How was television figured as a “window on the
world” during the period of 1948-1955, according to Lynn Spigel? Do
you think television fulfills (or is portrayed as fulfilling) a similar role
today?
During the post-war years, television was much more than just a source of entertainment. As programming became more and more prominent, the coverage began to scale from local and national to global coverage. Programming could now take you from your living room to the fronts of the Korean War, it could take you from your armchair to a tropical island. Television then, as compared to today, was much more of an escapist mechanism. Instead of hearing the news, viewers could see live footage from all over the world. Today, television is seen almost solely for entertainment. The development of other media (the internet) has begun to take the wheel when it comes to giving insight into other parts of the world. This may have to do with the free-roaming platform that the internet is built on, in comparison to the showtimes that are common in TV.
Television, according to Spigel, was described as a “window” due to its ability to bring in another world from the outside into the homes of families. Spigel depicts television as the best expression of progress “concerning man’s ability to conquer and to domesticate space” (7). People were able to explore and go to different places without even moving. They would never have to leave their houses in order to see new countries or a variety of events taking place throughout the world. Television became a way to escape the place that people were currently stuck in. Furthermore, Spigel explains, “the dream of eradicating distances was a central trope of America’s early discourse on technology” (7). With new technology quickly developing, these dreams of overcoming space could finally be realized. I believe television does fulfill a similar role as a window in the world today. Without television, we would never be able to see live images from news broadcasts or important functions. Now, people can watch these events unfold as they are happening rather than wait the next day for the newspaper or create their own images while listening to the radio. The television can transport us anywhere in the world with the touch of a button and connect us in new, exciting ways.
The “window on the world” was more than just a screen, but it was a way we adapted our living style in the living room. This “window” brought the world in the home but making it more luxurious by saying the viewer at the home had a front row seat. The T.V was how people explored other regions and learned what was going on while seeing it with their own eyes. Whether it was inside the home of a sitcom family or the conditions of war across the globe the T.V was literally a window showing viewers what things were like outside of their living rooms. Today, I feel that T.V has gone to so many places around the globe and it still tries to bring us to places we’ve never thought existed. I think about all the reality T.V shows that go to exotic locations and every season is somewhere different. But in a way it doesn’t have much of the same effect as it did when T.V was first introduced because there are so many other means and even more convenient ways of “showing the world to us” through a screen. With online behind the scenes you can get more in depth information rather than the limited screen time T.V shows can get.
According to Spigel, television was figured as a “window on the world” during the period of 1948-1955 because unlike radio—which had previously found its way into hundreds of thousands of American homes—television quite literally brought “the world to people’s doorsteps” (Spigel 7). All while sitting in comfort at home, American families could watch live variety shows from New York, sit-coms set in Hollywood, and no doubt many other programs featuring far off cities and sights. Television offered a live viewing experience, something that up until 1948 was not entirely possible. The addition of picture gave early audiences a sense of being there—something that early advertisements would stress. Ads promising that television would create a “new dimension of realism” that would “bring action right into the living room” (Spigel 15) helped establish television as the medium that would give its viewers unprecedented viewing capabilities.
Even today, some fifty years later, I would still argue that television functions similarly, offering its audience a “perfect view” (Spigel 23) of far-off places and events. For example, much of the Travel Channel’s programming focuses on displaying beautiful white sand beaches, extravagant cruise ships, and elegant (and incredibly expensive) resorts and hotels. While I’m sure some watch the Travel Channel to help in the planning of their next vacation, most simply watch for the escapism, or to feel like they are traveling “without even the expenditure of movement…[and] money” (Spigel 7). The shear amount of sports programs, also, I think supports this, as nowadays any one can view nearly any sporting event—even those taking place internationally—without having to travel far distances or buy a physical ticket to the event.
I do feel that in comparison to the 1950s, today, with the help of the Internet, the world has become a much more globalized, and “small” place. While the sights of television today may not be as impressive or awe-inspiring as they were fifty years ago, I still do believe that they offer the audience a unique experience minus the inconvenience of travel.
The period between 1948-1955 was a time when television was still fairly new. The charm and magic of this new medium was in full swing and people cherished the ability to be visually entertained in their own homes. The cinema had often been an escape for common middle class women who filled the conventional "house wife" role. These trips to the movies would raise their spirits, and allow them to enter an imaginary world that was far different than their repetitive lifestyle. Therefore, the new age of television implemented this escape mechanism in the home setting. Not only was this a stress reliever for wives, but also a transporter on a much larger scale.
