Comments on: Where Fiction Crosses The Long Gray Line http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/ Firedoglake weblog Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:24:38 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Bugboy http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503555 Bugboy Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:11:05 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503555 <p>I particularly like where the guy who produces this “show” says that viewers can distinquish between fact and fiction…Riiiiight!</p> <p>These SOB’s think EVERYTHING is a freaking movie of the week.</p> <p>But, as a side note, to step back from what TV by definition IS today, it isn’t simply to “hold your attention through manufactured moments of angst” but to hold your attention while some actor tells you to buy something you don’t need.</p> I particularly like where the guy who produces this “show” says that viewers can distinquish between fact and fiction…Riiiiight!

These SOB’s think EVERYTHING is a freaking movie of the week.

But, as a side note, to step back from what TV by definition IS today, it isn’t simply to “hold your attention through manufactured moments of angst” but to hold your attention while some actor tells you to buy something you don’t need.

]]> By: sagesource http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503554 sagesource Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:10:45 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503554 <p><a href="#comment-502940"><em>Jay Vaughan @<br /> 132 </em></a></p> <blockquote><p>TV, itself, is a tool of terror - the act of participating in Television reduces an individuals ability to be effective in the world around them. Just observe the obvious: someone engaged in the process of TV viewing is passive, docile, completely and utterly at the whims of the machine. If it were not such an effective mind control device, the 9/11 event wouldn’t have been nearly as horrific a self-inflicted collective mental wound as it was, and there’d have been two brand spanking new towers put up in their place 6 months later, with little war dramatization to carry on.</p></blockquote> <p>For a critique of people being “programmed,” this is an awfully…. programmed answer. I’ve read variants on it for twenty or thirty years now, and they always spew the same rhetoric devoid of any attempt to prove the points.</p> <p>TV made 9/11 such a shock? Guess there weren’t any shocks in the good old days. My grandmother read about the sinking of the Titanic in a good old newspaper, and she remembered it vividly to the end of her life. I’m sorry she didn’t live to be told that it couldn’t have been that shocking to her, because she didn’t see it on TV.</p> <p>You are completely under the TV’s control? Mmm… I don’t watch TV myself, don’t even have one hooked up right now, but I do distinctly recall some dials and buttons on the front that, among other things, turned it on and off and changed the channels. Did they take these off some time in the last few years?</p> Jay Vaughan @
132

TV, itself, is a tool of terror – the act of participating in Television reduces an individuals ability to be effective in the world around them. Just observe the obvious: someone engaged in the process of TV viewing is passive, docile, completely and utterly at the whims of the machine. If it were not such an effective mind control device, the 9/11 event wouldn’t have been nearly as horrific a self-inflicted collective mental wound as it was, and there’d have been two brand spanking new towers put up in their place 6 months later, with little war dramatization to carry on.

For a critique of people being “programmed,” this is an awfully…. programmed answer. I’ve read variants on it for twenty or thirty years now, and they always spew the same rhetoric devoid of any attempt to prove the points.

TV made 9/11 such a shock? Guess there weren’t any shocks in the good old days. My grandmother read about the sinking of the Titanic in a good old newspaper, and she remembered it vividly to the end of her life. I’m sorry she didn’t live to be told that it couldn’t have been that shocking to her, because she didn’t see it on TV.

You are completely under the TV’s control? Mmm… I don’t watch TV myself, don’t even have one hooked up right now, but I do distinctly recall some dials and buttons on the front that, among other things, turned it on and off and changed the channels. Did they take these off some time in the last few years?

]]> By: Sue Mitchell http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503510 Sue Mitchell Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:40:32 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503510 <p>‘24′ is a <em>T.V. show</em> - like that controversial uber-violent T.V. show ‘Tom and Jerry.’ </p> <p>If you really want to know what gets the U.S. a bad rep. abroad, it isn’t the fictitious ‘24′ - it’s the factual news broadcasts from Iraq. We <em>can</em> tell the difference.</p> <p>And the biggest single factor that lowers our opinion of America is the Chimp you elected to the White House…</p> <p>Fortunately, I have good friends in the ‘States so I don’t tar you all with the same brush. 8-)<br /> –</p> ‘24′ is a T.V. show – like that controversial uber-violent T.V. show ‘Tom and Jerry.’

If you really want to know what gets the U.S. a bad rep. abroad, it isn’t the fictitious ‘24′ – it’s the factual news broadcasts from Iraq. We can tell the difference.

