American television really says it all. Last night there was a two hour documentary on the lost books of Nostradamus. The “experts” speaking on the show were various psychics, “metaphysicians”, and members of the Nostradamus society. There was also another show on the Shroud of Turin. The night before there was a two hour documentary on the apocalypse as described by Revelations, where various Christian fundamentalists carefully explained how we are living in the End Times(tm), ignoring any historiographic readings of this text. Lodged in there was Psychic Detectives, Animal Psychics, haunted houses, and Ghost Hunters. Then there was a show on UFO’s. Then, of course, there is the endless parade of shows on crime and new weapons. Don’t forget the obligatory show on the Bimini Road and the lost city of Atlantis. For those of us who don’t like “educational television”, there is a whole host of “reality television” shows. I can’t express how depressing I find this.
I can’t go on. I must go on.
October 30, 2007 at 5:06 am
sorry … but it is TV… no matter what country you are in it is going to be this way… ???
October 30, 2007 at 5:12 am
… of course, though, we should critique TV, still, or engage it, but I have found it best to avoid it when I can (especially at home–no cable/TV) and being freshly amused when others introduce me to it (of course I see shows that are released on DVD, but then that is disseminated on my time, my choosing… lets admit it, part of TV’s tyranny is hooking people to come up to the glass teat at a certain time… bread/circuses)
October 30, 2007 at 5:17 am
Thivai, now I’m even more depressed! :)
October 30, 2007 at 10:48 am
dr sinthome parody is a great antidote to this kind of horror; i highly recommend the british series ”french and saunders” (a series of tv and halliwud movie parodies) in this regard. this series comes from the punk tradition, and is rarely sharp / psychoanalytically emancipated for a show in that category.
October 31, 2007 at 3:51 am
no biggie . . . but the actual quote from Becket is
“I can’t go on. I’ll go on”
a subtle but “decisive” difference.
October 31, 2007 at 4:25 am
I was fortunate enough to have a sinus infection as the “lost book of Nostradamus” came on the History Channel. My girlfriend, not stricken as I was, informed me the next day of the obvious: it is better to have a sinus infection, and fall asleep yet to be awaken by terrible night-sweats as your body burns off the infection, than watch bogus-history. She was a History major at Reed College, so I take her word very seriously.