People would watch television and see things beyond their own current reality, without any movement. The TV acted as a "window to the world" by presenting images and people from different places, doing different things to a stationary viewer in their own home. The impressive part was that they could simply sit down and be transported to another place. This "window" was there to provide entertainment and a glimpse at another lifestyle which proved to amaze not only housewives looking for an escape, but anyone looking for a little change.
For one who is residing indoors, a window can provide a medium into the everyday events which occur just outside that window. Therefore, when a television set serves as a “window on the world”, it is providing a medium into the everyday events which occur throughout the world from the comfort inside one’s own home. Many people were buying a television set for the first time during the period of 1948-55, so it was the first time that the majority of the public were able to witness live events occurring at great distances from their home. In many ways television today still serves as a “window on the world”; however, it is only one of many windows to which the public now has access. Computers, smart phones, and tablets have opened whole new realms in which to gain access to global events. The internet is so vast in resources that one can view thousands of different opinions on just one subject. And yet, television remains a constant participant in our daily lives, providing news on current events, sports, and entertainment. Even today, television is still the first place many people turn towards for information despite the easy accessibility to more modern providers of information that are now available.
In the early 1950s, suburban life escalated. The American home was something new, as was the television. In Thomas H. Hutchinson’s book, Here is Television, Your Window on the World, it was revealed that “’the outside world [could] be brought into the home’” through television (Spigel 7). Television brought local and world news, geographic visuals, entertainment, and new ideas to the public’s very own living room. Today, I think television fulfills the same role today in similar ways. I, personally, experience the world brought to me through television. I have seen historical monuments, foreign landscapes, cultural practices, rare species, and numerous entertainment acts through the eyes of my very own television screen. At the same time, I think television is used to skew the public’s perception of the world. Certain television programs filter and frame their information to force a certain viewpoint on viewers. For example, both a liberal and conservative news channel may cover the same story. Still, if one person watches the story covered by the liberal station and another watches the coverage from the conservative channel, each may have different views on the story. Writers, producers and reporters can frame a story to make it sound the way they want their viewers to see it as. Entertainment shows do this as well. An episode’s plot could subliminally plant a message in a viewer’s mind. Today, television serves both as a window into the world and a filter for misinformation.
During the period of 1948-1955, television played a prominent role in the lives of American society- not just for the entertainment that it promised, more on the ability to see the world in a new perspective. If a family owned a television set, they were able to view the world from the comfort of their living rooms. Cultures, social norms, and information became easily accessible due to the high demand and easy forms of television. As Spigel notes in her response to television, it is figured as a "window on the world" meaning that television fulfills our dreams, goals, and desires on a small platform that everyone can join in around.
Television also became the center of attention in households during this era. As production increased, television sets were being purchased and set in popular family areas of a home. This place is where everyone would gather and share a common medium that pleased each viewer. Television catered to its audience by selecting certain time slots and broadcasting shows to appeal to the audience. During the morning, soap operas would play because naturally women were the targeted audience, the towards prime time (nightly shows) would air to cater to the men of the households. Overall television provided homes with a window perspective into their communities and other places around the world.
The period of 1948-1955 marked the ascent of television as a mainstream media. Much like its predecessor, the radio, television served not only as a means of entertainment, but as a way to learn, explore, and catch up on current events. TV’s newly established role as a “window to the world” allowed it to educate people about different places and cultures. In a sense, calling television a “window to the world” is more than just a metaphor—looking into the glowing glass screen opened people up to a plethora of information that might not have been so readily available. So distinctly intriguing about television (as opposed to radio) was, in fact, the visual aspects. Though they might not have been much in the very beginnings of TV technology, they described so much more than words and sounds could ever do. Today, television’s role in American households seems to merely be a dim shadow of what it once was. While television remains integral in many families and individuals, there are so many different mediums with which to experience it that the television itself is becoming closer to being obsolete. As many others have mentioned, we have so many different methods of interaction, entertainment, and education, that it’s nearly impossible to limit ourselves to just our TV sets. However, speaking personally, I use television as a distraction (if you will); a form of “escapism,” as Jon mentioned. When I want to take my mind off of stressful or confusing thoughts, I tune into some of my favorite shows. I don’t think that TV is used radically differently today than it has been since its inception. There are just so many more outlets available today—most notably, the internet. In terms of being a “window to the world,” I do think the “world wide web” has taken that title. There is definitely something to be said for the importance of television, though. I think it continues to persist as an informational/entertaining medium, perhaps just not as #1. Maybe #3.