And the biggest single factor that lowers our opinion of America is the Chimp you elected to the White House…

Fortunately, I have good friends in the ‘States so I don’t tar you all with the same brush. 8-)
–

]]> By: jim collins http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503253 jim collins Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:31:20 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503253 <p>I’ma far-left-wing liberal and LOVE 24. It’s the best show on TV.<br /> Don’t forget last season Jack took down a right-wing Nixon/Bush-like president who was conspiring with terrorists for oil.</p> I’ma far-left-wing liberal and LOVE 24. It’s the best show on TV.
Don’t forget last season Jack took down a right-wing Nixon/Bush-like president who was conspiring with terrorists for oil.

]]> By: duginnj http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503186 duginnj Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:58:34 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503186 <p>I have stopped watching the show. I now think of it as neo-con porn. What I have concluded is that I like any red-blooded American, might well like to act like Jack Bauer in the same circumstances he faces as we all see the certitude of the facts of the real badguys. What the show never deals with (and it IS TV, so duh) is that we are way past trusting the motivations and decisions of the deciders who send Jack on his missions; is he really tortureing to find a bomb in LA or is his mission really to protect the identity of <strike>the vice president </strike>, a man who is trying to cover up a smear campaign against trying to expose malfeasance in taking our coutry into an ill concieved war.</p> I have stopped watching the show. I now think of it as neo-con porn. What I have concluded is that I like any red-blooded American, might well like to act like Jack Bauer in the same circumstances he faces as we all see the certitude of the facts of the real badguys. What the show never deals with (and it IS TV, so duh) is that we are way past trusting the motivations and decisions of the deciders who send Jack on his missions; is he really tortureing to find a bomb in LA or is his mission really to protect the identity of the vice president , a man who is trying to cover up a smear campaign against trying to expose malfeasance in taking our coutry into an ill concieved war.

]]> By: Katie http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503136 Katie Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:34:43 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-503136 <p><em>“As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ”</em></p> <p>Um… it’s a TELEVISION SHOW. Am I the only one who is concerned about cadets who can’t separate Hollywood from reality going off to run our military? I mean, how rediculous.</p> “As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ”

Um… it’s a TELEVISION SHOW. Am I the only one who is concerned about cadets who can’t separate Hollywood from reality going off to run our military? I mean, how rediculous.

]]> By: Jay Vaughan http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502940 Jay Vaughan Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:39:03 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502940 <p>There is a broader problem here, a bigger white elephant in the room. The problem is not “24″ (though the problem is well manifested in this show), the problem is, itself: Television.</p> <p>Television is programming: The action or process of scheduling some pre-determined behaviour.</p> <p>Of course the Republibots love shows like “24″ — such shows program behaviour in the populace. Its as plain as that.</p> <p>Complaining about anything you see on Television is missing the point entirely. TV, itself, is a tool of terror - the act of participating in Television reduces an individuals ability to be effective in the world around them. Just observe the obvious: someone engaged in the process of TV viewing is passive, docile, completely and utterly at the whims of the machine. If it were not such an effective mind control device, the 9/11 event wouldn’t have been nearly as horrific a self-inflicted collective mental wound as it was, and there’d have been two brand spanking new towers put up in their place 6 months later, with little war dramatization to carry on.</p> <p>The fact remains that the American populace - as is the case with any TV-based society, of which there are many - are far too over-stimulated and ruled supreme by the idiot box, and what they glean of ‘reality’ out of a regular religious sit-down with it as part of their every day ritual does not prepare the population for the truth: life is hard, it is not all Super-Bowl Ad extravaganza, and there is a very big, real, hard world out there for which the majority of the human species has to contend with. Americans are the most over-fed, over-stimulated, under-responsible populace on the planet; shows like “24″, sadistic and perverted cater to the needs of a populace whose slippery slide into decadence is punctuated by 30-second neuro-linguistic events carefully designed to produce a state of mind.</p> <p>Republican psychologists know all too well how to utilize this state of affairs to influence politics, and the public is far too ignorant of standardized Madison Avenue techniques of mind control to be able to effectively resist the programming.</p> <p>It should come as no surprise at all that “24″ is as popular as it is .. it resonates with the mind-set of a lot of the TV-fed public, who really truly do believe, and accept as their own, all they see on TV. 4 generations of TV-drones are among the worlds populations now .. the world has turned electronic, and the rules of electronics are being applied by mind-priests on a consistent, daily basis, to effect their own global political desires.</p> <p>The only effective thing to do is Kill Your TV. It owns you. Until you turn it off, throw it out, and simply stop watching, culture will continue to be programmable by those who produce the shows we all love to sit down in front of and waste our lives away believing in ..</p> <p>Face up to the truth. TV Owns You.</p> There is a broader problem here, a bigger white elephant in the room. The problem is not “24″ (though the problem is well manifested in this show), the problem is, itself: Television.

Television is programming: The action or process of scheduling some pre-determined behaviour.

