March, 2004

Hi!

While at the family gathering in Florida, I did have time to read your excellent essay on television. Your "quandary" seems to me to be a very interesting and important one, for which of course no one else can provide the definitive solution for you. But perhaps we can enter into an exchange of thoughts on the subject and see if that bears any useful fruit. No doubt you have already done some reading on the question of TV and have thought seriously about it. It occurred to me on a second reading of your essay that you are a model for what can be accomplished by people who do not watch TV. The question of whether or not to make use of TV would I suppose depend on what you want to accomplish — what content you want to communicate. Therefore, to answer the question, I'd think it would be necessary to have a good understanding of the nature of the TV medium. Since I can't claim to possess this, any suggestions I might have would be of limited value. But based on a few books I've read and personal intuition, I think that TV, as with other media such as speech and print, by its very nature is biased toward admitting and communicating well some types of content and does not communicate other types well or at all. Furthermore, also because of the nature of the medium, TV tends to assume a certain regard for its viewers, tends to adopt a certain attitude toward its content, and, because of its popularity, is a very strong influence determining the character of public discourse in our society. A book I have read recently makes the case that TV has determined that the quintessential characteristic of that discourse today is one of (perhaps Huxleyan) entertainment, regardless of content. So, lots of interesting and thought provoking stuff here. I'll be interested in knowing your further thoughts and those of your readers on the subject. Should be good material for future magazine articles.

Brad

March, 2004

Mary Jane,

Read your article and feel that you hit the bull's eye on the TV issue. It's funny, reading your article, I realized that what's missing in TV for me is my inner voice of conversation.  It is present in verbal communication, and it is present in books.  But not TV; the visual message is overwhelming.  That's why I think TV is numbing.  But before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, I contend that TV does have a role. 

It might not be our favorite medium, but it is the prevalent medium and it is powerful if used well.  I don't believe that you will create the "numbing" programming we all decry.  Instead, I think you will reach people where they "live" and show them how to live better.  And who knows, you might even encourage someone to watch less TV.  After reading your article, I'm going to stay away from TV more.

Got to study for the Master Gardener's examination!!!!

Organically yours,
Phil Jackson