Stupid tv shows a mirror of a culture?

reply to post by Novaroc


That has to be made up. I live near a Hudderite Colony, sort of the same, and they would never allow their kids that kind of exposure. They don't need the money. They don't live like us and most are fairly self-sufficient. I also know many Mennonite families and same thing. They keep their kids under very strict supervision.

I guess it could be real, but I deal these kinds of people and live near them and I don't buy it.

reply to post by beezzer

Wouldn't you agree that current popular shows are a reflection of the society that its played to?

If this isn't the most perfect and recent example of what you said I don't know what is....



I could go on for days about the death of our brains in society in the past 50 years or so.
Are these shows a reflection of our current society, or are they a major influence? The chicken or the egg.

British television is as bad as it is anwhere else, sure you may have found something you think is ok, but have you seen the rest of it?
I threw my tv out years ago because I couldnt stand to watch it, it just made me angry. I occasionaly see it when I visit people and I'm utterly gobsmacked, I fail to understand why they watch the utter garbage that is being pumped out.
I suggest all parents here on ats that live in the uk take a very close look at the programs aimed at the very young!!

I think it is a reflection and it influences, When I see the teen girls running around half naked and the little 12 year old white boys emulating the black gangster society they see on tv, I know they have to be influenced. There are 800 people in my town, mostly religious old people so it has to be tv.

I think it was 2007 when there was a screen writer's strike. A lot of shows were cancelled and it's been all reality tv from there. I think the tv execs found a way to make a killing. No actors, no writers.

Agreed.


Though...

The realm of Sci Fi continues to produce high quality original works, in my humble opinion...






SS

Originally posted by Openeye
Well I wouldn't expect anything that MTV puts out to be gold, anything they create comes closer to the quality of coal.

I disagree. Coal has value.

----------------------------

I don't think TV shows mirror culture anymore than Paris Hilton represents the CEO of a hotel chain. I think it's as simple as appealing to the lowest common denominator. Think about it, if you're going to try to use a talking gecko to sell insurance, would you pitch your product to someone that watches Sherlock or someone that watches Jersey Shore?

I confess, whenever I'm feeling tired and depressed, there's nothing like an episode of Jerry Springer to make me feel like a genius that really has his life together. It's a great ego booster. But I feel like I lose IQ points just hearing the name "Snooki."

BTW, everyone knows that her baby is due Dec. 21, right? The Mayans were right, disaster is approaching for the human race.

It seems to be by design as that's what is making all the Execs their money..

They are creating the sub-cultures that pay the most.

TV shows about Jocks who love football will attract all those jocks who will eventually be the ones to fill the nosebleed seats at the football games.

Could be a conspiracy of types between different economies.

Thanks to southpark i laughed at "honey booboo" and then my soul was crushed when i realized it is a real show.

So i totally agree with you about rewarding and advertising some truly terrible versions of stupid people, to stupid people who watch it.

more shows like house please tv makers! Leave the reality, to reality and not negative entertainment business.

reply to post by Biigs

Thanks to southpark i laughed at "honey booboo" and then my soul was crushed when i realized it is a real show.

Ditto. Southpark was my 1st introduction to Honey boo boo, I also felt a sadness & horror.



Then I had to see an episode for myself on YT, and for the 1st time I don't think Southpark was exaggerating for laughs. Jersey Shore is actually an intellectual TV drama in comparison.

reply to post by beezzer


Let me tackle the questions one at a time...


Are we going to continue to be bombarded with shows that highlight the stupidity of a culture?
Yup, it would appear so.

Is this the sort of tripe that we can continue to expect?
If recent trends continue, then yes - I think it is.

Or can we push to have shows that reflect good writing and great acting. Sure - we can push all we want. But, they are going to (largely) put out shows that they think will attract the most viewers, advertisers and thus $.

