Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Blue Skies
Why do you think that Thomas Streeter titles his essay the way he does? What do “blue skies” and “strange bedfellows” have to do with 1960s discussions about the possibilities of cable television? Does the language used around cable at that time sound similar to the way new media technologies are discussed today? Explain.
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ReplyDeleteThe title “Blue Skies and Strange Bedfellows,” to me, implies the forthcoming significant changes to television as society knew it. Blue skies suggest a sense of optimism, America’s hopes for television to morph into something perhaps even more substantial, full of more options and variety. “Strange bedfellows” has a less cheerful nuance—it seems to indicate insecurity—bringing something new and unfamiliar (“strange”) into your home with hopes that the results will be favorable. It seems that, in comparison with today, consumers were more hesitant about welcoming new technologies into their lives. While exciting, advances in technology were also intimidating—especially in a time such as the 1960s that were steeped in paranoia. I think that in these days, we are much more ready to integrate new technologies into our daily lives. Television, movies, and even cell phones rapidly evolve—just over a decade ago, mobile phones still had LCD screens and beeping ringtones. Now we have iPhones—computers, cameras, and phones in one neat handheld package. Our current society seems to be more trusting of what companies develop in terms of technology. There’s an underlying fear of robots taking over the world (maybe just in my head) but the fact that technology makes life so much more convenient is hard to resist.
After reading "Blue Skies and Strange Bedfellows," it seems to me that the main idea of the article is that the new impact of cable television as an exciting new technology was a significant aspect of American culture in the 60's because it was something that was constantly being integrated into daily life. I think Streeter used the title to cover the changing society at the time. Like Sydney stated, I agree in the blue skies refers to the sense of hope that America sees in cable, not only as a new piece of technology but also as a new platform for acquiring knowledge and establishing a feeling of connection with the world and the events occurring. For the phrase "strange bedfellows," I also agree with Sydney in that it has a sense of uncertainty attached to it as you are letting new programs and new content into your home. I also think it has a subtle undertone of the 60's culture at the time, as people were being introduced to drugs and the sexual revolution was beginning, people were becoming more inviting to those and things they might not have been familiar with. In regards to the language used around that time about cable and the way we talk about new media technologies today, there is quite a difference. While people were excited about these new technologies at the time, it still was a major transition that involved definite amounts of skepticism. Today, technology is something that doesn't even require a second thought because it is something that is basically a permanent fixture in our lifestyles and everything we do.
ReplyDeleteThomas Streeter starts his essay with a quote that explains some type of new technology that will bring about this communication revolution. This new technology was cable television. The media and the government were switching to a new way to watch television and the talk revolved around this new form of technology "shaped economic and social forces" (Streeter, 222). This is the blue skies in which Streeter refers to. It is the possibility of a brighter future with this new technology that is unlike anything we have seen before in regard to television. The government and the media told this as blue skies and a better future however; the people who consumed this technology and spoke about it were a little antagonistic. They did not understand the unity in this they only saw difference and disappointment. The language from the media, magazines and newspapers, discussing cable television thought of it as this amazing new technology that will not only change technology itself but society as a whole. With the communication using satellites and “increasing involvement of computers in data transmission” (Streeter, 225), cable television is able to connect the world in a way we have never been able to communicate with technology before. Today we do not talk about new technology this way because we have come up with a lot of communication technology that has already shaped a lot of our lives. If we do have new technology it is not that astonishing anymore because we are more advanced in where our technology is today.
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