Television...friend or foe?

Discussion in 'Entertainment' started by sprirj, Oct 31, 2015.

?

Is tv good or bad for your creativity?

  1. Good

    2 vote(s)
    22.2%
  2. Bad

    7 vote(s)
    77.8%
  1. KhalieLa

    KhalieLa It's not a lie, it's fiction. Contributor

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    I hear you! I've been TV free since 1995. Now when I visit family I look at the TV and wonder, how the h3ll can they watch that thing!
    The Average American spends 6 hours a day watching TV--Just imagine what you can do with an extra 6 hours everyday.
     
  2. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    Stephen King said we should get rid of the TV if we want to write. I managed to get rid of it, but now find myself watching stuff on Netflix and its ilk. Far easier said than done. If a writer has access to the Internet, they have access to TV shows, even if only on so-called pirate sites.

    I have mixed feeling about the whole thing. I'd love to stop watching altogether, but when I'm tired and just wanna veg, staring at the wall (or out a window) just doesn't have the appeal of watching TV shows.

    These days, TV is a substitute for the social circles we used to hang out in before 300-channel TV became a reality. Now we have TV friends and, even though we don't get to discuss things with them, we can throw things at them and yell at them for being stupid in whatever situation they bumble into. And sadly, I don't know what I'd do without them.
     
  3. Necronox

    Necronox Contributor Contributor

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    I've never had much to do with TVs, never really interested me, but every time I turn one on, it's just a pile of crap. But perhaps I'm just one of those people who wish they lived in a world without technology. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if TV was never invented.... interesting thought.

    Random stray thought: what would be more interesting is what would happen if computers, cellphone and any other such technology as a whole died.
     
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  4. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    We would go back to the printing press and typewriters, then people would start saying

    I've never had much to do with newspapers, never really interested me, but every time I open one up, it's just a pile of crap. But perhaps I'm just one of those people who wish they lived in a world without technology. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the printing press was never invented.... interesting thought.

    Random stray thought: what would be more interesting is what would happen if printing presses, typewriters and any other such technology as a whole died.
    and then everybody would go back to writing everything by hand, then somebody would say the same thing about pens/pencils, then we would go back to only reciting stories in front of crowds, then somebody would say the same about publicly orated stories, then we would go back to just campfire-sized audiences ... :D
     
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  5. Dragon Scribe

    Dragon Scribe New Member

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    I think it can be helpful, all depending on what you write and how you write. Personally, it kills my creative side as soon as I watch it. I do most of my writing in the morning before I lose myself in this world.
     
  6. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    On the other hand, one of my art teachers said: Artists should be a part of their times.

    Since TV is part of our times, maybe it's not such a bad thing.
     
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  7. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    Brilliant :D
     
  8. Morgan Stelbas

    Morgan Stelbas Active Member

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    I think TV watching falls under the hobby category as much as writing does. It's ok for a person to have more than one hobby.

    I can see a disadvantage to a person's writing skills if they look to TV shows to learn more about writing books. They are different formats, and that is why books turned into TV shows and movies are never the same.

    I think people, like myself, watch TV when our minds are too tired for anything else. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. But like everything in life, balance and moderation is the key.

    If a person spends many hours a day watching TV, they obviously won't have time to devote to writing. But I honestly believe, that the amount of TV a person watches doesn't hamper their writing skills, unless they base their writing skills on how TV shows and movies are written.
     
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  9. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    You know that shows have writers, right?

    What's this bias towards novelists anyway? It's some academic superiority wankfest, really. I write scripts and get frowned upon. But I find scripts much harder to write than novels.
     
  10. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I was raised in a home (in the USA) that did not have TV. That was back in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. I only lived with a TV for a short time after (with certain roommates) during my time in the USA. So, while I know something about popular TV shows of that period, I didn't watch any of them much.

    I moved to the UK in 1986, and into a home with TV. And I loved British TV, not only for the quality of the programmes and the freedom from adverts on BBC channels and infrequent adverts (one every 15 minutes) on the other channels, but also for the startling quality of the picture itself. It was like being at the movies. No static, true colour, sharp images, etc. So for about 25 years I was a TV fanatic here in the UK. Then, about 4 years ago, I just kinda ...wandered away from it. I haven't actually turned our TV on for nearly 2 years. My husband watches it, but I've actually partly forgotten how to work the controls!

    So what is this? Full circle? I dunno.

    I don't hate TV or think it should vanish or anything like that, but I do find myself concerned when people can't live without it, and it's the only thing they go for when they want to entertain themselves. There is no way you're going to get much breadth of experience doing nothing but watching TV. And if for some reason your TV is taken from you ...yikes.
     
  11. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    It's five hours a day, which would explain why you never see anyone out in small towns...
     
  12. ReproveTheCurlew

    ReproveTheCurlew Active Member

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    I'm not sure I ever implied they didn't have writers when I wrote TV can teach you bad writing...

    and I'm also not sure many people frown upon scriptwriters. It's like frowning upon playwrights, which would be ridiculous, considering the amount of great playwrights that have been around... but that's just my personal opinion, perhaps I just don't experience the bias because I actually don't write scripts myself.

    As for television and writing itself: Sure, there are shows which have good, even brilliant writers. Thing is, what the masses of people watch are reality tv, talkshows &c., which, of course, have writers. But are those scripts written well?
     
  13. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Are books written well? TV can, to quote you again 'teaches you bad dialogue, bad writing, stupid stories that don't make sense' just as much as a book. many books are bad. But regardless...

    What you're saying above is the same as saying: 'reading teaches you bad writing because sure, there are good books, but most people read gossip magazines and twitter feeds. Which, of course, have writers. But are they written well?'

    TV can also teach you how to write amazing dialogue. It's what you're watching that matters.
     
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  14. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    This might be crazy but something's I think, after reading, the best thing to do is listen to music. Song lyrics are often convey meaning in as few words as possible.

    Even good TV is just too visual.
     
  15. ReproveTheCurlew

    ReproveTheCurlew Active Member

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    Yes, of course, any kind of generalisation is dangerous, which might hint that the question 'Television... friend or foe?' doesn't quite recognise this distinction. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the amount of bad television is a lot more than good television nowadays; a few gems here and there won't make me change my mind and my television-watching-habits. But yes, I do admit that you could probably say the same about books, but there I find the distinction between good and bad writing easier to appreciate. Whereas in television good music, visuals, camera angles &c. can make you overlook bad stories, in a book you (or at least I) know when something is amiss.
     
  16. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    If a writer can't recognise a quality story on TV I doubt they can in a book.
     
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  17. ReproveTheCurlew

    ReproveTheCurlew Active Member

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    I'm not sure I agree with that, though. Different types of media have different expectations. What works for a novel might not work for a play, a film, a television series, a musical, an opera, a poem &c. Being good at one thing, and being able to recognise faults in them, does not mean one can automatically detect flaws in other forms (although knowledge in other areas would help, of course!).
     

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