "overseas",which can never be as good as "home" because it lacks "proper food","decent television",and "pubs", although the trend now for Irish theme pubs in many countries has helped some of these poor creatures enjoy their holidays.I could go on but i think you get my drift...