Real Life
Real Life
Today I had one of those “real life” moments; got caught in a downpour then the sun came out and the wind was really strong. I thought about all of those times that I had sat in front of a television watching other people being blown about by the wind and drenched in rain and what a different experience it was being in the real world (big raindrops on my skin, clothes soaked with water, warm breeze drying me off as I walked home, dark clouds swirling about then blowing away and white fluffy clouds taking their place, patches of bright blue sky, little birds running around the grass and sidewalks as rivers of water rushed down the street, the smell of lilacs in the air, the sight of flowers bent over from the rain storm then bouncing back up to greet the sun)… the only thing that I experienced while sitting in a chair watching other people get caught in rainstorms was the visual sight of them running to shelter and how funny they looked – but then it would be on to the next story… I was so much happier today to have been outside experiencing “Real Life” than stuck inside glued to a chair focused on a television screen. Thank you Whitedotters for being here and for understanding!
Re: Real Life
Once you turn the fool tube off, you start living. What's the sense in watching someone else live, when you can live yourself? That's specifically how I feel about reality shows.
I am a guitar player, and I think about it like this; guys like SRV, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton didn't get the talent they received by watching others on TV (Yes, they had major influences from listening to records but you can't compare that to TV). Charlie Parker literally played the Saxophone for 7-12 hours a day!!! That is dedication without distraction from something like TV.
I am a guitar player, and I think about it like this; guys like SRV, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton didn't get the talent they received by watching others on TV (Yes, they had major influences from listening to records but you can't compare that to TV). Charlie Parker literally played the Saxophone for 7-12 hours a day!!! That is dedication without distraction from something like TV.
Re: Real Life
Rain is one thing, but many people stay indoors watching TV even if it's sunny and warm. Speaking of which... 
Re: Real Life
Summer comes early down here in Alabama, and do you think my neighborhood full of over 10 family households with kids is loaded with a bunch of kids outside playing? LOL think again. I haven't seen kids EVER go outside and play but on rare occasions and I've lived here for 6 years.
It is considered a "weird" thing in today's age to go outside and see kids playing. I think the TV is a bigger blame to this than we would like to admit, there is so much propaganda on there that tells them to just sit in their house all day and absorb the screen. Fear, fear fear what they preach.
Check out that I.D. Channel, and look at the names of their programs; Nightmare Next Door, Who the Bleep Did I Marry, I Married a Mobster, etc etc. The names of these shows basically translate to "Don't ever trust anyone".
This is what is wrong with society today. We don't know each other. When I first moved here 6 years ago, no one came and greeted me or anything. it took the people next door to me 4 years to finally trust me enough to say hello to me. This is the total opposite of how things were before mass media and TV raised people. Instead of working together and building a strong strength of community, we are pushed with the individual being the center of attention. People are far more selfish today than they ever have been, and the TV promotes this with the fear and the whole "it's all about me" personality they romance with on those reality shows.
It is considered a "weird" thing in today's age to go outside and see kids playing. I think the TV is a bigger blame to this than we would like to admit, there is so much propaganda on there that tells them to just sit in their house all day and absorb the screen. Fear, fear fear what they preach.
Check out that I.D. Channel, and look at the names of their programs; Nightmare Next Door, Who the Bleep Did I Marry, I Married a Mobster, etc etc. The names of these shows basically translate to "Don't ever trust anyone".
This is what is wrong with society today. We don't know each other. When I first moved here 6 years ago, no one came and greeted me or anything. it took the people next door to me 4 years to finally trust me enough to say hello to me. This is the total opposite of how things were before mass media and TV raised people. Instead of working together and building a strong strength of community, we are pushed with the individual being the center of attention. People are far more selfish today than they ever have been, and the TV promotes this with the fear and the whole "it's all about me" personality they romance with on those reality shows.
Re: Real Life
Yes, we may be the last generation who know what it is like to play outdoors as children. Jerry Mander has had some interesting things to say about the effect on people and society when people do not interact with the real world but just through mediated experiences such as screens and how that has a negative impact on how people treat the environment.
Re: Real Life
This is also the bread and butter of creating a society of narcissistic psychopaths.
I lived with a psychopath and was raised by one, and most of the programs on TV today are a reflection of that. Specifically reality TV. On those shows, everything is about the specific person. The shows can be summed up like this; a bunch of narcissists going out and spending money, then talking about themselves on camera.
If you're sheltered most of your life and use the TV and the knowledge you gained from watching it, you are not going to go very far in the real world, i totally agree. The stereotypes of Muslims, African Americans, and other minorities in Hollywood productions is something I can't get out of my head. So many people believe what they see in those movies and think these are bad people without ever meeting them. With news media, when it's a black crime, they try to make it out as if the entire race does the bad stuff. When it's white crime, it's an individual thing. If you ever watch TV again, pay attention to how this works on the news channels, it will really wake you up. I read statistics, and that's how I know they lie. 90% of the time they show blacks or latinos on the news, it is in a negative spotlight, but that's not what the crime statistics say. So who do I believe, the fool tube, or the stats?
I lived with a psychopath and was raised by one, and most of the programs on TV today are a reflection of that. Specifically reality TV. On those shows, everything is about the specific person. The shows can be summed up like this; a bunch of narcissists going out and spending money, then talking about themselves on camera.
If you're sheltered most of your life and use the TV and the knowledge you gained from watching it, you are not going to go very far in the real world, i totally agree. The stereotypes of Muslims, African Americans, and other minorities in Hollywood productions is something I can't get out of my head. So many people believe what they see in those movies and think these are bad people without ever meeting them. With news media, when it's a black crime, they try to make it out as if the entire race does the bad stuff. When it's white crime, it's an individual thing. If you ever watch TV again, pay attention to how this works on the news channels, it will really wake you up. I read statistics, and that's how I know they lie. 90% of the time they show blacks or latinos on the news, it is in a negative spotlight, but that's not what the crime statistics say. So who do I believe, the fool tube, or the stats?
Re: Real Life
Yes, I also read some interesting articles on a website; http://abagond.wordpress.com that covers a lot of what you have been writing about.