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Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television By Jerry Mander ( Harper Perennial )
Release Date: 1978-03-01
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Product Description
A total departure from previous writing about television, this book is the first ever to advocate that the medium is not reformable. Its problems are inherent in the technology itself and are so dangerous -- to personal health and sanity, to the environment, and to democratic processes -- that TV ought to be eliminated forever. Weaving personal experiences through meticulous research, the author ranges widely over aspects of television that have rarely been examined and never before joined together, allowing an entirely new, frightening image to emerge. The idea that all technologies are "neutral," benign instruments that can be used well or badly, is thrown open to profound doubt. Speaking of TV reform is, in the words of the author, "as absurd as speaking of the reform of a technology such as guns."
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 Very interesting book...
This book is very interesting. I highly recommend. I stopped watching TV 3.5 years ago. The upside of this is that I am happier, my brain works better, and I feel like I have more free time. The downside is that I definitely feel left out when others are talking about a new show or the big game.
Jerry Mander is able to articulate many of the feelings I had about TV, but did not know how to express. Also good to know, that although a minority, there are many out there who have the same view of TV.
Even if you have no desire to eliminate TV from your life, I would still recommend this book. It will at least put the television experience in historical context.
Good work Jerry Mander!
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 Was it just me???? ( lauraaugust )
or was that book almost impossible to read? I'm against children watching television and was hoping for a book that would support my view. I couldn't follow it, and in the end I didn't understand the four arguments. Okay, maybe it is just me, but I'll stick to Marie Winn's "The Plug-In Drug."
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WOW WOW WOW ( lighthouselearning )
WOW! This book is amazing and so true. One of my college professors (who does not watch tv) recommended this book, after I read it, I stopped watching tv. That was one of the best choices I have made in a long time. This is a must read for everyone! BE TV FREE!!
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Intellectual View Of The Idiot Box ( theunknownsurfer )
This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. Everyone who owns a television set should read this book. (Except maybe Ted Turner)
After I finished the book and watched TV, I started looking at what Jerry brought up in the book, instead of what was actually on the screen. Everything fell into place.
This book may have been published 30 years ago, but everything he says is applicable in today's television reality.
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THROW OUT THE IDIOT BOX !!!
They don't call it an idiot box for nothing. Television has morphed into a pathetic invention over the years. What started as a revolutionary invention, has become nothing more than CONSTANT advertising, biased news, and stupid programming. Reality TV is a great example. Take a bunch of pathetic wannabe's, put them in a house, and watch the BS unfold! Is this what people should be doing with their precious time on this Earth? Watching a steady stream of advertising and mindless programming? Our morals are also going down the toilet with graphic shows like CSI and so on. It's not enough to watch people die, now we have to see them die the most horrible deaths one can imagine. As you click through the channels you'll either be bombarded by commercials or assaulted by one stupid show after another. Kudos to this book. I have cancelled my cable service and will never again own a TV. At least the internet is content specific. There is a lot of bad stuff on the internet, but I don't have to click through it to get to my preferred content. The crap on the internet only shows up if I search for it. Whereas TV is an endless stream of crap. TV has become a mindless idiot box, which sucks the life out of people, by giving them a way to "hide" from reality. Let's not make new friends in real life, let's watch a show called "Friends" instead. Let's not read news from a number of online sources, let's be told what to think by our local news anchor. Let's not jetski, surf, run, play, travel, cook, date, etc., in real life, let's watch others do it on TV. GET A LIFE!!! Get out and live your life, and throw the idiot box in the trash where it belongs!
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