A total departure from previous writing about television, this book is the first ever to advocate that the medium is not reformable. Its problems are inherent in the technology itself and are so dangerous — to personal health and sanity, to the environment, and to democratic processes — that TV ought to be eliminated forever.

Weaving personal experiences through meticulous research, the author ranges widely over aspects of television that have rarely been examined and never before joined together, allowing an entirely new, frightening image to emerge. The idea that all technologies are “neutral,” benign instruments that can be used well or badly, is thrown open to profound doubt. Speaking of TV reform is, in the words of the author, “as absurd as speaking of the reform of a technology such as guns.”

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Thanks, David

Have a nice weekend, people, and remember to switch off your televisions and keep your mind awake!

Media madness reigns supreme in screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky’s scathing satire about the uses and abuses of network television. But while Chayefsky’s and director Sidney Lumet’s take on television may seem quaint in the age of “reality TV” and Jerry Springer’s talk-show fisticuffs, it’s every bit as potent now as it was when the film was released in 1976. And because Chayefsky was one of the greatest of all dramatists, his Oscar-winning script about the ratings frenzy at the cost of cultural integrity is a showcase for powerhouse acting by Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (who each won Oscars), and Oscar nominee William Holden in one of his finest roles. Finch plays a veteran network anchorman who’s been fired because of low ratings. His character’s response is to announce he’ll kill himself on live television two weeks hence. What follows, along with skyrocketing ratings, is the anchorman’s descent into insanity, during which he fervently rages against the medium that made him a celebrity. Dunaway plays the frigid, ratings-obsessed producer who pursues success with cold-blooded zeal; Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis. Through it all, Chayefsky (via Finch) urges the viewer to repeat the now-famous mantra “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” to reclaim our humanity from the medium that threatens to steal it away.

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If you can manage to excuse the funny looking guy wearing a balaclava and shades in the videos featured in this post, ‘TheAntiTerrorist’ (as he likes to call himself) offers up some interesting and alternative observations that provokes us to rethink everything we have been led to believe by those in power.

‘TheAntiTerrorist’ especially encourages us to be mindful of the seemingly mind control tool called “The Television” – something which he believes is used by “Big Brother” to imprison and manipulate our minds.

So the question we should now all ask ourselves is: “Is it called ‘television programming’ for a reason?”

Conspiracy theory?  Perhaps.  But try not to automatically dismiss his views, because again, I implore you to open your mind, to do your own research, and see for yourself the psychological effects that watching TV does to your own mind and your family members.

Pay particular attention to what ‘TheAntiTerrorist’ says about the negative effects of TV on the brain activity of a child.  I myself have observed these addictive effects on my little boy, although I’m not too certain that the television has everything to do with his hyper behavior at times.  Maybe he’s just a naturally active lad.

In any case, I think that might spell the end of my boy’s Cbeebies viewing for a while – although admittedly, I would probably be the one to miss it more than he will.

Now watch the following videos “TheAntiTerrorist on The Devil’s Eye”:

Part 1:

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Do you park yourself in front of the TV for hours on end when feeling bored?

Do you get withdrawal symptoms if you dare to miss an episode of Pop Idol or your favourite soap?

Do you watch TV even when on an exotic holiday in the Caribbean?

If you can answer yes to any of the above questions then it’s time for you to turn off the TV, stop being entertained (euphemism for being ‘distracted’) and seriously think about what constructive things you could do with your time.

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of watching the odd soap and sports programs (which indeed program the brain into becoming lazy and addicted) to fill in the time, so why not get off the bad diet of junk TV and instead nourish the mind with the healthy food of self-knowledge.

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