To expand a little...
Even many of the "educational" channels are going to reality based shows (History, Discovery, Animal Planet, Nat Geo). This is happening much to my chagrin. But its happening for two main reasons. One people watch them. Better still - targeted segments of people watch them. Which makes for the second reason, its easy to sell ads for them.

I like Sherlock, as well as other British shows.

Highly recommend

Life on mars series one and two, ashes to ashes (spin off for life on mars) way better than US version.

Being Human, again way better than the American version.

And of course Doctor Who.

There are some good series, just not that many.

Boardwalk Empire
Spartacus
Person of Interest
Game of Thrones
Hell on Wheels
Legend of the Seeker

Are a handful. Unfortunately there's also a ton of utter garbage on tv, which I avoid completely.

reply to post by Frogs


I'm glad you brought up the learning channels. I used to love TLC and Discovery. Then suddenly they were replaced without a name change. Wedding shows, baby shows and all the rest seem to be about buying a house. Niche marketing I guess? I think that's it. It's not entertainment or education anymore, it's just marketing.

We should all shoot our TV's. They are a constant flow of mind control garbage.

Originally posted by beezzer

Originally posted by Hefficide

We had House! And we have Game of Thrones....

Wait... These all rely heavily upon British actors....

Oh, crap.

Wouldn't you agree that current popular shows are a reflection of the society that its played to?

Of course our tv shows reflect our culture. Because those shows wouldn't exist if people didn't watch them. The fact they are popular shows how stupid most people are. What people like to watch reflects their personality. Some of the shows these days are so mind numbingly ridiculous I feel ashamed to be associated with the same culture of people who create and watch this crap. But it's their right to watch what ever they want and there's nothing we can do about it.

reply to post by beezzer

Originally posted by beezzer

Originally posted by Hefficide

We had House! And we have Game of Thrones....

Wait... These all rely heavily upon British actors....

Oh, crap.

Wouldn't you agree that current popular shows are a reflection of the society that its played to?

Not at all. TV shows exist to generate revenue. The best way to accomplish this is to appeal to the widest base possible - the lowest common denominator.

I would argue that TV is not actually mirroring reality, but the opposite. Kids grow up watching the lowest common denominator and thinking it to be real - thus they are influenced. Add roughly 70-ish years to this cycle, and Viola' - freaking Snookie.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide

I would argue that TV is not actually mirroring reality, but the opposite. Kids grow up watching the lowest common denominator and thinking it to be real

That's not quite true, because you can't just make a stupid show and expect it to be watched. It will only get good enough ratings to stay on the air if people actually enjoy watching it, and therefore the stupid shows which remain on the air for any substantial amount of time are in fact a reflection of the mass mentality. Demand is always met with supply. People want to have these types of shows and that demand will be met by the people who make these shows.

EDIT: but yes there probably is a sort of chain reaction going on here. The more stupid shows we watch, the dumber we get and the more we demand stupider and stupider shows. It's like a spiral of stupidity. A slow dumbing down through entertainment. But the process is only fueled by our viewing of those shows.

Tell you vision--- electronically 'programming' the citizens for decades and devolving in content gradually towards this modern society's total erosion of morals and values.

It is however all symbiotic, as more of the chemically, technologically and mis-educated 'dumbed down' citizenry gravitate to and endorse this cycle of such 'base' level programming, the more they will receive as 'reward' in their endorsement.

The zombie channel will be up and running soon enough...and there will be many willing 'subscribers' to that core network.

I should expand a bit, which might explain my own tv viewing opinions. In our house, we watch very little current tv shows. (The Walking Dead being one of the exceptions)

Mostly, we wait until a quality show comes out on DVD at then we can watch at our leisure. No commercials, no times planned for a specific night. Sure, we're behind the "culture curve" on much, but tv is a tool that can be used/misused at ones own discretion.

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. It's refreshing to see so many opinions and that it is civil as well.

reply to post by beezzer


unfortunatly - we brits too have utterly banal TV

geordie shore

wikki article

apparently a rip off of an american " idea "