Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Is it too soon to be talking 2020?

Even if it's a great concert, documentary or film?

It's just endless chatter as far as I'm concerned. Video is your livelihood so I can't imagine you'd understand my complete disdain for it.

I enjoy the occasional movie in a theatre, or a live concert now and then, or used to. Mobility issues keep me pretty much homestuck these days but I've never once considered television as a form of entertainment.

I watch some Youtube videos sometimes, mostly about machinery or cooking, sometimes some music, sometimes a boxing or MMA match. But I'm likely to lose interest and click away...preferring to read or write, or just sit and think.
In silence.

Townies know nothing of silence.

Au contraire, even Leon Russell once quipped "My hobby is silence."
It's not just video being my career, it's film.
For me at least, film is an art form, and a good film is like observing beauty, humanity, conflict, joy...the entire scale of emotions. Film is communication of ideas. Film is photography.
Film is also sound, it's music, it is the audible magic carpet that propels a person's heart.

And with the advent of high definition digital and the drastic drop in HDTV prices it's now possible to bring that experience right into your home.

Dustin Hoffman was recently quoted as saying,
"I think right now, television is the best it's ever been, and I think it's also the worst that movies have ever been - in the 50 years I've been doing it, it's the worst."

He's not talking about sitcoms.

Anyway, please know that solitude and silence are also valued by us "townies". (LOL)

Video and films are certainly art forms. Just not ones I'm especially drawn to.
First thing townies always say when they come out here..."Sure is quiet out here..."
No traffic noise, no sirens, no airplanes. Cicadas in the trees, chickens squawking, hawks shrieking, wind soughing through the pines. It seems to make them a little bit nervous. Like they're listening for banjos.

But I have a confession...I liked "Stranger Things". Watched seasons one and two and will eventually watch season 3. I've kinda got a crush on Winona Ryder but the urban fantasy/horror aspect of it really appealed to me too. "Warehouse 13" was another....I'da been seriously into "Game of Thrones" but too much effort to watch it without HBO. I've just got rather odd and peculiar tastes. I thought the ill fated "Lone Ranger" was an awesome flick! And "Kill Bill" loved that one...so you see....it's best that I'm kept isolated out here..."Natural Born Killers"...anything by Tarantino...

Yes, well... I still hope to visit you before one of us croaks...

Ditto

'It's not show art, its show business!!' - Gary Blair

It's not needed anymore. I still have a nice lil av system but I treat TV like sex. I won't pay for it but I'm not judging. It's a mostly neoliberal hellscape enforcing a dominant cultural narrative aimed at pushing product.

Soooo sick of another recycled Joseph Campbell hero journey.

I agree with Gregor. Trying to talk to someone in a room with a TV is like a Roger Altman conversation. It's slightly schizophrenic.

Libraries also work well for content.

Television is a hypnotic media that ropes you in and traps you. It's addictive and invasive. It stops your thought process and pumps false information into your synapses...you switch into teacher/student mode and let it brainwash you. The Milk of the Poppy can do wonderful things, just as television might sometimes deliver wonderful products. But too much and you're addicted.

I guess my thing is video games. The artwork these days is amazing and it's interactive so I'm not just sitting there drooling while the story plays out, I'm part of the action.

I installed some antennas when it went digital and video recording software so I could record multiple channels at once. Have not bothered for a few years. Commercials were so obnoxious, I just watch Netflix and Amazon Prime now. My wife watches YouTube a lot. News is on MSNBC, CNN, and BBC streaming.