In 1948-1955, one half of American homes had televisions. These served as windows on the world because according to Spiegel, they allowed viewers to see what they could not otherwise see in their everyday lives. Television was not only covering national stories, but also covered global stories, bringing awareness to small towns that were previously isolated from events in far away parts of the nation, let alone other parts of the globe. TV also served as advertisement. The sitcoms that aired at this time featured reflections of the typical, middle-class American family, with a working father and homemaker mother. The mothers were usually featured using various cleaning products that served as a product placement. The shows were a reflection of the world, and a reflection of the desired American dream. Television does take a similar role today. It is still a widely used advertising mechanism, but it is also an escape, and often a reflection of the world we live in. Many dramas we watch for entertainment today, feature similar problems that we face in our every day lives. It is still a fantastical escape as we engage with characters as if we know them relate our own lives to these fictional beings.
As the country moved into the post war years the television was about more than just entertainment. Many people began to make the television the central point of their house and they would focus their furniture on the television. People were given ways to arrange the home as a space of exhibition and ways to maximize visual pleasure in TV both as a household object and as an entertainment form. They saw the image of the TV as a “global village" where TV sets were usually placed in rooms with panoramic window views or installed next to globes and colorful maps. Also, advertisers for TV used the illusion of the outside world as part of their promotional strategy. The fact that the viewers were able to experience something new while watching TV was what enticed them to have the television in their home. I do not think television plays the same role today because of the many TV shows we have and how people actually travel to these far away places rather than dreaming of them through a TV set. However, the television does allow us to see images and videos of events occurring all around the world which can allow us to travel somewhere far away.
Television, in a way, literally meant “window on the world.” During the postwar time period from 1948-1955, the number of television sets drastically increased from a mere 13% from 1939 to almost every single household. It was so revolutionary that it was typical to see in any living room. It completely overtook the role radios had onto the people. “Television was figured as the ultimate expression of progress in utopian statements concerning man’s ability to conquer and to domesticate space.” (Page 7) Somewhere as simple as the living room can people look through the television “window” screen and observe many different television programs, which represents the world. Regardless of the programs whether they be about the news, sports, or even soap operas, they still represent what is made up of the current world. “It’s like a form of ‘going places’ without even the expenditure of movement, It is bringing the world to people’s doorsteps.” (Page 7) Whatever happens in the world, all people have to do to find out is by turning on the television. Television fulfills a diminished role in today’s times. It is still used as viewing the world but really, there are now other means of doing that. For instance, one can use computers and the Internet to get exactly everything one can get on television. Times are changing and I believe that one day, television will lose its role, just like the radio, and be taken over by some up and coming new technology.
Back during the postwar years, television was considered a window on the world because the world wasn't nearly as connected as it is today. There was no social media, no internet, no 24/7 television. Television itself was a new landscape for the general public, and it allowed them to leave their living room and actually see what else was happening around the world. It was a better source for news or for other informational programs about things happening outside of the home. Today, television is much more known for its entertainment value. The news and images from around the world can just be found online now, and therefore the television has taken on the role of entertaining people. News programs are still important, of course, and people can still see other parts of the world without ever leaving their home, but because television isn't such a brand new invention it has plenty of other identities tagged to it in the present day.
Spigel identifies the television set as having been situated into contemporary domestic architecture that "idealized...flowing, continuous spaces" (6). Here, the TV worked to maximize "'the extension of the perceived environment'" with little to no effort (7). Spigel mentions that this effect was promulgated not just by the images of other places appearing on screen but also by home magazines that pictured television sets installed near panoramic windows, globes, colorful maps, and/or scenic backgrounds. There also existed a travelogue motif in early family sitcoms, the sets of which additionally incorporated windows for audiences to get another glimpse of far-off places. Moreover, Spigel points out how televisions were often linked to actual windows. In an effort to reconcile the television set’s mechanical look with interior decor, furniture pieces were created to close off the set from view like curtains close off a window. Furthermore, televisions were perceived as having a surveillance ability, as having a two-way view just as windows do. Today, if television still offers a sense of linkage or connection to the outside world, I think that linkage is mostly eclipsed by the internet. It’s with the internet that people may connect with each other across large distances even about the television they’re watching.
