MUST-501 Lessons

Welcome back for Lesson Three! I trust that you have been attending all of your other classes, and doing all your homework? Excellent. I’m proud of you!

This week we will continue on our pop culture exploration with a look at television. Last week we explored a bit of television by discussing reality television relative to music, but this week will be all about television by itself. Why is this topic needed? Well, Muggles tend to spend, on average, five hours watching television per day. Per day! That’s a lot of television! Can you imagine? I myself have an addiction to a few Muggle television shows, but I’m not going to share which ones - you’ll have to see if you can figure it out!

Let’s Talk about TV!

We talked at length last year about films; so what is television? I like to think of it as miniature films, but more widely utilized - Muggles seem to be far more content to stay home and watch television than to go out to the cinema. Television was first made available to the Muggle public following their World War II (the same time that our Global Wizarding War ended). These initial televisions, like the first films, were in black and white. They quickly grew in popularity, and through the 1950s and 1960s, television was the medium where most Muggles gained their knowledge and made their opinions from - a surprising leap from print media! By 1992, there were more than 900 million televisions in Muggle households throughout the world. That’s quite a large number, and one can see how easily Muggles have become addicted. You can watch anything - television is available 24 hours a day, just at the touch of a button. Indeed, programming found on television during the middle of the night aren’t of very high quality, but you can certainly find something to watch. Even repeats (reruns) of previously aired television shows.

Television in Modern Times

With the internet being such a widespread tool of consuming information, it’s only natural that the viewing of television shows has moved to this platform. Many Muggles no longer own actual televisions, and only watch their show online with their computers! Netflix is a hugely popular option worldwide, allowing users to watch (also called ‘streaming’) a variety of television shows AND films. This has caused many manufacturers to introduce televisions with internet access built in, allowing Muggles to watch Netflix and access other internet-based things, such as YouTube, through their television instead of their computer. Sounds interesting, right? Streaming has become so popular, with new films and television shows being uploaded mere days after release, that the poor film industry has begun to suffer. And you know how I feel about films. As we discussed last year, inventions like 3D films have attempted to bring viewers back.

One of the most noticeable things about Muggles watching television in recent years is that they do not do so on its own. What do I mean? Well, Muggles are famous for multitasking - while watching television, they are on their computers, on their phones, washing the dishes (remember, no Scourgify to use!), exercising, you name it.

Ah, but what else happens with television that causes pop culture phenomena? Well, advertisements. Television shows watched via traditional means, the television set, are subject to advertisements periodically throughout the show - even news shows. Stores, restaurants, merchandisers - all of them want to entice Muggles to buy their products, so their 30 second to one minute advertisements interspersed throughout the program must do this. There are even sporting events where advertisers pay millions of Galleons just the for honour of showing their advertisements!

The Birth of ‘Reality TV’

One can really consider reality television, which we discussed from a musical standpoint last week, to have been born when live television itself hit the airwaves. The first major incident of live television occurred in 1949 when continuous coverage was aired of a girl who fell into a well. This kicked off the idea that news coverage, particularly ‘fresh’ news, was necessary to ensure that the viewers could form informed opinions. This was a leap from radio news, as television news programs could include still photos and short videos of the news being discussed. The ‘reality’ of this news airing became so sought-after, many television stations introduced daily news recap programs, and were quick to have live action reports if there were significant events happening nearby.

This reality aspect was also continued in the entertainment shows that became popular. Throughout the 1950s, game shows and quiz shows became a staple for every station. These shows easily pushed aside the ones that had been airing for years. Many were mired in scandal, of course, as not many believed that someone could simply show up to a television studio, answer some questions, and walk away with money. It seems rather simplistic, yes? Even today, in modern times, there are quite a few game shows that air, some for decades. They have retained their popularity through the changing attitudes - why is that? Perhaps one of the reasons they were so popular is the appearance of easy money. Regular Muggles wouldn’t have to work hard for their money - they could simply go on one of these shows and win some. But is that always the best way to do it? I’ll leave that for you to think about.

Endurance

So how has television endured for so long? There seems to be a limit to the number of ideas that can be made into television shows and actually be interesting. That was one of the problems that television stations began to run into as early as the mid-1950’s. Thus, books were made into miniseries - these were longer than a film, but shorter than the average television show would air in a year. They would be limited to one year, and authors such as Agatha Christie, who wrote intriguing mysteries, would be among the most popular to convert.