Of course the Republibots love shows like “24″ — such shows program behaviour in the populace. Its as plain as that.

Complaining about anything you see on Television is missing the point entirely. TV, itself, is a tool of terror – the act of participating in Television reduces an individuals ability to be effective in the world around them. Just observe the obvious: someone engaged in the process of TV viewing is passive, docile, completely and utterly at the whims of the machine. If it were not such an effective mind control device, the 9/11 event wouldn’t have been nearly as horrific a self-inflicted collective mental wound as it was, and there’d have been two brand spanking new towers put up in their place 6 months later, with little war dramatization to carry on.

The fact remains that the American populace – as is the case with any TV-based society, of which there are many – are far too over-stimulated and ruled supreme by the idiot box, and what they glean of ‘reality’ out of a regular religious sit-down with it as part of their every day ritual does not prepare the population for the truth: life is hard, it is not all Super-Bowl Ad extravaganza, and there is a very big, real, hard world out there for which the majority of the human species has to contend with. Americans are the most over-fed, over-stimulated, under-responsible populace on the planet; shows like “24″, sadistic and perverted cater to the needs of a populace whose slippery slide into decadence is punctuated by 30-second neuro-linguistic events carefully designed to produce a state of mind.

Republican psychologists know all too well how to utilize this state of affairs to influence politics, and the public is far too ignorant of standardized Madison Avenue techniques of mind control to be able to effectively resist the programming.

It should come as no surprise at all that “24″ is as popular as it is .. it resonates with the mind-set of a lot of the TV-fed public, who really truly do believe, and accept as their own, all they see on TV. 4 generations of TV-drones are among the worlds populations now .. the world has turned electronic, and the rules of electronics are being applied by mind-priests on a consistent, daily basis, to effect their own global political desires.

The only effective thing to do is Kill Your TV. It owns you. Until you turn it off, throw it out, and simply stop watching, culture will continue to be programmable by those who produce the shows we all love to sit down in front of and waste our lives away believing in ..

Face up to the truth. TV Owns You.

]]> By: Bring it On! » Blog Archive » “24″ Is Harming American Troops http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502933 Bring it On! » Blog Archive » “24″ Is Harming American Troops Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:07:10 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502933 <p>[…] In fact, Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise—that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security—was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.”[emphasis added] But who cares as long as Jack gets his man, right? Click these buttons to share this story:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]</p> […] In fact, Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise—that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security—was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.”[emphasis added] But who cares as long as Jack gets his man, right? Click these buttons to share this story:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]

]]> By: michael72 http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502929 michael72 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:25:09 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502929 <p>hi christy. great post and I couldn’t agree with you more.<br /> like the old zen teachers who would often point out how the answer is in the student’s question, you answer you own with this one: “What does it say that the current Republican leadership, spokespeople and other higher-ups in the Republican party are all hot for a show that hypes a sociopathic criminal who flouts the rule of law?”<br /> because they are indeed sociopathic criminals themselves who flout the rule of law, national and international. from the illegal invasion of Iraq to the illegal invasion of our privacy with all the wireless eavesdropping etc etc. it couldn’t be simpler, or clearer. the cheney adminstration is sociopathic and their support of this show reflects that pathology.</p> <p>and bravo to finnegan and many other fine people in the military and intelligence for finally putting their collective foot down on this sadistic nonsense.</p> hi christy. great post and I couldn’t agree with you more.
like the old zen teachers who would often point out how the answer is in the student’s question, you answer you own with this one: “What does it say that the current Republican leadership, spokespeople and other higher-ups in the Republican party are all hot for a show that hypes a sociopathic criminal who flouts the rule of law?”
because they are indeed sociopathic criminals themselves who flout the rule of law, national and international. from the illegal invasion of Iraq to the illegal invasion of our privacy with all the wireless eavesdropping etc etc. it couldn’t be simpler, or clearer. the cheney adminstration is sociopathic and their support of this show reflects that pathology.

and bravo to finnegan and many other fine people in the military and intelligence for finally putting their collective foot down on this sadistic nonsense.

]]> By: Jeany http://firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502916 Jeany Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:01:07 +0000 http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/02/12/where-fiction-crosses-the-long-gray-line/#comment-502916 <p>Thanks so much for calling the program “torture porn.” My brother got me into the show last season, and I got increasingly creeped out as the story line unfolded. Porn is exactly how I saw it. As much as I enjoyed seeing Jean Smart in a substantial role, I wouldn’t watch it again.</p> Thanks so much for calling the program “torture porn.” My brother got me into the show last season, and I got increasingly creeped out as the story line unfolded. Porn is exactly how I saw it. As much as I enjoyed seeing Jean Smart in a substantial role, I wouldn’t watch it again.

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