According to Lynn Spigel, during the period of 1948-1955 television was a window to the world in the sense that it introduced people to new locations, both real and fantastical, that they might not have been able to otherwise access. It was the (more) economical way for people to travel the globe or see different celebrities, acts and performances that they could not afford to see (either for lack of finance or lack of time). It might have allowed an escape for housewives or an occasion for social gathering. Nowadays, in the so–called “information age”, television as a medium in and of itself is not portrayed as a window on the world the way the internet is. That said, I believe that there are television programs, specifically those that might be considered “low-brow” reality TV, that offer a new perspective, albeit a questionable one, on the world around us. Whereas in the 40’s and 50’s, television might have taken its viewers to physically far away or fictional places, reality TV shows such as “Real Housewives” or “Dance Moms” show very specific (though obviously exaggerated) views of societal microcosms. No, they may not be accurate or terribly enlightening, but they do arguably open our eyes to different types of people and ways of living that are far from our own, while, similarly to the early days of TV, offer the viewer an escape.
The post-war era sparked new thinking and an interest for learning about the global world. The television became the tool instrumental for such exploration and it quickly became an integral part of life for many suburban families in the United States. Individuals, particularly women, were curious about life outside their rural homes. As Spigel alludes to, the rise in popularity of the television was the perfect forum for this desired knowledge as people could now experience a totally new way of life without leaving their living room. Spigel explains the television as a “window on the world,” meaning there were endless possibilities of new lands, cultures and experiences available through a small screen. With this potential for knowledge so accessible to individuals, the television quickly became the “it” commodity among American families.
In my opinion, the television’s purpose has definitely changed. I would argue that the Internet has replaced the television as a “window on the world.” Any fact, date or video is accessible at the touch of a finger at anytime of the day. While the television is not obsolete in typical American family homes, its purpose is now for entertainment. Individuals now look to the television for relaxation and pleasure.
During the post-war years, television was much more than just a source of entertainment. As programming became more and more prominent, the coverage began to scale from local and national to global coverage. Programming could now take you from your living room to the fronts of the Korean War, it could take you from your armchair to a tropical island. Television then, as compared to today, was much more of an escapist mechanism. Instead of hearing the news, viewers could see live footage from all over the world. Today, television is seen almost solely for entertainment. The development of other media (the internet) has begun to take the wheel when it comes to giving insight into other parts of the world. This may have to do with the free-roaming platform that the internet is built on, in comparison to the showtimes that are common in TV.
ReplyDeleteTelevision, according to Spigel, was described as a “window” due to its ability to bring in another world from the outside into the homes of families. Spigel depicts television as the best expression of progress “concerning man’s ability to conquer and to domesticate space” (7). People were able to explore and go to different places without even moving. They would never have to leave their houses in order to see new countries or a variety of events taking place throughout the world. Television became a way to escape the place that people were currently stuck in. Furthermore, Spigel explains, “the dream of eradicating distances was a central trope of America’s early discourse on technology” (7). With new technology quickly developing, these dreams of overcoming space could finally be realized. I believe television does fulfill a similar role as a window in the world today. Without television, we would never be able to see live images from news broadcasts or important functions. Now, people can watch these events unfold as they are happening rather than wait the next day for the newspaper or create their own images while listening to the radio. The television can transport us anywhere in the world with the touch of a button and connect us in new, exciting ways.
ReplyDeleteThe “window on the world” was more than just a screen, but it was a way we adapted our living style in the living room. This “window” brought the world in the home but making it more luxurious by saying the viewer at the home had a front row seat. The T.V was how people explored other regions and learned what was going on while seeing it with their own eyes. Whether it was inside the home of a sitcom family or the conditions of war across the globe the T.V was literally a window showing viewers what things were like outside of their living rooms.
ReplyDeleteToday, I feel that T.V has gone to so many places around the globe and it still tries to bring us to places we’ve never thought existed. I think about all the reality T.V shows that go to exotic locations and every season is somewhere different. But in a way it doesn’t have much of the same effect as it did when T.V was first introduced because there are so many other means and even more convenient ways of “showing the world to us” through a screen. With online behind the scenes you can get more in depth information rather than the limited screen time T.V shows can get.
