How did the U.S. become so pathetic that a sitcom is a topic of national conversation?

[midcan5]

A grand irony for me is a portrayal of a working class family that favors a rich elitist. Donald Trump is dishonest through and through and yet he can say the things the working class believes. Go figure. Media has great power as its message becomes common and then reality. Anyone old enough to remember times when blacks and gays were invisible? Times change and in that change is born lots of problems as many do not accept the diversity and complexity of the modern global world. I would love to see Roseanne one day wake and say, 'Donald talks a good show but what he does is another matter'. But shat that wouldn't be entertaining, that would be reality.

Oddly Sandra Bernhard's comments contain a bit of truth on [white?] women. Imagine what a black president would do to the psyche of the nation? Just imagine

And white resentment crosses the gender gap. I Know Why Poor Whites Chant Trump, Trump, Trump

"In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness." Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

 

[Montrovant]

They don't call it the Idiot-box for nothing. And it's one of our President's pet activities.

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

Ignoring how much of television is no longer broadcast over airwaves, what do you think should be done with those airwaves?

 

[francoHFW]

It is perfectly normal for television shows to become topics of national conversation. Hell, many Mondays are spent gabbing with co-workers about Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead.

I don't think I've ever had a conversation about Game of Thrones in relation to modern politics, though.

The problem is lies, 99% from the right. The only people who have an official BS and Hate propaganda arm.FOX's file: | PunditFact

 

[Montrovant]

It is perfectly normal for television shows to become topics of national conversation. Hell, many Mondays are spent gabbing with co-workers about Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead.

I don't think I've ever had a conversation about Game of Thrones in relation to modern politics, though.

The problem is lies, 99% from the right. The only people who have an official BS and Hate propaganda arm.FOX's file: | PunditFact

The problem with Game of Thrones is FOX?

 

[airplanemechanic]

It was the only time on prime time television that anything positive about Trump was ever said.

 

[Tax Man]

The hour-long Roseanne was two shows, the 1st had a lot of politics, the second 1 not.

How many times can America fall 4 jobs jobs jobs from the GOP? BTW

They will, they will, they will. Low IQ people are the main target and they are the biggest tRump supporters.

 

[mdk]

It is perfectly normal for television shows to become topics of national conversation. Hell, many Mondays are spent gabbing with co-workers about Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead.

I don't think I've ever had a conversation about Game of Thrones in relation to modern politics, though.

Yeah, I suppose I haven’t either.

 

[OldLady]

They don't call it the Idiot-box for nothing. And it's one of our President's pet activities.

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

I hate commercials. We're stupid to put up with it.

 

[Pogo]

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

Ignoring how much of television is no longer broadcast over airwaves, what do you think should be done with those airwaves?

At the very very least we should have at least got a cut out of the ridiculous profits broadcasters made for going on a century for using our airwaves to profit on rent-free.

(If we imagine a random city that builds a commercial district full of storefronts and then gives them away for nothing to anybody who wants to run a business --- like that)

That horse left the barn a long time ago obviously. The idea of advertising on the people's airwaves was scandalous at first but the FCC was soon bribed into collusion and the populace soon soporified into submission, and now we think it's "normal". Which is how the commercial broadcast world would prefer we think of it, and forget the fact that they operate at our pleasure and not the other way around.

 

[Mac1958]

I turned up the volume on the news to hear a segment about the new version of the Roseanne sitcom. Some people don't want to watch it, and that they don't is the topic of conversation. Seriously?

Of course. We're a society driven almost entirely by real and imagined celebrity. It makes perfect sense that a sitcom would have this much attention. We've lowered our standards to the point at which we'll accept pretty much anything.

This is what a sick culture in decay looks like.
.

 

[Montrovant]

It is perfectly normal for television shows to become topics of national conversation. Hell, many Mondays are spent gabbing with co-workers about Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead.

I don't think I've ever had a conversation about Game of Thrones in relation to modern politics, though.

Yeah, I suppose I haven’t either.

I could see it happening here, though: "Arya Stark is clearly a Trump supporter!" "Sansa would have voted for Hillary!"

 

[Pogo]

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

I hate commercials. We're stupid to put up with it.

I don't abide commercials ever, on any device. I'll just change the station rather than put up with it.

 

[usmbguest5318]

They don't call it the Idiot-box for nothing. And it's one of our President's pet activities.

They don't call it the Idiot-box for nothing. And it's one of our President's pet activities.

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

Plausible....

 

[OldLady]

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

I hate commercials. We're stupid to put up with it.

I don't abide commercials ever, on any device. I'll just change the station rather than put up with it.

Where my son lives, there are commercials on the gas pumps now. I nearly flipped when I saw that.

 

[Montrovant]

It got JFK elected. The rest followed suit.

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

Ignoring how much of television is no longer broadcast over airwaves, what do you think should be done with those airwaves?

At the very very least we should have at least got a cut out of the ridiculous profits broadcasters made for going on a century for using our airwaves to profit on rent-free.

(If we imagine a random city that builds a commercial district full of storefronts and then gives them away for nothing to anybody who wants to run a business --- like that)

That horse left the barn a long time ago obviously. The idea of advertising on the people's airwaves was scandalous at first but the FCC was soon bribed into collusion and the populace soon soporified into submission, and now we think it's "normal". Which is how the commercial broadcast world would prefer we think of it, and forget the fact that they operate at our pleasure and not the other way around.

Who is the "we" that should get compensated, the government? Individual checks to anyone who watches broadcast television?