 Comedy would become more popular as well - though not the slapstick-style comedy that we saw from the early Charles Chaplin films. Comedy became, well, more intelligent. Television shows, even if they were not reality or news shows, would begin including references to events occurring while they were filming. Television shows would also be made about events that were occurring - such as M*A*S*H. If you haven’t seen that show, you must watch a least a few episodes - it is such a wonderful blend of true events, comedy, drama, and romance. It is based on a team of military doctors stationed in Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953). It sounds like it would be very grim, and there were times it was, but it also gave a fairly realistic view of the war for those who were at home.

A different side of comedy would gain popularity during the 1950s, and endure even today, is the sketch comedy show. Many Muggles of today primarily know Saturday Night Live, which combines short comedy ‘sketches’ on a variety of topics, with politics, and a musical guest. SNL, as it is commonly referred to, didn’t debut until 1975 though - so what preceded it? Well, shows like The Jack Benny Program, The Milton Berle Show, All Star Revue were the first of this genre; these shows paved the way for The Carol Burnett show, and, ultimately, SNL.

What’s The Big Deal?

So why are these important? I know that I haven’t covered every individual decade, nor every style of show has been produced, so why are these types of shows important? It brings us back to the whole point of Year Five - pop culture. Live news, true story shows, reality television, comedy shows - these all, if you really consider what they are actually about, highlight the changing attitudes and changing popularity of what Muggles like. For example, Muggles love to see all things space-related. We explored that a little bit last year when we talked about science fiction films and why they endured. So, Muggle fascination with this topic leads to virtually every single space shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida being aired live - even when disaster struck (which cannot be anticipated). Many schools even show the launches live during classes. Many adults will recall watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, in 1986, which exploded almost immediately following takeoff, tragically killing all seven crew members on board. Space flights did not resume for more than two years after that event, but many Muggles still recall how they felt while watching the situation unfold.

Today, there are three key categories of television shows that Muggles can’t seem to get enough of - reality television shows (many different types), crime / hospital dramas, and talk shows. Talk shows are the one category that I can’t seem to wrap my head around - even though I grew up in a primarily Muggle household! The idea is that people, sometimes celebrities, sit around a table or in chairs in a semi-circle, and talk. Usually the discussion centres around the ‘hot topics’ of the day, which can be political, celebrity scandal, other television shows, etc. These individuals literally talk and share their opinions on the topics. It’s not something I’ve ever been particularly interested in, but apparently it is much loved!

Censorship

And this brings me to the final topic we’re going to discuss today - censorship. What is censorship? Censorship can be loosely defined as the suppression or removal of free speech or other objectionable information, which is usually determined by the government or the media - essentially, those who appear to control the flow of information. We have experience censorship ourselves. How many years was it essentially forbidden to speak Voldemort’s name? How many important pieces of information have been hidden from us, particularly during the Second Wizarding War? Muggles have their own censorship woes, but on a much grander scale.

Censorship can include things as simple as removing ‘bad words’ from a television show by replacing it with silence or a ‘bleep’. Sometimes the faces of the actors even have a small black bar placed across their mouths so that the word used cannot even be seen to be mouthed. It has included forbidding certain books to be sold, or films to be seen.

However, what is censored has evolved over the years, just as everything else does. Words that were considered ‘bad’ during the television shows of the 1940s and 1950s are commonplace now. Clothing, which we will discuss in more detail next lesson, has grown more risque. I’m not going to focus on what could be a largely political discussion on why it exists, only that it does. One of the ways that television has been censoring live broadcasts is through the broadcast delay. This is where a live program is taped, and is aired slightly behind the actual live showing. The typical delay is seven seconds, which allows for censoring any inappropriate situations that arise during the live show. Whether you agree with this or not, it is something that is quite common in programs aired in the United States, but has been used in other countries as well, though not to the same degree.

 That brings this lesson to a close! We’ve covered a wide variety of topics related to television this week, and you are rewarded with your attention by having both an essay and a quiz as your homework this week! I know how much you all love your homework, so I thought you’d really enjoy two assignments.

 Please join me next lesson for a discussion on fashion! I may even have a surprise for you - you’ll have to attend to find out!