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In the past, I have blogged of my dislike of reality television and how it prompted me to cancel my cable years ago. There were a few programs that I liked and missed, but reading this article made me realize that things have gotten beyond hope.
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PBS was once the bastion of good broadcasting. A person could count on it for having quality shows. It was the sort of stuff you knew you should watch; it was good for your brain.
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Evidentally, North Americans aren't as swift as their European counterparts. A mini series which was well received in England and which was highly anticipated by many, has been gutted. In order to make it palatable for the simple minded, the show has been cut by two whole hours. There's no way anything can be cut by that amount and not lose its heart.
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This speaks to a fundamental problem with our society. In Europe, people like to linger and savour life. When they go out for dinner, it takes hours. The French will understand the intricate smell and bouquet of the wine. The conversation, the bread and the entire feast is to be experienced. Fast food is gauche. Over here, it's a fact of life and what people live for. In fact, many people don't know how to eat properly or how to handle a fork and knife. So too are we with our literature and film. People need it spelled out for them---they have to be hit over the head with a plot line to follow it. I'm astounded by how stupid people are when I read the comments on Youtube. They just don't get it. They absolutely cannot follow story development. They'll get bored unless something blows up every five minutes at least.
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The decline into what I call "Movies for Morons" is bound to get worse with the popularity of 3-D. It's not like anybody is going to greenlight deeply intellectual films that are heavy on character and plot. No---the focus will be on constant noise and motion.
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I am very disappointed in PBS. I hope they manage to avoid sinking into the reality show morass.
it is so sad that people who enjoy deeper, more subtle entertainment are getting ripped off in favour of more and more "CSI" or "24" types of programming. Furthermore, the ads alone on TV make me want to cancel my cable. Gawd they are off-putting. More than that.. they are horrible.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I noticed while in France - both recently and in 2008, is that they don't seem to go in big for the violent films that Americans do. I didn't see ads for the top-grossing hideous blood filled, explosion-rife spectacles as I do in Canada. I saw lots of posters for dramas & comedies instead. That made me happy.
Having said all of that I am 100% addicted to 'Survivor'. I can't lie. Other reality programming is so awful, though. The Bachelor?? Big Brother??? Are you KIDDING? worst. shows. ever.
A great film that you may or may not have seen is called "The Magdalene Sisters" - it's Irish. What a phenomenal film. At least they are still making quality movies somewhere on earth.
I had not heard of that show, so I'll have to check it out. I love Irish humour and music.
ReplyDeleteThe Magdalene Sisters is a great film but what a downer. Its all about how the Catholic Church wronged Irish women by forcing them into abusive convents for the most inane things like being too attractive.
ReplyDeleteAlso funny you should mention PBS and reality shows because in the 70's they were the first to do a "docu" show which was more reality than anything called American Family (at least I think that was the title.
I remember reading about that in the book on Edie Sedgwick. I think the guy was a friend of hers called Lance Loud.
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