Television

Television - a common medium by any name , for it is exceedingly rare to find someone who is "out " of the television discourse . Most people , one way or the other , watch television , and generally do not discount it as mere entertainment , but rather consider it a source of information , much akin to books and newss , and possibly even more reliable because of the fact that television is almost always more current than books or articles . Thus , television becomes a convenient and massive way to spread information - which , in turn , makes it a strategical object

for anyone wishing to influence people . I argue that there can never be such a thing as "just entertainment , and that television is always a medium of influence , whether that influence is conscious or unconscious on the part of those who use it to implant their thoughts . It does not matter what the initial aim of the program was - as long as the information is spread , it influences people , on many levels

There are two functions commonly disputed about for any medium of information , but for television especially - whether the medium creates a new reality , by the means of introducing new messages to it (the social scientific theory , or whether it rather reinforces the common reality , shared by many by expressing it , and changes only with the reality itself (the esthetic viewpoint . Newcombe and Hirsch (1983 take a middle road between a purely functional approach to any medium and between a purely esthethical approach to the same . They argue that television has become America 's national medium , enforcing what is called public thought . They see those who create television as rather bricoleurs in the anthropological sense . What television does is take information or images "outer , independent reality gives it , and rearranges them . It is thus impossible to create wholly new meanings , as they will always have a genealogy which will be influential towards the meaning of the new texts , but on the other hand it is always possible to imbue the old symbols with a different , vital issue . Indeed , television most often makes use of very common stereotypes - making it a real discovery that the responses to this medium are , in fact , so varied . It is as if every subtle nuance mattered - as if it elicited responces not only from the majority , as many researchers who look for "dominant points state , but from the minority , as well

And , in fact , that 's what Newcombe and Hirsch argue as the main mode of existence for the television discourse - multiplicity and variety . Any producer must tread the fine line between making his product recognizable enough to be popular and novel enough to be interesting . In a complex culture only a very rich text can attract a mass audience - in fact , one that has the possibility for multiple interpretations . This is exactly the main characteristic of television for Newcombe and Hirsch its richness , interactivity , and a certain degree of freedom makes it an ideal cultural forum . The interpretations of television...