In the last paragraph of Lynn Spigel’s “Installing
the Television Set,” Spigel quotes historian Carlo Ginzburg, who writes:
“Reality is opaque; but there are certain points—clues, signs—which allow us to
decipher it.” Why do you think Spigel closes her analysis of
post-war television’s role in American domestic spaces with this quote? How
does she describe her historical approach/methodology? What types of “traces”
of the past does she examine in this essay and how does she use them? Do you agree with her approach to history?
I believe the Spigel quotes Ginzberg in order to highlight the intervention of television, physically and figuratively, into domestic American society. Meaning that in her analysis, Spigel uses the television as a "sign" for decoding American history in the 1950s. The physical presence of television caused, according to Spigel, a sort of rearrangement of domestic life. Owning a tv promoted visibility and consumption but at the same time receivers were hidden in the home in order to maintain privacy. Thus the presence of television brings about a new code for homemaking; one that is about privacy as much as it is about visibility and voyeurism. This understanding in conjunction with homemaking magazines of the time help to illustrate the historical mindset of people from the 50s, thereby allowing us to "decipher reality." I find this to be an interesting and important approach to studying history. It is more than simply a rote analysis of fact, rather it allows for a deep understanding of the period which can then be extrapolated out to many facets of American society.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Spigel quotes Ginzberg in order to highlight the intervention of television, physically and figuratively, into domestic American society. Meaning that in her analysis, Spigel uses the television as a "sign" for decoding American history in the 1950s. The physical presence of television caused, according to Spigel, a sort of rearrangement of domestic life. Owning a tv promoted visibility and consumption but at the same time receivers were hidden in the home in order to maintain privacy. Thus the presence of television brings about a new code for homemaking; one that is about privacy as much as it is about visibility and voyeurism. This understanding in conjunction with homemaking magazines of the time help to illustrate the historical mindset of people from the 50s, thereby allowing us to "decipher reality." I find this to be an interesting and important approach to studying history. It is more than simply a rote analysis of fact, rather it allows for a deep understanding of the period which can then be extrapolated out to many facets of American society.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ginzburg says that “reality is opaque,” I believe he is referring to the omniscient reality that is the present. As people go about living their lives day to day, it is hard to make out the underlying meanings and the overall implications that particularly color an era. What is opaque is really our ability to see through the present timeline to the core truths that are going on around us. Only through examining a period with the advantages of looking back from the future can we pick up on these “hints” Ginzburg tells us helps us to understand the true meaning of a point in history. This fits with Spigel’s vision that at the time the TV was being installed in the American household, there was a lot of confusion. On one hand, TV was becoming an industry and a part of Americana all its own, but at the same time, Spigel tells us that being caught watching TV was an almost embarrassing situation for many Americans (Spigel 26). These polar views in which TV was regarded in America didn’t seem to make a lot of sense in that opaque present, but now as we (and Spigel) look back now, we can see through the clouds a little and glean insight into these hints that help us understand why this was occurring. I agree with Caroline that Spigel gives us not only our present view, but also these views from the past when she attempts to recount the history of installing the TV in American homes. I think this way of telling the story allows us to examine very closely this specific event, but at the same time, Spigel helps us to zoom out and view the bigger picture of why this was occurring, which is extremely important when analyzing history.
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