Television Delivers People

[meago27]

How do you think Richard Serra's ideas about mass media television could apply to YouTube? While television delivers you to advertisers, who does YouTube deliver You to? Are You not also paying for the privilege to sell yourself?

[bodnotbod]

Great stuff. Personally it's very rare I see a TV ad. My TV is in the same room as the computer. When the ads come on I look at my email or whatever. OK, there's ads next to my email BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! Or, maybe it is. I dunno. [ shuffles off ]

[ep92626]

@bodnotbod you missed the point. it's not about the ads that are on tv, it's the actual tv programming. the actual tv shows you watch define what your world is. for example, if everyone on modern family/dancing with the stars was smoking marijuana throughout the episode and acted normally, it would become part of the public consciousness that marijuana is okay. what you perceive defines you, and television decides what you perceive.

[Pokiehl007]

Somehow the cheery music makes this even creepier...

[Vilamon]

Excellent Video! If you're interested in these subjects you may also like the work being done by BEWARE OF IMAGES. It's a feature-length, animated documentary about the history of visual representation. The movie explores the intricate relationship between the technology, regulation and social effects of mass media. Its aim is to serve as an educational and entertaining media literacy tool that can be enjoyed by everyone.

[gordongray6915]

I learned that youtube doesn't permit live sports, television episodes and movies stream however "stream episodes (DOT) net" allows it. I definitely suggest you fellas specially #VIDEOPOSTERID# to go check it out!

Television Delivers People

[btaraba90]

six minutes and 44 seconds of complete bullshit...

[pvx]

I know this doesn't really have anything to do with the content & message of this video (which is still very relevant almost 36 years later), and probably only tv broadcast engineering history anoraks (like myself) would care about this, but this video looks like it was made using a first-generation Vidifont character generator (the font is a giveaway), the very first foundry-quality CG developed by CBS Labs in 1971. Before the Vidifont, it was title cards/rolls placed in front of a camera.

[pvx]

In fact, here's a page dedicated to the first Vidifont (notice how the fonts look the same as here):

jcbd(dot)com/vidifont/

[StefanieCoimbra]

This is completely true, however, just because you get something served on a plate doesn't mean you gotta eat it right? Ideology is present everywhere, directly as well as indirectly. Demographics are sold to advertisers. Programming carries social critique. Through every program something is being promoted. You have to make the choice what to give in to, and what not. People will always be consumers, what you consume is your choice.

[StefanieEsaguy]

oh my god you make something so obvious sound like something that nobody knows..tell me something i dont know...besides if you think television promotes a certain ideology and that it consumes people, what do you think all the rest does? like cinema? or newspapers? or books? or music? its not that hard to figure out.

[IO1011]

They think all the rest does the exact same thing. The question is, why don't you care?

Ideology naturalizes and masks itself, and that's when it becomes most dangerous. People say this message is "overwrought" and "cliche" because ideology will always reappropriate any counter-cultural messages, commodify them, make them easily digestible, and sell them back to you.

You are now allowed to have your Che Guevara hacky-sack, because "Che Guevara" now means the picture of him you see on t-shirts.

[WrenThoughtful]

Does anyone know what the song is? I love the video, but I also want to get a copy of the song, non-distorted.

If you don't know the name of the song, anyone able to point me in the direction of more kitch music of this style?

[shibbygogo]

it's by a famous Hungarian composer... that's all I know

[mrashevski]

Hi! I´m not absolutely sure but I think that the piece is from Miklos Rozsa. Unfortunately it is so unfamous that you can't find it on the net or at least I can't find it. Good luck and tell me if you find it.

[yorishicko]

@mrashevski it's from Richard Serra

[mrashevski]

hi, yorishicko! sorry, I was talking about the music of the video. : )

[worldbridgermedia]

I love the distortion of old video. It has been lost in the age of digital.

[44eelz]

yeah tapes are cool , digital sux

[marquizzo]

Pretentious anti-establishment messages. I put up with tons of goth kids that preached this throughout high school. I can't believe I have to write an essay over something so pessimistic.

[troll39261]

I can't figure out how you could possibly see this video as pretentious. This is actually a concept that wasn't developed by artists, it was material taught to people studying marketing in the 60's and 70's.

And it's relevant today, if you go to any Google corporate building and ask them what servide they provide, they will tell you that they are "an advertisement company".

You are condemning this piece for being pessimistic, yet you are clearly just being a hypocrite.

[marquizzo]

Clearly just being a hypocrite? How so? I guess you're right if I'm being pessimistic when talking about something pessimistic. But then again, I can't be optimistic about something I don't agree with. I watch TV, I filter the messages, I am not a drone. This video makes it seem like I have no self-control.

[troll39261]

I don't think that's the message here. I think you've spent so much effort trying to be polemical about this video that you missed the point more or less.

[blindbat4ever]

ah but do you actually filter the messages??? or are you subconsiously picking them up??? I wonder??

[marquizzo]

How to find out... I think that out of all commercials I've seen in 6 months, I've only bought an X-Box. It's going for $199 now, I think it's a pretty good deal.

[ajbweiner]

the point is not that you are a mindless drone - you are whoever you are, but you are one of the mass of consumers that advertisers are hungry to have the opportunity to present their goods to. Serra's point on advertising is that it's absurd that we pay to be handed to the advertisers. The entertainment on TV is designed specifically to increase a channel's number of viewers. The more people are watching, the more they sell their advertising space for. We pay to make them money.

[InfinityDose]

videos like these are the only thing that make youtube mildly relevant.

[ead1529]

Infinitydose, I haven't found any other statement on Youtube which I agree with more than this.

[cygnusvideo]

@InfinityDose ironically now, the video has an advertisement attached to it

[InfinityDose]

haha, true... but the message of this video applies to youtube as much as it does to TV

[wmontano8]

@cygnusvideo lol

[robmontana]

It is brilliant that this is the only video on your page. What more do we need? It pretty much sums it all up. Thanks.

[3six5]

the truth is out there

[Fastdrum]

The soundtrack is so optmimistic and lovely.

[jackyjackson]

really does make sense

[simmonster]

you've done a great service posting this here. What makes youtube so important is gems like these.