When I think of television I think of the 24″ set made by Hitachi that I grew up with in the 1970s and ultimately inherited in the early 1990s. It has a wooden case, no remote control and a picture that once was stunning, ultimately died. It was fairly heavy and bulky.
Televisions are still heavy and bulky. The screen size may have grown but in many ways the manoeuvrability has decreased. So much so that in some cases, it now comes with the house in the same way the kitchen appliances used to. Like those appliances, television sets used to be free standing items, which either came with a stand or cabinet.
Today, the TV is often hung on the wall like the traditional drawing room mirror above the fireplace. I’ll pass on the subject of how the walls, made of papier-mâché as they seem to be in my part of the world, can support the weight? As a mirror though, the television is a fair replacement.
Arguably television (and the mirror of course) reflects a picture of today’s culture and what society has become. It’s chicken and egg as to which drives the other but the connection seems strong. For instance, if I look at the constant advertising which breaks programmes into smaller and smaller pieces I wonder how long it will be before Twitter TV appears? Or a sitcom written with 140 character dialogue?
The internet is rapidly turning into a 21st century television. Yes, there is interesting content to read and explore and increasingly to watch, but it’s increasingly a passive exercise. Even the venerable BBC has reduced it’s written content online and replaced it with video plus advertising.
I use my computer to watch television programmes and like my old Hitachi, it has a 24″ screen. Despite the technology, I wonder, have things really changed?
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