Do you feel the same way about radio?

What is your rationale behind this idea, are you equating the various broadcast frequencies to property, or land, and saying that the citizens of the US own those frequencies?

Is it different when television is sent through landlines?

 

[Pogo]

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

I hate commercials. We're stupid to put up with it.

I don't abide commercials ever, on any device. I'll just change the station rather than put up with it.

Where my son lives, there are commercials on the gas pumps now. I nearly flipped when I saw that.

"GasTV". That's all over the place where I travel, at least in cheapo gas stations.

And the blare it at you from a loudspeaker on the pump, pointed right at you. I gotta remember to take duct tape next time and gag it. I'd like to just take an ice pick to the speaker but I'd get video-recorded.

 

[aaronleland]

It is hugely important in our culture. Are you denying this?

Of course not, it's the dumbing-down of society, and probably the primary driver of our national pastime, shooting other citizens.

You can argue the merits of television, but it is a huge influence on our society and culture. We discuss these things today the same way people have discussed art and literature for thousands of years. Hell, video games have been discussed in the same way for decades.

 

[usmbguest5318]

Murphy Brown much?

Not in the past 20 years at least.

To be perfectly honest, my only recollections of television shows being part of the national conversation and occasionally getting mention on the news are:

• SNL and late night comics, which I sort of get because "everybody" falls asleep watching them. Thank Johnny Carson for that.
• The final episode of M*A*S*H -- but not every episode of it
• Roots
• Dallas -- "Who shot JR?"
• General Hospital -- "Luke" and "Laura" got married and there was song about the show
  
  

The only sitcom in the bunch is M*A*S*H, and, for me anyway, Rosanne, new or old, does not rise to M*A*S*H-level, and M*A*S*H was very definitely a political show.

As I indicated in the OP, it's not people talking about a TV show amongst friends, coworkers, people on the subway, etc. It's why is a TV show part of the news' conversation.

I turned up the volume on the news to hear a segment about the new version of the Roseanne sitcom.

It's the context of the conversation, not merely that the conversation is happening amongst individuals, that surprises and chagrins me.

 

[Pogo]

It got Rump elected too. It gets everybody elected. Such is the legacy of the propaganda machine.
Orwell could see it coming in 1949 already.

Who do you think is running this propaganda, Pogo? Who is Oceania?

Corporatia, basically. But not with any kind of unified "plan" as the conspiratheorists would fancy, just simple shortsighted GREED using the airwaves that belong to We the People which we hand over to them to do that for no rental fee at all.

Ignoring how much of television is no longer broadcast over airwaves, what do you think should be done with those airwaves?

At the very very least we should have at least got a cut out of the ridiculous profits broadcasters made for going on a century for using our airwaves to profit on rent-free.

(If we imagine a random city that builds a commercial district full of storefronts and then gives them away for nothing to anybody who wants to run a business --- like that)

That horse left the barn a long time ago obviously. The idea of advertising on the people's airwaves was scandalous at first but the FCC was soon bribed into collusion and the populace soon soporified into submission, and now we think it's "normal". Which is how the commercial broadcast world would prefer we think of it, and forget the fact that they operate at our pleasure and not the other way around.

Who is the "we" that should get compensated, the government? Individual checks to anyone who watches broadcast television?

Do you feel the same way about radio?

What is your rationale behind this idea, are you equating the various broadcast frequencies to property, or land, and saying that the citizens of the US own those frequencies?

Is it different when television is sent through landlines?

Excellent questions sir.

"We" own the airwaves, that is the general public. That was established as the national attitude back at the beginning of broadcasting (radio). "We" however get nothing, literally nothing, for allowing commercial entities to use our resources to make themselves rich --- nothing except the loss of air space that could have been used for broadcasting that would be of actual use to the community instead of a cash cow for Clear Channel. A little alliteration there, hee hee.

So yes, I'm equating the various broadcast frequencies to property --- public property. The airwaves are akin to a town bulletin board where common info might be shared. We have the FCC which is supposed to act as our custodian but in practice acts in collusion with the moneychangers and gives that property away, for nothing. In a more perfect world where they at least leased some of those channels for a rental fee, that revenue could fund public broadcast outlets that actually do serve the community with useful resources. That would be my approach. We invest far, far less on our public broadcasting resources than our contemporaries such as Germany or Japan. And a common theory holds that the reason much of the good public broadcasting we do have comes from places like Minnesota and Wisconsin and New York, is that those places are close enough to Canada, where they take it more seriously, to hear what decent public broadcasting sounds like.

Now FCC does reserve some space for noncommercial broadcast, but the volume is heavily heavily skewed against the public part in favor of the moneychangers, and then what little there is on the radio is increasingly clogged with "godcasters" buying up what little slices of space there is, and shutting others out.

And yes I absolutely include radio. If I ever tune into a radio station and hear a notice about a lost dog or a square dance, I rejoice at the rare gem of what that medium should be doing rather than pissing our resources away on some self-infatuated ego trying to see how fast he can talk.

Landlines (cable) and satellite, and internet streaming being more modern technological paradigms, are different in that they're not nearly as finite as the space on the broadcast band is. And I don't know that those systems have been defined as public property. But I'll wager that if we had long ago established rental fees for commercial broadcasters on the airwaves... we could have easily carried that paradigm over.

 

[Pogo]

M*A*S*H was very definitely a political show

I don't see how. I've seen many an episode of M*A*S*H as it was a favorite of my mother. Never saw politics in it.

David Ogden Stiers just passed away a few days ago btw.