I have a long-standing love-hate relationship with television. I'm often mesmerized by and interested in what I watch on TV, yet I also find myself mesmerized even when the content borders on boring.
This division strikes me as odd; I can understand being drawn in to content that I find interesting, but why do I have the same reaction to material that I really couldn't care less about? What is it that makes television so gripping?
These questions led me to several books written on the effects and effectiveness of television, but none have proven to be more provocative than Jerry Mander's "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television."
As a former part-owner of a national ad agency in the 1960s, Mander possesses firsthand knowledge of the advertising industry's power. In essence, his business was built on television's ability to convey feelings of desire and need to large numbers of people simultaneously.
After developing a growing unease with his profession, Mander set up the nation's first nonprofit ad agency. His plan was to take the technical skills he had learned from selling vehicles and redirect his energies toward social and environmental causes.
His plan didn't work.
Or at least, it didn't work in the long run. Mander came to realize that television, by dint of its technological limitations, could only convey the highlights of any given subject.
As a rule, subtlety and nuance is drowned out by the need for stark, clearly defined positions that can be communicated in a matter of seconds. In this manner, violence makes for better television than pacifism, conflict makes better television than agreement and cooperation, death makes better television than life, etc.
Realizing that television was not effectively broadcasting his desired message, Mander took several years of leave from his life as an ad man to investigate why. The result is "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television."
Mander presents his arguments clearly, so give the book a try for yourself.
To get a copy of Mander's book, either log on to www.spl.org or call the Green Lake branch (684-7547).
Mark Pond is a librarian at the Green Lake branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Drive N. He can be reached via e-mail at needitor@nwlink.com.
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