M&D truthtelling, history & I.F. Stone(WAS Publisher's Weekly (fwd)

[Sojourner]

At 08:23 AM 8/15/97 -0400, Peter Giordano wrote:
>Andrew said:
>[....]
>>You should try watching television with the sound off. The effect may
>>have been particularly strong for me as I don't have a TV so am
>>unaware of the sounds which accompany the images. [...]
>I say:
>My kids and I do this when commericals come on during THE SIMPSONS - It
>makes the commericals very interesting - Every once in awhile we have to
>turn the sound on when we've seen an ad for the tenth time and still have
>absolutely no idea what's being sold (usually sneakers)
>So what is the literary equivalent of turning of turning off the sound when
>reading a novel? Skipping the verbs?  

No.  The question is misleading.  TV is comprised of noise, and reading
induces serenity, even during provocative literature.  Reading brings
the mind and body into a state of peace, the body resting while the mind
feeds on its purest foodstuff.  TV agitates the senses, stimulating you
artificially, deadening your mind.  The best TV shows there are let you
"escape" into its artificiality, letting your mind rest, letting dots of
light on
a 2D screen become real, let people portraying characters you know are
artificial and rehearsed turn into "real" people, people who you assimilate
into yourself and assimilate their behavior.  That is why a half hour of
TV flies by at Mach 5 and yet you end up feeling hollow and used.  

TV with the sound off just lets you see the grey tit for what it truly is,
the artifice becomes more clear, you see how every image is tightly
twisted to convey a message, how every person, thing and location is
there ON PURPOSE to push, to pound, to sell, to make you want, want
want to watch more, and therefore see more advertisements, and therefore
spend more money on the people who brought it to you.  

I had a revelation once while in an altered state, watching the Simpsons one 
evening I began not to see the show, but to SEE, I mean really SEE the actors
reading their scripts, standing up, one hand on their earphone, talking up
into the microphone suspended from the ceiling.  It scared me badly, because
I knew that is exactly how the show is created.  It was also about ten times
less fun to watch the show with that perspective.

I don't criticize TV, it is an honest enterprise and it is still legal to
turn it
off.  Reading however, do it with the full intensity of your mind, and
do not skip any verbs.