According to Spigel, television was figured as a “window on the world” during the period of 1948-1955 because unlike radio—which had previously found its way into hundreds of thousands of American homes—television quite literally brought “the world to people’s doorsteps” (Spigel 7). All while sitting in comfort at home, American families could watch live variety shows from New York, sit-coms set in Hollywood, and no doubt many other programs featuring far off cities and sights. Television offered a live viewing experience, something that up until 1948 was not entirely possible. The addition of picture gave early audiences a sense of being there—something that early advertisements would stress. Ads promising that television would create a “new dimension of realism” that would “bring action right into the living room” (Spigel 15) helped establish television as the medium that would give its viewers unprecedented viewing capabilities.
ReplyDeleteEven today, some fifty years later, I would still argue that television functions similarly, offering its audience a “perfect view” (Spigel 23) of far-off places and events. For example, much of the Travel Channel’s programming focuses on displaying beautiful white sand beaches, extravagant cruise ships, and elegant (and incredibly expensive) resorts and hotels. While I’m sure some watch the Travel Channel to help in the planning of their next vacation, most simply watch for the escapism, or to feel like they are traveling “without even the expenditure of movement…[and] money” (Spigel 7). The shear amount of sports programs, also, I think supports this, as nowadays any one can view nearly any sporting event—even those taking place internationally—without having to travel far distances or buy a physical ticket to the event.
I do feel that in comparison to the 1950s, today, with the help of the Internet, the world has become a much more globalized, and “small” place. While the sights of television today may not be as impressive or awe-inspiring as they were fifty years ago, I still do believe that they offer the audience a unique experience minus the inconvenience of travel.
The period between 1948-1955 was a time when television was still fairly new. The charm and magic of this new medium was in full swing and people cherished the ability to be visually entertained in their own homes. The cinema had often been an escape for common middle class women who filled the conventional "house wife" role. These trips to the movies would raise their spirits, and allow them to enter an imaginary world that was far different than their repetitive lifestyle. Therefore, the new age of television implemented this escape mechanism in the home setting. Not only was this a stress reliever for wives, but also a transporter on a much larger scale.
ReplyDeletePeople would watch television and see things beyond their own current reality, without any movement. The TV acted as a "window to the world" by presenting images and people from different places, doing different things to a stationary viewer in their own home. The impressive part was that they could simply sit down and be transported to another place. This "window" was there to provide entertainment and a glimpse at another lifestyle which proved to amaze not only housewives looking for an escape, but anyone looking for a little change.
For one who is residing indoors, a window can provide a medium into the everyday events which occur just outside that window. Therefore, when a television set serves as a “window on the world”, it is providing a medium into the everyday events which occur throughout the world from the comfort inside one’s own home. Many people were buying a television set for the first time during the period of 1948-55, so it was the first time that the majority of the public were able to witness live events occurring at great distances from their home.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways television today still serves as a “window on the world”; however, it is only one of many windows to which the public now has access. Computers, smart phones, and tablets have opened whole new realms in which to gain access to global events. The internet is so vast in resources that one can view thousands of different opinions on just one subject. And yet, television remains a constant participant in our daily lives, providing news on current events, sports, and entertainment. Even today, television is still the first place many people turn towards for information despite the easy accessibility to more modern providers of information that are now available.
In the early 1950s, suburban life escalated. The American home was something new, as was the television. In Thomas H. Hutchinson’s book, Here is Television, Your Window on the World, it was revealed that “’the outside world [could] be brought into the home’” through television (Spigel 7). Television brought local and world news, geographic visuals, entertainment, and new ideas to the public’s very own living room. Today, I think television fulfills the same role today in similar ways. I, personally, experience the world brought to me through television. I have seen historical monuments, foreign landscapes, cultural practices, rare species, and numerous entertainment acts through the eyes of my very own television screen.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I think television is used to skew the public’s perception of the world. Certain television programs filter and frame their information to force a certain viewpoint on viewers. For example, both a liberal and conservative news channel may cover the same story. Still, if one person watches the story covered by the liberal station and another watches the coverage from the conservative channel, each may have different views on the story. Writers, producers and reporters can frame a story to make it sound the way they want their viewers to see it as. Entertainment shows do this as well. An episode’s plot could subliminally plant a message in a viewer’s mind. Today, television serves both as a window into the world and a filter for misinformation.
