Okay, all, here is your assignment for Tuesday/tomorrow (November 12): Answer (in this thread) this question:
what is the single most significant effect television has had on your life? If you don't watch much TV now think back to days when you did. Or consider the ways TV affects you indirectly.
I would say the biggest effect that TV has had on my life is the fact that it puts me in states of nostalgia. I grew up watching shows like Arthur and Barney, but I also grew up during the Golden Age of kids television. Nickelodeon had Face on Nick Jr. and he is one of the most famous kids personalities ever on television. Then as I entered elementary school, Nick came out with shows Hey Arnold, Rocket Power, Rugrats, Catdog, and so many more that my generation says is way better than anything the kids are getting now. I love when a conversation comes up about these shows, it’s one of the only types of discussions where even a complete stranger will most likely side with you.
ReplyDeletesingle most... single most... hm...
ReplyDeletecarol burnette
lucy ricardo
denise huxtable
wonder woman
punky Brewster
sabrina duncan
jo polniaczek
pippi longstocking
i was glued to the tube as a kid.
at the time it got me into trouble for procrastinating and staying up too late while providing me a much needed outlet of escape into the world of dreams i wished to be.
in hindsight, perhaps as my nonverbal communications text pointed out, it helped me to be a more diverse adult who is better able to navigate diversity and conflict.
at the very least it provided me a myriad of women to look up too, some serious, some super-sureal, some subservient, some absurd.
nonetheless, all women of their own making, and their own power of self... at least as they appeared...
I've been watching television since I can remember. It definitely has helped shaped who I am. When I was younger I remember I used to quote commercials and repeats of television shows much to the dismay of my father, who would kindly ask me to stop talking while the show was on the air. For a long time the idea of being on a television show thrilled me and it's all I wanted. But, alas, getting to be on television is not very simple.
ReplyDeleteAs I've grown older, though, television has had an effect on me that I never thought possible. If it wasn't for my passion for television, I wouldn't have gotten my internship at MTV over the summer. The reason I got my internship wasn't based solely on my resume. It was because the staff at MTV knew how passionate I was about the shows I watched. I have over 50 videos on YouTube dedicated to Teen Wolf, one video having over 300,000 views. My best friend and I make raps together about the show and have been since the summer it came out. Because of this, we've been to the set, have developed close relationships with some of the cast members, and have ultimately kickstarted our careers because of it. I never in a million years thought that just by being a passionate fan of a television series that I would be rewarded in so many ways. Television has truly shaped my past, my present, and my future.
There have been a couple times where TV has had an impact on my life. I'm a pretty avid TV and film fan and I spend a lot of time watching things and deconstructing them in my mind. It's something I've always enjoyed. The most significant time that TV impacted me though would be discovering Gilmore Girls.
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember how I came across it or when exactly. But Gilmore Girls was on the WB on Tuesdays and my mom, sister, and I watched it religiously. It brought us together in a way that no other TV show had. As two daughters living with a single mother, we identified with Lorelai and Rory a lot. They became a beacon of hope in the beginning of my parents separation. If they could do it, so could we. We kept watching all the way to the end and still do as we own every single season on DVD. It was a comfort show for us. As well as an absolutely amazing show that will be watched until the end of time. At least until the end of my time. It comforted me when I first went away to college. I would watch episodes at night when I was lonely being away from home for the first time ever and feel like a piece of home was with me.
Ever since I was born like most people my age television has been a part of my life. When I was very young I had a hard time falling asleep so I would watch Cheers and Frasier with my dad while eating Cheerios. Television since then has acted as an escape from reality for me. For example if I have had a tough day and just need some space from my issues of the day I may watch "Friends" or a sill show to turn off my mind for a little while. Something about the flashing images and the ability to control what it is you are watching is a good feeling. The direct affects the television has on my life is that it provides me with a temporary escape from the issues of daily life. I mean this in a healthy way, not like I'm avoiding issues in my life.
ReplyDeleteTelevision shows come a dime a dozen. Growing up i never really found myself glued to the TV because i was an outdoor kind of kid. When I was fortunate to watch TV I found much of what life has to offer and teach us through the Cosby Show. It was a sitcom about a black middle class family that went through everyday problems that i was able to identify with. It taught me about Racism, Ethics, Growing Pains, Dealing with classmates and ETC. The Cosby Show allowed people to have ideal role models to look up to and compared to tv today it definetley played a much better role for students or kids to look up to.
ReplyDeleteI believe the most effect watching television has had on my life is believing stereotypes as truth. I've been watching television all my life and I have realized shows often portray the same kind of stereotypes. I've noticed that old people are always grumpy, teenagers are geeky or rebellious and blondes are stupid. These stereotypes have somewhat brainwashed me to believing these types of characters as truth for all people who resemble them. Since realizing this, I try not to believe that all people act as portrayed in television. I'm pretty sure judgements are constantly made about me based on my appearance so I do not want to pass that judgement along.
