We can find substitutes for
coal or oil or tin, but seemingly not for success and stars. As
a result, everything they touch or are associated with enters the
circuit of our own practical existence. An American journalist
ended his commentary occasioned by Greta Garbo's death: "Today
they no longer make legends, but celebrities."
Being here and there at the same time
Four generations old (or maybe five), but already the medium of
choice-this statement does not define television, but probably
captures its social significance. It can be said from the outset
that while cinematography is at the borderline between the
civilization of literacy and that of illiteracy, television
definitely embodies the conflict between the two. In fact,
television irreversibly tipped the balance in favor of the
visual. The invention of television took place in the context of
the change in scale of humankind. Primarily, television
occasions the transition from the universe of mechanics and
chemistry, implicit in film making and viewing, to that of
electricity, in particular electronics, and, more recently,
digital technology.
Television, as a product of this change in the structure and
nature of human theoretic and practical experience, results from
the perceived pragmatic need to capture and transmit dynamic
images. Electricity was already the medium for capturing and
transmitting sound at the speed of electrons along telephone
networks.
Pages:
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482