During the period of 1948-1955, television played a prominent role in the lives of American society- not just for the entertainment that it promised, more on the ability to see the world in a new perspective. If a family owned a television set, they were able to view the world from the comfort of their living rooms. Cultures, social norms, and information became easily accessible due to the high demand and easy forms of television. As Spigel notes in her response to television, it is figured as a "window on the world" meaning that television fulfills our dreams, goals, and desires on a small platform that everyone can join in around.
ReplyDeleteTelevision also became the center of attention in households during this era. As production increased, television sets were being purchased and set in popular family areas of a home. This place is where everyone would gather and share a common medium that pleased each viewer. Television catered to its audience by selecting certain time slots and broadcasting shows to appeal to the audience. During the morning, soap operas would play because naturally women were the targeted audience, the towards prime time (nightly shows) would air to cater to the men of the households. Overall television provided homes with a window perspective into their communities and other places around the world.
The period of 1948-1955 marked the ascent of television as a mainstream media. Much like its predecessor, the radio, television served not only as a means of entertainment, but as a way to learn, explore, and catch up on current events. TV’s newly established role as a “window to the world” allowed it to educate people about different places and cultures.
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, calling television a “window to the world” is more than just a metaphor—looking into the glowing glass screen opened people up to a plethora of information that might not have been so readily available. So distinctly intriguing about television (as opposed to radio) was, in fact, the visual aspects. Though they might not have been much in the very beginnings of TV technology, they described so much more than words and sounds could ever do.
Today, television’s role in American households seems to merely be a dim shadow of what it once was. While television remains integral in many families and individuals, there are so many different mediums with which to experience it that the television itself is becoming closer to being obsolete.
As many others have mentioned, we have so many different methods of interaction, entertainment, and education, that it’s nearly impossible to limit ourselves to just our TV sets. However, speaking personally, I use television as a distraction (if you will); a form of “escapism,” as Jon mentioned.
When I want to take my mind off of stressful or confusing thoughts, I tune into some of my favorite shows. I don’t think that TV is used radically differently today than it has been since its inception. There are just so many more outlets available today—most notably, the internet. In terms of being a “window to the world,” I do think the “world wide web” has taken that title. There is definitely something to be said for the importance of television, though. I think it continues to persist as an informational/entertaining medium, perhaps just not as #1. Maybe #3.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn 1948-1955, one half of American homes had televisions. These served as windows on the world because according to Spiegel, they allowed viewers to see what they could not otherwise see in their everyday lives. Television was not only covering national stories, but also covered global stories, bringing awareness to small towns that were previously isolated from events in far away parts of the nation, let alone other parts of the globe. TV also served as advertisement. The sitcoms that aired at this time featured reflections of the typical, middle-class American family, with a working father and homemaker mother. The mothers were usually featured using various cleaning products that served as a product placement. The shows were a reflection of the world, and a reflection of the desired American dream. Television does take a similar role today. It is still a widely used advertising mechanism, but it is also an escape, and often a reflection of the world we live in. Many dramas we watch for entertainment today, feature similar problems that we face in our every day lives. It is still a fantastical escape as we engage with characters as if we know them relate our own lives to these fictional beings.
ReplyDeleteAs the country moved into the post war years the television was about more than just entertainment. Many people began to make the television the central point of their house and they would focus their furniture on the television. People were given ways to arrange the home as a space of exhibition and ways to maximize visual pleasure in TV both as a household object and as an entertainment form. They saw the image of the TV as a “global village" where TV sets were usually placed in rooms with panoramic window views or installed next to globes and colorful maps. Also, advertisers for TV used the illusion of the outside world as part of their promotional strategy. The fact that the viewers were able to experience something new while watching TV was what enticed them to have the television in their home. I do not think television plays the same role today because of the many TV shows we have and how people actually travel to these far away places rather than dreaming of them through a TV set. However, the television does allow us to see images and videos of events occurring all around the world which can allow us to travel somewhere far away.
