Cultural Literacy
I had a professor in college that spoke of a new concept to me at the time: Cultural Literacy. He was the only professor in the Education building that had any valid teaching credentials (20 years in Detroit public school) so his words carried more weight with me than the “theorists” who taught for the minimum number of years and then dashed back to the collegiate cocoon. Cultural Literacy can best be explained by giving examples. If you hear a phrase like “and your little dog too!” or “I’ll be back” (in an Austrian accent) most people will know exactly where the quote came from and who delivered the line. It wasn’t that long ago when there were only three broadcast channels (or four if you count PBS). That reduced choice meant that a large percentage of people saw the same shows every night and had a collective experience to share the next day. The lack of any recording device meant you had to actually watch the show at the appointed hour or be left out of conversation the next day.
This collective memory and the hundreds or thousands of shared experiences formed a shared cultural literacy that was unique. Think of how foreign you would feel if you find yourself in a room full of Soprano fans dissecting in the most miniscule plot twists and turns if you had never even heard of the show let alone watched it. The advent of hundreds of cable and satellite choices as well as recording devices like T-VO have fragmented society. If you want to watch a Sunday night program on Thursday morning in Spanish with closed captioning, its only a button or two away. That’s not to say choice is bad. Many programs that appeal to a niche audience like hunting, scrapbooking, or automotive performance could not sustain an audience large enough to remain on one of three networks.
Choice only gets to be an issue when it comes to news. People now get to choose news that slants the way they like to see things slanted. Those thrilling days of yesteryear, of the big three networks and the half-hour allotted to national news seem a lifetime away. When you heard the term “Special Report “ during your viewing you just stopped and knew someone had been assassinated or a serious, tragic national event had taken place. Now a car chase, a couple of whales, or Paris Hilton rate the same coverage. It is easy to fall prey to the Drastic Climate Change/ Global Warming frenzy when every weather event worldwide is broadcast as news. If you had a half hour of allotted time per day to cover the news of the world, (closer to twenty two minutes with commercials), I doubt that every heat wave, tornado, snowstorm or even thunderstorm happening anywhere in the world would rate a mention.
The coverage of the war, the economy, etc. are now viewed through a political prism throughout the twenty-four hour news cycles. Fox News was being avoided by Democratic candidates who caved to their far Left constituents. The big three networks as well as CNN race to point out the personal flaws of Republicans while ignoring or helping to explain away the Democrat’s imperfections. How else to explain how stealing documents from the National Archives prior to the 911 Commission hearings by Sandy Berger is delivered with a smile and chuckle ,and “Scooter” Libby’s conviction for “lying” to FBI agents in the investigation of a non-crime is a national event on the level of Watergate? The recent appearance of Hillary on The Factor does give reason to hope. But I wonder if she would have gone on Fox if she had the delegate lead?
The Obama/ Rev. Wright coverage is the latest example of “choose your coverage” TV. If you think Rev. Wright is a reasonable man who raises valid points watch ABC, NBC,CBS,CNN,PBS etc., if you believe he is a hate filled conspiracy theorist who sets race relations back decades, watch Fox or listen to talk radio.
American culture has always changed with the times but remained fairly true to the “melting pot” theory of yesteryear. No matter what country immigrants came from they melded into Americans in a generation. With society now catering to every language and cultural norm of the incoming masses, the impetus to become Americans is lost. Unless there is a shift towards embracing American law, language and lifestyle, the Balkanization of the United States will continue unabated. Well I think Shepard Smith has something new on Obama so I gotta go.
I had a professor in college that spoke of a new concept to me at the time: Cultural Literacy. He was the only professor in the Education building that had any valid teaching credentials (20 years in Detroit public school) so his words carried more weight with me than the “theorists” who taught for the minimum number of years and then dashed back to the collegiate cocoon. Cultural Literacy can best be explained by giving examples. If you hear a phrase like “and your little dog too!” or “I’ll be back” (in an Austrian accent) most people will know exactly where the quote came from and who delivered the line. It wasn’t that long ago when there were only three broadcast channels (or four if you count PBS). That reduced choice meant that a large percentage of people saw the same shows every night and had a collective experience to share the next day. The lack of any recording device meant you had to actually watch the show at the appointed hour or be left out of conversation the next day.
This collective memory and the hundreds or thousands of shared experiences formed a shared cultural literacy that was unique. Think of how foreign you would feel if you find yourself in a room full of Soprano fans dissecting in the most miniscule plot twists and turns if you had never even heard of the show let alone watched it. The advent of hundreds of cable and satellite choices as well as recording devices like T-VO have fragmented society. If you want to watch a Sunday night program on Thursday morning in Spanish with closed captioning, its only a button or two away. That’s not to say choice is bad. Many programs that appeal to a niche audience like hunting, scrapbooking, or automotive performance could not sustain an audience large enough to remain on one of three networks.
Choice only gets to be an issue when it comes to news. People now get to choose news that slants the way they like to see things slanted. Those thrilling days of yesteryear, of the big three networks and the half-hour allotted to national news seem a lifetime away. When you heard the term “Special Report “ during your viewing you just stopped and knew someone had been assassinated or a serious, tragic national event had taken place. Now a car chase, a couple of whales, or Paris Hilton rate the same coverage. It is easy to fall prey to the Drastic Climate Change/ Global Warming frenzy when every weather event worldwide is broadcast as news. If you had a half hour of allotted time per day to cover the news of the world, (closer to twenty two minutes with commercials), I doubt that every heat wave, tornado, snowstorm or even thunderstorm happening anywhere in the world would rate a mention.
The coverage of the war, the economy, etc. are now viewed through a political prism throughout the twenty-four hour news cycles. Fox News was being avoided by Democratic candidates who caved to their far Left constituents. The big three networks as well as CNN race to point out the personal flaws of Republicans while ignoring or helping to explain away the Democrat’s imperfections. How else to explain how stealing documents from the National Archives prior to the 911 Commission hearings by Sandy Berger is delivered with a smile and chuckle ,and “Scooter” Libby’s conviction for “lying” to FBI agents in the investigation of a non-crime is a national event on the level of Watergate? The recent appearance of Hillary on The Factor does give reason to hope. But I wonder if she would have gone on Fox if she had the delegate lead?
The Obama/ Rev. Wright coverage is the latest example of “choose your coverage” TV. If you think Rev. Wright is a reasonable man who raises valid points watch ABC, NBC,CBS,CNN,PBS etc., if you believe he is a hate filled conspiracy theorist who sets race relations back decades, watch Fox or listen to talk radio.
American culture has always changed with the times but remained fairly true to the “melting pot” theory of yesteryear. No matter what country immigrants came from they melded into Americans in a generation. With society now catering to every language and cultural norm of the incoming masses, the impetus to become Americans is lost. Unless there is a shift towards embracing American law, language and lifestyle, the Balkanization of the United States will continue unabated. Well I think Shepard Smith has something new on Obama so I gotta go.
