***  Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive  ***
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   [Date]: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 10:18:55 +0100
   [From]: olu oguibe <ooguibe@undp.org>
     [To]: Cultural Exchange via Internet <forum1@hkw.kbx.de>
[Subject]: Re: [forum1] Re: Access

i think that Ami Iseroff's response on the nature of television is very
apt, although i would not be so approving of television. even then, i doubt
that we can simply dismiss television like some have on this thread. there
is a great deal of good television; it depends on what you are watching and
where. i happen to be a tv-buff; most times i watch tv even while working.
i suppose that is understandable for someone who went into a tv studio and
appeared on tv before seeing a tv program [at age 14!] 

even america has good television where thoroughness and genuine
professionalism is discernible. britain is known for its quality tv, and
that is yet to change. any good student of television would also notice
that tv is--or has become--an interactive medium. people are not simply
sitting home to gobble up stuff on tv; people are making tv. people are
using tv in large numbers as an effective technology of the self. when they
take their personal problems to the screen, they are not simply being
duped, they are making conscious decisions for specific gains which may
differ from those of the producer. they are actively participating in an
exchange: giving of themselves in exchange for their 15 seconds of fame.
they are claiming the screen, albeit for a price, a price they are willing
to pay in order to place themselves in every living room and feel good.
people are using tv in return.

and not all television is american talk-show tv. as an individual i have
learnt a great deal from television served up while i'm occupied with other
things: history, science, geography, the cultures of distant places. it
needn't even be entirely accurate; at least it gets one curious about all
manner of knowledge. tv is not simply advertisement or soap.

in a sense, the very point that Ami makes about the internet and the
quality of "interactivity" that it generates, is underlined by the posts
dismissing television. read them again, then read his contribution. and
after reading his contribution, log on and re-think the internet. search
out the hate sites, the porn sites that gave the internet its initial
boost, the million e-commerce sites that now drive it, the push technology,
the unwanted ad in your mail, the uncorroborated information that flows
like lava, the virus that tracks you down and destroys your work, the
cyberdetectives selling your social security number. compare all that to
the good stuff. no better than tv.

olu oguibe