ReplyDeleteTV has opened my eyes to ideas that never crossed my mind. I feel that TV shows have made a weird, impossible thought turn into a normal habit or lifestyle. Like for example, American Horror Story Coven the thought of how weird it is, stitching guy parts, keeping a dead person seems weird at first. But later on, you get used to the idea and roll with the thought and tune in to see what happens in the next episodes. TV shows now have reached a new level of weirdness, with plot lines that you never thought could happen. And now as I continue with my regular life, I look around me and think "oh shit, what if it does actually happen." It sometimes effects the way I think about life or once in a while a random situation from a show comes into my head when I'm busy daydreaming.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the single most significant effect television has had on my life is the fact that it has led to my career choice. My dream job is to one day be an anchorwoman and this dream clearly would not have happened if I did not watch television growing up. For as long as I can remember I would point to the television screen when my parents were watching the news and say, “That will be me one day!.” My parents always told me that because of my bubbly personality and my loud yet professional speaking tone, that they see potential in this career choice. If it weren’t for television, I would not have this dream and I would not be in the major I am today. Because of this I also had an unbelievable internship at Fox News Channel this summer. I was put in charge of the 5am “Fox and Friends First” morning show numerous times where I was able to truly learn the ins and outs of live news. I also fulfilled my dream and read the sports news on national television in front of two million people on “Fox and Friends” with Steve Doocy. I also am the Station Manager of the television station here on campus, NPC TV. I also read the entertainment news every week as well. Overall, it is evident that television clearly has had a large effect on my life because without it I can’t imagine any other profession I could see myself going into.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch a lot of television now, but I remember being glued to the TV growing up. The early 90s could be the greatest time period in history for children's television programming. Nickelodeon was filled with great cartoons like Doug, Hey Arnold, and Ren & Stimpy to name a few. Then there was of course Power Rangers, which was I think the first ever "must see" show in my life. If you were able to stay home from school, you knew you had a solid 10 hours of programming to keep you entertained throughout the day, and you were actually captivated, which I feel is a difficult feeling to recapture nowadays. I used to LOVE tv. I would say that what I took away from that time in all honesty though, was a more developed vocabulary at a younger age. I remember watching these programs among others, (eventually nickelodeon faded into pro-wrestling, pro wrestling to sports, etc) and asking my parents the definition of certain words were. Teachers would be shocked in elementary/middle school when I would use a word I heard in the WWF (surprisingly not profanity), words like 'charismatic' or 'technician' or 'methodical.' Granted I might not have fully grasped the understanding of the context, but I think it definitely ripened my vocabulary at a young age.
ReplyDeleteI think that television has allowed me to connect with people that I normally would not and become closer to people that I care about the most. For example, in the beginning I thought that wrestling was stupid and when my best friend sent me links to youtube videos or encouraged me to watch it on television, I would simply ignore the requests. But now that I have gotten into it, I think that being able to share our passion for those wrestling characters and storylines on television has really deepened our friendship.
ReplyDeleteIn that regard, I believe that television brings people together in general. Most of my television-watching involved viewing either wrestling or cartoons. Since I was a child, I would watch cartoons (Spongebob, Pokemon, etc.) and I think being able to appreciate the sense of humor that those shows had to offer has also made me a humorous person. I don't claim to be a professional comedian by any means, but I do believe that cartoons have had an impact on both my sense of humor and how I portray that sense of humor as a means of socialization. When I was a kid I would mimic cartoon characters or repeat jokes from shows to get peoples' attention, and it made me feel cool (even if I totally wasn't). Television has helped me build my self-confidence in that sense and has given me a reason to take a chance at socializing with people.
One of the earliest questions people will ask each other upon meeting (at least in my experience) is "what kinds of shows do you watch?" I think answering that question gives the person an image as to who you are and what you're like as a person. A person who watches cartoons will probably be thought of as different from someone who solely watches the history channel. Often these have helped me decide who I will have more to talk about with and ultimately who I will become better acquainted with. So not only has television had an impact on the development of my own personality, but it helps me make friends who can appreciate the same genre I do and/or educate me about another genre that I might wind up enjoying.
Television has played a very significant role in my life, not only from an entertainment perspective but also towards my career. Growing up television was always a large part of my life. Everyday after school I would rush off the bus, into the house and turn on whatever cartoon was being broadcasted. But starting my career in television as a Production Assistant for reality and live programs has had the most impact on my life. As it has taught me so much about the media industry, working in a television structure, and what I should expect from my future career.
ReplyDeleteI have worked on productions for networks such as Spike TV, CBS, MTV, HGTV and more. Each came with a new learning experience but helped influence my perspective on television and how its produced. I found it very interesting to see how my perspective of reality television changed from a viewer to apart of the production process. It fascinated me how much effort and organization and teamwork it takes to put together a television show. Learning the ropes of television production was a huge part of me falling in love with television. It was like seeing the same world but from a whole new view. I managed to make tons of friends and build so many skills that I would need in my future career in television.
After working on so many shows for months at a time, I began to learn how certain things were done to create specific types of views for the audience. And what networks were looking for in the production of these shows. Overall my experience as a production assistant was rewarding in so many ways, but truly helped me decide what I wanted as a future career.
i can't believe i overlooked this, sorry.
ReplyDeletethe biggest effect TV has had on my life is that when i was a kid i used it as a way to make friends. well, i used TV shows as a shared interest to start friendships. i remember specifically being in recess one day and seeing two other kids playing with Digimon toys so i walked up to them and started talking about Digimon and it turns out we all really liked the show and a bunch of others stuff as well. instances like that happened a lot when i was younger, it still happens to a certain extent now as well, but i don't really watch TV on my television anymore. now it's all on my computer, mostly on Netflix binge watching shows that i never watched when i was younger.