ReplyDeleteTelevision, in a way, literally meant “window on the world.” During the postwar time period from 1948-1955, the number of television sets drastically increased from a mere 13% from 1939 to almost every single household. It was so revolutionary that it was typical to see in any living room. It completely overtook the role radios had onto the people. “Television was figured as the ultimate expression of progress in utopian statements concerning man’s ability to conquer and to domesticate space.” (Page 7) Somewhere as simple as the living room can people look through the television “window” screen and observe many different television programs, which represents the world. Regardless of the programs whether they be about the news, sports, or even soap operas, they still represent what is made up of the current world. “It’s like a form of ‘going places’ without even the expenditure of movement, It is bringing the world to people’s doorsteps.” (Page 7) Whatever happens in the world, all people have to do to find out is by turning on the television. Television fulfills a diminished role in today’s times. It is still used as viewing the world but really, there are now other means of doing that. For instance, one can use computers and the Internet to get exactly everything one can get on television. Times are changing and I believe that one day, television will lose its role, just like the radio, and be taken over by some up and coming new technology.
ReplyDeleteBack during the postwar years, television was considered a window on the world because the world wasn't nearly as connected as it is today. There was no social media, no internet, no 24/7 television. Television itself was a new landscape for the general public, and it allowed them to leave their living room and actually see what else was happening around the world. It was a better source for news or for other informational programs about things happening outside of the home. Today, television is much more known for its entertainment value. The news and images from around the world can just be found online now, and therefore the television has taken on the role of entertaining people. News programs are still important, of course, and people can still see other parts of the world without ever leaving their home, but because television isn't such a brand new invention it has plenty of other identities tagged to it in the present day.
ReplyDeleteSpigel identifies the television set as having been situated into contemporary domestic architecture that "idealized...flowing, continuous spaces" (6). Here, the TV worked to maximize "'the extension of the perceived environment'" with little to no effort (7). Spigel mentions that this effect was promulgated not just by the images of other places appearing on screen but also by home magazines that pictured television sets installed near panoramic windows, globes, colorful maps, and/or scenic backgrounds. There also existed a travelogue motif in early family sitcoms, the sets of which additionally incorporated windows for audiences to get another glimpse of far-off places.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, Spigel points out how televisions were often linked to actual windows. In an effort to reconcile the television set’s mechanical look with interior decor, furniture pieces were created to close off the set from view like curtains close off a window. Furthermore, televisions were perceived as having a surveillance ability, as having a two-way view just as windows do.
Today, if television still offers a sense of linkage or connection to the outside world, I think that linkage is mostly eclipsed by the internet. It’s with the internet that people may connect with each other across large distances even about the television they’re watching.
According to Lynn Spigel, during the period of 1948-1955 television was a window to the world in the sense that it introduced people to new locations, both real and fantastical, that they might not have been able to otherwise access. It was the (more) economical way for people to travel the globe or see different celebrities, acts and performances that they could not afford to see (either for lack of finance or lack of time). It might have allowed an escape for housewives or an occasion for social gathering. Nowadays, in the so–called “information age”, television as a medium in and of itself is not portrayed as a window on the world the way the internet is. That said, I believe that there are television programs, specifically those that might be considered “low-brow” reality TV, that offer a new perspective, albeit a questionable one, on the world around us. Whereas in the 40’s and 50’s, television might have taken its viewers to physically far away or fictional places, reality TV shows such as “Real Housewives” or “Dance Moms” show very specific (though obviously exaggerated) views of societal microcosms. No, they may not be accurate or terribly enlightening, but they do arguably open our eyes to different types of people and ways of living that are far from our own, while, similarly to the early days of TV, offer the viewer an escape.
ReplyDeleteThe post-war era sparked new thinking and an interest for learning about the global world. The television became the tool instrumental for such exploration and it quickly became an integral part of life for many suburban families in the United States. Individuals, particularly women, were curious about life outside their rural homes. As Spigel alludes to, the rise in popularity of the television was the perfect forum for this desired knowledge as people could now experience a totally new way of life without leaving their living room. Spigel explains the television as a “window on the world,” meaning there were endless possibilities of new lands, cultures and experiences available through a small screen. With this potential for knowledge so accessible to individuals, the television quickly became the “it” commodity among American families.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the television’s purpose has definitely changed. I would argue that the Internet has replaced the television as a “window on the world.” Any fact, date or video is accessible at the touch of a finger at anytime of the day. While the television is not obsolete in typical American family homes, its purpose is now for entertainment. Individuals now look to the television for relaxation and pleasure.