Lauren Zalaznick: The conscience of television

The subject of consciousness in television is something that a lot of us think about. What shows to we watch? What am I in the mood for? Comedy, drama or reality? These are all questions the follow us each time we turn on this magic box. It is something that has only been around for sixty years and it started as a commodity. It would stay in the living room where everyone would watch and nobody thought of owning more than one television set.
I can clearly remember a scene from the movie Back to the Future where Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox) goes back in time, to 1955, and tells his grandfather that they have to televisions. His grandfather was shocked because no one needed a second tv. The point being, televisions are now everywhere and play a major part in our own conscience.

Lauren [Zalaznick], in this TED Talk, talks about the most popular shows from 1959 to 2009 and how our ways of watching have dramatically changed throughout the years, and always accompanied by social events around us.

After watching this I’ve learned that since the late 50’s what we want on our televisions has shifted the opposite of what it was. We used to look for inspiration from our shows, things that made us feel better not just about us, but about the world as well. Now, we look for shows that offer us moral ambiguity, plot where we are unable to distinguish right from wrong, and this all started with the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination of JFK, MLK and Bobby Kennedy. Then came Watergate, and the list goes on. So, it is only normal to assume that our own wishes and desires mimic what happens around us and around society.

In the 60’s, people wanted comfort television, but through that decade things started to shift and social commentary earned a spot in people’s mind, they discovered that they could actually comment and make a different in current affairs with this magic box.

In the 70’s and 80’s, we can see that shows about fantasy and imagination went hand in hand with the unemployment rate, because viewers wanted a since of wonder during rough times.

Last but not least, during the 90’s and 2000’s television changed yet again. In the beginning, famous humor shows, such as Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier had the highest ratings, and now reality television has taken their places, with shows like Survivor, The Apprentice and American Idol.

Although the entertainment factor is always present, this reveals that people want to feel that they belong, that they too can accomplish what these instant celebrities can accomplish.

Which means, Reality television is here to stay, not only because it is profitable for networks (low production costs, high returns) but also because people want it.