For class this week I have read both of the provided essays, Encoding/Decoding and Technology and Society. I found the first essay difficult to read and understand. I got a sense that it was about how people interpret the messages in media, especially television, and how these messages are influence by their own personal connotations and culture. The best example in my opinion was the sweater example. Seeing someone wearing a sweater can be interpreted by the audience that cold is coming or a feeling of wearing warmth depending on the situation. The actor is not literally saying "It's cold outside!" or "This sweater is keeping me warm" but as a viewer we can infer that immediately from the visuals.
The second essay focused much more on television itself and how it has changed society since its introduction. For me, I have found the television discussion to be a very annoying debate. Personally, I really miss having a television when I'm at college. I watch available shows on my computer, but it isn't the same experience. I actually have less motivation to tune into shows if I don't have a television to watch it on.
To me, television is just another form of entertainment. I find it not much different from listening to music or reading books. I spend just as much time doing those things as watching television shows. The main plus to television that appeals to me is that I can have it on in the background when I'm multitasking. It keeps my mind active, and inspires me with new ideas. I like to watch a lot of documentary style shows, fantasy/supernatural themed shows and cartoons. As an artist, I feel like these are all beneficial to my personal growth and inspiration, while also being a source of entertainment. I won't deny I don't have a few shows I watch solely for entertainment (Hell's Kitchen being one of them) but I watch it KNOWING its a staged show. It's basically watching a weekly play about crazy chefs.
Aside from its entertainment purposes, I have first hand experience with knowing how disconnected you can become from the world without television/internet. A few years ago my Mom, brother and I had to live in a tiny cottage (the whole thing was about the size of a dorm room) that had no cable and the weakest internet connection (you were lucky to get on for an hour). I pretty much had the worst case of cabin fever. I didn't know what the news was, I had no clue what movies were coming out or what my friends were up to.
It. Was. Awful.
When we were finally able to afford an apartment, the first thing we did was get cable and plug in the TV. I have a hard time believing it when someone scoffs at the idea of technology and prides themselves in being able to live a life without television, internet or a phone. I find it ridiculous when people struggle to live in the past (as if the past is always better then the present?)
I think that television is a great thing, as is the internet. I feel that all this technology, whether its invention was intended for scientific reasons or not, has made people even more connected then they were before and its for the better. Without this technology, without the creation of television or the internet, I would not have met other artists around the world on social communities like tumblr. I would be far less cultured then I am today, because I can read the articles about someone's life in a different country and their first hand experience.
Here's a great info graphic I found that I feel is relevant to this subject:
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