Quote Originally Posted by Sukotto View Post
Hmm.
In the US, what is presented on television, sit-coms, advertisements, etc. is often deemed to be normal, even if it is abnormal and anti-social, including the medium itself.
I think it's deemed to be an 'ideal'. To a certain extent, you can entertain people by spectacle, but there is a core desire to relate to the characters whom the masses watch on television--- These peoples lives may be far-fetched and impractical, but we relate to them because we could imagine ourselves doing what they do.

Then there is fantasy, or outright spectacle, which serves its own purposes in providing a thrill, a desire, a hatred--- Pulp novels have always been traditionally good at conveying this sort of thing, but there are aspects of television which do the same.

I'm not saying that a well socialized society is a good society--- I mean, you have to trust that the people who are socializing you, largely your government, and your schools, have the best intentions... If their intention is to sell you something, at the expense of a bit of mindless entertainment each night--- it might not be so nefarious as The Army during war-time, making military duty or service seem thrilling, glamorous, & exciting.

I think a lot of us agree that the quality and content of Japanese television itself is pretty abysmal... There aren't as was said, any sort of documentaries or information outside of a general rehashing of samurai code, or something from antiquity which serves no purpose when you're trying to learn about the world around you, not just of yourself.

I'm told the layout of British television is built around channels which serve certain demographics specifically, and British television too is rife with cheap thrills and good fun for the proles. But it also has great documentaries and news stories which help broaden peoples horizons...

In the United States, we have the Public Broadcasting System & National Public Radio... It's unfortunate that largely their biggest contributors are oil conglomerates, but they do offer an alternative to the big three.

Eventually, we'll live in a society where we dictate our own entertainment by specifically tailoring our televisions to get just what we want and nothing we don't, but at the expense of also tailoring the additional information comming at us, suggesting things we might like, or want to buy.