After the presidential election of 1960 (those were the first televised debates. Kennedy vs. Nixon), the TV moguls, among others, realized the power that their chosen medium contained. The previously unavailable power to sway mass opinion through simple usage of lighting techniques, makeup, and camera angles. Another widely practiced technique in the industry is that of repeated redundancy. By pounding a subject - factual or non-factual - into our brain relentlessly, popular opinion can be shifted toward the desired goals. Now, that these infernal devices outnumber humans in the US, the practices of the manipulators become even more poignant. Initially, this power was used by the first generation of TV producers and moguls for capitalistic goals, which in retrospect, did very little damage to society in general. Once the next generation (the baby boomers) entered the fray and started to use the airwaves to induce societal upheaval, and took the political applications to a new level, the rot became apparent. Observe for example, the footage of the Clinton/Bush debates of 1991 - 1992. Some of the same techniques that lost the election for Nixon in 1960 were applied to the elder Bush. He was lit from below with the result being a haggard, drawn out appearance casting his eyes in deep shadows. Conversely, Clinton was graced with soft even lighting with a strong backlight, giving an almost halo-like appearance to his not-yet grey (but light colored) hair. The Obama campaign machine had the media in the tank anyway, but were also masters of the subtlety of these forms of manipulation. This generation of baby boomers who now control the media know only to well the power of the idiot box as they were the first generation to be propped in front of the electronic babysitter. They certainly realized the tremendous potential for mass indoctrination to their leftist and socialistic ideals. Bear in mind that this does not only occurr in news programming. That would be too easy to resist. It takes place in ALL forms of programming from children's educational TV to cartoons to weekly sitcoms to cable-specific programming to prime time and even to late night talk shows. It's everywhere and we're all guilty of succumbing to the mind numbing effects of what has become the entertainment centerpiece of almost every home in America. Pulling the plug is the only solution...
As a caveat, it was also reported that there are more internet users in China than there are people in the US. I would say that it is equally as scary, except that with all the bans and restrictions that China has on the online experience, what we end up with is more people with less access to information. While I often claim that the internet is equally culpable in the process of dumbing We The People down, there is the opportunity for expanding one's knowledge base. After all, you're reading this. Aren't you? If only we could achieve the situation where the Chinese society is deteriorated as much as the west, by reaching the point where that population has more TV sets than they have people, then maybe they wouldn't be such a fearful bunch. Actually, that has always been my idea to defeat an enemy is to give them all free cable and free internet for a year or two and then send in the social rights activists....Oh that's another blog....
No comments:
Post a Comment