Television In The 1920's Essay

In the 1920’s an uncountable number of inventions were introduced into society that sprung the nation during its time. Society faced only a over all increase in every way possible. Many inventions were introduced during the 1920’s like the lie detector test, the radio station, and the invention of television.

n Barbara Ehrenreich’s The Worst Years of Our Lives, she highlights a significant infection festering in American Culture: television as a main event, or only event in a day. As she says “you never see people watching tv”, and that happens because it truly isn’t entertaining. It substitutes for a life. The television has been pulling people into an allusion of a false reality and a seemingly boring life since its implementation. She essentially illustrates the negative impact television has on todays society.

“Did you know in the 1920ś”, American imports were numerous songs, and musical elements that referred to places or cultures considered to be exotic to Americans? (Pope) The 1920’s tied together a bunch of events from the decade to even the next decade. This decade separated the genre of jazz from ragtime and the blues. (Funk & Wagnalls) The 1920’s had opened up opportunities for musicians in many ways from getting jobs to earning money, and or getting to hear the snazzy new sounds of the 20’s. The technology of music was a weightful impact not only on the 1920’s but also the 30’s, 40’s, and so on. The decade was truly the age for sound, it spread like a wildfire after cries of anathema and hatred tore open

In addition to economic prosperity and hero’s creating a bigger sense of optimism, the American people still had a thirst for entertainment. Movies and plays were becoming a new sensation as it allowed people to escape the realities of their live, giving them a notion of freedom.

Television wasn’t a product that was owned by the public until the 1950s, the essential technology was created earlier in the century. John Logie Baird started constructing a functional television shortly after the World War I in the South Coast of England. In 1924, he finally made progress when he transmitted a flickering image across the space of several feet, then in 1925, he created the first real television picture in grayscale, with the use of a ventriloquist 's dummy and then a human face. The TV was brought into the eyes of many people in 1926, when John Logie Baird presented the device in presence of 50 scientists. John’s main goal was to provide a new source of entertainment which can help bring families together. His studies in engineering acted as a catalyst to what seemed to be an impossible invention.

Broadcasts were now used as conversation starters, and were something everyone could relate to nationwide. It enabled easy communication, which people enjoyed. Their broadcasts were based on what people liked to read about in the newspaper, and had music that interested every taste. With shows like music, comedy, drama, mystery, crime, news, gossip, documentaries, and children's programs, they had something that appealed to everyone.

When KDKA transmitted the first commercial radio broadcast on November 2, 1920, that sound could travel through the air to a location many miles away must have seemed amazing for all Americans in the era. Unfortunately, few people heard the broadcast because there were not many radios during the late 1910s because it was not well known. There was about one thousand radios in 1920 and it cost about hundred and fifty dollars (1920’s Radio). Regardless, the novelty of the radio caught the public’s imagination and soon, manufacturers could not keep up with the demand for radio receivers. Between 1923 and 1930, a whopping sixty percent of American families purchased radios and a custom where families gathered around it is time entertainment, forever

According to Gilbert Seldes, “the greatest success of television has been triumphs of transmission, not of invention” (Sterne 503). The possibility that something might happen to disrupt the television’s everyday flow of information compels viewers to continue watching. The cable industry formerly recognized as, ‘Community Antenna Television’ originated during the 1940’s (Streeter 223). They aim to provide enhanced signal reception in remote areas, which was distributed on a coaxial cable network owned by AT&T throughout the fifties and sixties (226). Live television builds an audience by guaranteeing direct access to current affairs and providing accurate information. Television aims to be everywhere, it always has something to say, and serves to become the “electronic air we breathe” (Telotte 180). However, an audience’s underlying desire to watch television provides an escape into an endless void. Television foregrounds its capacity for liveness with its ability to transmit picture to sound instantaneously; however, it varies to a degree of immediacy, intimacy, and authenticity, all of which is built upon an ideological framework. Therefore, television relies on the illusion of liveness to maintain audience viewership; it emerges from a process of reification, and lastly these programs follow a distinct narrative format.

The 1920's should be remembered as a cynical but carefree time of jazz, gin, and socioeconomic prosperity. Modern cultural norms were drastically affected during this period. Numerous technological innovations evolved, and mass production of technology plagued the United States, ultimately benefiting, and negatively affecting economic, social, and political gestures. Whereas the telephone and radio had already been invented, they became of popular use during the early 20th century, both of which were used to positively alter the entertainment industry. Phonograph technology saw rise during this period, which allowed musicians (such as jazz instrumentalists, whose study is primarily based on improvisation techniques) to produce phonograph recordings

The 1950s was not only a time of a growing threat of communism and the fear of nuclear war, but it was also a time of increasing satisfaction in the latest consumer product: the television. TVs captivated the American public to the point where books were being forgotten about. Though books were still being bought and sold, some never made it to the shelf because of the growing amount of government censorship. The government not only censored books, but they also censored movies, content on radios, and other creative works. This censorship controlled what the American public read, watched, and heard, which in turn limited the information available to the public. Ray Bradbury, an author of this era, wrote one of his most famous books, Fahrenheit 451, inspired by the new technology and government corruption in the 1950s. Through Bradbury’s use of effective character development and symbolism, he is able to illustrate the problems of government censorship and technology in his futuristic dystopia in his novel Fahrenheit 451.

Imagine a world where communication is difficult, there is not a lot of entertainment, and places are hard to get to. This actually was the world in the 1900s-1910s. Technology has come a long way since the early 1900s. Our world has become more advanced and fast paced due to the advances of technology. Over the last 100 years, technology is by far the biggest change in our culture.

As the Open-Door Policy and economic reform encouraged the independency of individual and family, some new forms of consumerism, individualism have occurred. Not only was the economy opened to the world, but also the rest of the country, meaning that China would accept more open and vibrant culture and have more interactions with the outside world. In recent years, consumerism has become more and more important to the development of the contemporary Chinese popular culture. And television definitely contributed a lot in it.

Today television plays a big role in many people’s life, especially for children. It is hard to imagine a world without television. Thanks to the development of technology, television is invented, and considered as a great medium that provokes imagination, encourages education, and entertains the children around the world. Television can also be a beefy influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior (Bee, 1998). Besides considering some benefits, some people believe that this telecommunication medium creates many problems to the kids. To attract the audiences, many movies and series have a tendency to contain more uncensored violent scenes. Numerous children spend too much time on watching television each day, and their parents cannot control what kind of TV shows or videos that their sons or daughters are watching. Research reveals that exposure to violent media can result in aggressive attitudes and violent behavior in some children (Dr. Gail Gross). This paper, with the aim of providing parents an overview

Without doubt television is the most effective medium to deliver information to large numbers of people very quickly. News in one part of the world can be seen within minutes or even seconds in any other part of the world.

This review study shed light on the debate over positive and negative aspects of media. In this study positive side of media is highlighted as well as negative effects. Previously researchers have found that all types of electronic media whether its TV or computer or internet or social media have negative impact on children but now researchers are focusing on educational aspect of media and how educational programs can help in developing cognitive thinking among children. Finally to increase learning among children researchers suggests that co-viewing of Parent and children should be promoted in families in Pakistan.