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Television in the 20th century
Invention and impact of television
Role of Television
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Since its introduction in 1946, television has been one of the most important sources of information for mankind. After its debut, television rapidly spread throughout the country and for many it became the gathering point around which the family would meet to talk about the latest news. In the many years since its introduction, television has gradually developed to the one we enjoy today but at the same time this development brought some major changes to its quality. As a matter of fact, I believe that television today is very different to the television I used to watch when I was younger.
Nowadays, the number of people who gather to watch television has greatly decreased when compared to the 80s. During that time, people would gather around the television every night to watch the latest made-for-television movies, soap operas, and shows. At the same time, when I was younger, people would sit in front of their television sets to watch the news on a daily basis. Today, with the invention of the internet people rely less on television and more on the internet to get the daily news. On...
How many people today watch family sitcoms to imitate or compare values with their own? Probably not as many as there were in the 1950s. In Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Miss about the 1950s", she discusses why people feel more nostalgic towards growing up in the 1950s, and how she disagrees that 1950s wasn't the decade that we really should like or remember best. Apart from economic stability, family values played an important part then. Through television sitcoms, such as "Leave it to Beaver", "Father knows Best", families watched them to make sure they were living correctly. It was like guidance and somewhat reassurance. However, values of families have changed, and this is shown on sitcoms today. We watch sitcoms today for entertainment, and sometimes we can relate to them because the setting is realistic. In the modern sitcom, "Gilmore Girls" characters and plot are used to demonstrate family values such as gender roles, children roles, economic status, morals, ethics and general organization of a family that differ from the values shown in the 1950s sitcoms.
Newcomb and Hirsch propose that this characteristic of television is what allows it to functions as a forum in which important cultural topics may be considered. It promotes the various readings established by Stuart Hall that allow for the various interpretations of the text that are required of television as a cultural forum, in which its purpose is to raise questions and promote dialogue, without providing answers. It the texts were to provide answers in their
Many of the technological advancements in entertainment helped people live a much happier and exciting life. The television was wanted by almost every average American family in this decade and overwhelmed millions of baby-boomer children who’s relationship with TV has influenced the United States’ culture and politics. Television
Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens.
The ‘Golden Age of Television’ is what many refer to as the period between the 1950s and 60s when the television began to establish itself as a prevalent medium in the United States. In 1947, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the Du Mont Network were the four main television networks that ran stations with regular programming taking place. (Television, 2003) While regular television programming was a new innovation, the television itself had been commercially available for over twenty years prior to the 50s. It was conceived by many worldly innovators and went through several testing stages before it was finally completed in the late twenties. The three main innovators were Niplow - who first developed a rotating disk with small holes arranged in a spiral pattern in 1884, Zworykin - who developed the Iconoscope which could scan pictures and break them into electronic signals (a primitive form of the Cathode Ray Tube) in 1923, and lastly Fansworth - who demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to transmit an electrical image in 1927. (Rollo, 2011) However, one of the many reasons why this medium was successful in the 50s was due to the fact that it became more accessible to the public. Television sets were more affordable to middle class citizens which created further interest in the new technology. Through an historical account of the medium, the spread of television across America throughout this particular decade will be examined.
The ‘Golden Age of Television’ is what many refer to as the period between the 1950s and 60s when the television began to establish itself as a prevalent medium in the United States. In 1947, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the Du Mont Network were the four main television networks that ran stations with regular programming taking place. (Television, 2003) While regular television programming was a new innovation, the television itself had been commercially available for over twenty years prior to the 50s. It was conceived by many worldly innovators and went through several testing stages before it was finally completed in the late twenties. The three main innovators were Niplow - who first developed a rotating disk with small holes arranged in a spiral pattern in 1884, Zworykin - who developed the Iconoscope which could scan pictures and break them into electronic signals (a primitive form of the Cathode Ray Tube) in 1923, and lastly Fansworth - who demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to transmit an electrical image in 1927. (Rollo, 2011) However, one of the many reasons why this medium was successful in the 50s was due to the fact that it became more accessible to the public. Television sets were more affordable to middle class citizens which created further interest in the new technology. Through an historical account of the medium, the spread of television across America throughout this particular decade will be examined.
As society ages they tend to rely on a television for their news updates or anything really. Plenty of the aged population spends several hours in front of a television, and it has shown to affect the aged population drastically. According to Edwin Lyngar, in his article, “I lost my dad to fox news: How a generation was captured by thrashing hysteria,” he claimed to have lost his dad to “the despair of Fox News” (Lyngar 1) which he refers to as the “Fox Effect” (Lyngar 2). Many viewers are attached to the television because plenty of shows have caught their interest; However, these shows are changing their perspective. Viewers watch a show or news, and begin to imagine what if what they just watched would happen to them in the outside world. Cultivated watchers suddenly feel as if danger is constantly surrounding them.
Television had a major impact on the way people spent their leisure time in the 1950s. People would spend their disposal money on television sets. People were in the mood to spend, businessmen found a way they can get their products to the customers. Lead people to spending more time indoors then outdoors. People no longer saw it necessary to go to major events, when they could watch them on television without the hassle of transportation and the cost of tickets. Unlike radio, television made it possible to view live events right in one’s home. Everyone tuned in on their television sets to watch and enjoy all the fascinating entertainment.
...ision viewing. This gives a “best of both worlds” approach to television and media. It leaves people knowledgeable about the world around them and the current trends, as well as giving them free time to spend being active. Going to the extreme, either for or against television, is really not the best way to live in our media-reliant world. The middle ground is the best place to be in our drive to be constantly in touch with the world around us.
Vande Berg, L. , L. Wenner, and B. Gronbeck. Critical approaches to television. 2. Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 2004. 56-201. print.
Before television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive their little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today. It was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course, inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household (MGHR). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
Vande Berg, L.R., Wenner, L.A., & Gronbeck, B. E. (1998). Critical Approaches to Television. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Why we are focusing on the world television so much is because during the 80s, the internet wasn’t common and viewers didn’t have the luxury and convenience of just
Television is everywhere these days, not just in our living rooms but in bathrooms, kitchens, doctor's offices, grocery stores, airplanes, and classrooms. We have access to TV virtually anywhere and as American's we are taking advantaged of it. Adults aren't the only ones watching TV; children today are watching more TV than ever before. TV has even become known as "America's baby-sitter." (Krieg). Meaning that parents are now using the television as a way of entertaining their children while they attempt to accomplish other things such as cooking and cleaning.
Throughout the 1950s, executives experimented with the television and how to use it effectively. In the beginning, producers struggled with the new technology–introducing visual transitions or the beginning use of graphics to accompany news, which were mostly crude line drawing (Barkin 28-29). But, in 1963 (some pinpoint the exact day to be November 22, 1963) the television cemented itself as a mass medium–an integral part of American culture–and the “Big Three,” television networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC) established themselves at the forefront of innovation in the field (35).