“What happened?” – The words from Sayid that echoed in the ears of every LOST fan at the closing of the season six premiere on Tuesday night… and the phrase that would have been uttered by these fans about the State of the Union address if the two events had coincided (assuming that die-hard fans would have chosen news about the Island over news about the USA).
Prior to the announcement of the date of the President’s address, there was some fear amongst LOST viewers that the speech would be on the same night as the long-awaited premiere. According to a New York Times article on January 8th (see the link below if you’re interested), the White House press secretary (Robert Gibbs) made it a point to let fans know they could rest at ease without fear of a conflict. Gibbs said (quoted from the article): “I don’t foresee a scenario in which the millions of people that hope to finally get some conclusion in ‘Lost’ are preempted by the president.” Sigh of relief from producers and fans alike.
Now, I have to admit, I’m a LOST fan, too. Not necessarily a junkie, but I really do enjoy the plot and the show as a whole. Since being at college and being surrounded by friends who bring up LOST at every possible opportunity, my opinion of the show grew from a distant respect to a real and genuine love. (Yes, I even joined a group of these same friends to dress up as our favorite LOST characters for the premiere event. What can I say?)
I find it really interesting, though, how LOST has infiltrated the lives, conversations, and concerns of millions of people around the country. So much so that it was actually a topic addressed by the White House press secretary last month. It goes to show you how much of an influence different realms of media can have in our every-day lives. Sometimes we give the media a bad rap by spouting off how it can be used to change and – dare I use the word – indoctrinate people. Granted, the media (especially in entertainment) are pretty powerful, particularly in our society which seems to be driven by them. But regardless of this fact, I think that another important point to consider is that the media can not only drive what we think but what we think about. [Disclaimer: I stole that last phrasing from a recent COM class.] As is the case with LOST (and many, many other things), media-related topics dominate our conversations. They become almost like safe havens where we return to when we’ve exhausted all other options: “So, what did you think about last night’s premiere?”
David Croteau and William Hoynes (media experts and co-authors of the book Media/Society) say that – and I would by all means agree – “television [was] the dominant form of media in the late twentieth century.” Whether we realize it or not, we watch a lot of TV in our lives. 30 minutes here, 60 minutes there (even if you stream it online that 60 is still around 42). You get the point; it adds up. As Croteau and Hoynes put it, “Television occupies so much of our leisure time and seems to so routinely dominate the cultural landscape of the United States that claims about its preeminence among media technologies rarely seem overstated.” Simply put, media forms (which are definitely not limited to TV) are so pervasive in our society that sometimes we don’t even realize their effects. Even now you’re using one form of media to read about another, something which is in no way out of the ordinary (you probably didn’t even give it a second thought until now).
I don’t think the pervasiveness of the media is a bad thing, but it’s something to think about it every now and then. And the next time you talk with your friends, see how quickly (and even how frequently) a media-related topic jumps into the conversation. Try it. Come back here and share your thoughts. Oh, by the way, “Did you hear the new theory about the Island?"
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/lost-premiere-wont-be-pre-empted-by-presidents-speech/
How funny! Media have some control over what is happening to the President! As an avid LOST fan, I can understand the concern-- who didn't want to know what was going to happen with Jacob and ...the other?! But, wow, where do we draw the line? Fiction Television show over one of the most important speeches the President gives? That seems to be on the edge of scary, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe I'm missing the point--- I'm sure the real reason is that President Obama is a LOST fan, too.
-Betsy
Good observations! I know I was watching Lost and, had it conflicted with the President's speech, would have had to DVR one of them....hmm....which one?
ReplyDeleteM.
I never thought about the media influencing WHAT we think about as much as suggesting HOW we should think about it. That is an interesting twist. It is true though that most will revert to talking about TV shows or movies when they have little else to discuss or are meeting someone for the first time. Isn't that a hoot. People will even plan their days or evening events around a favorite show. A few minutes here and there doesn't seem like a lot of time until you keep a log and realize how much time is spent doing something that has very little return on invested time. I wonder sometimes if technology and the media are really helping us or causing us to become more and more lazy and less motivated because everything is at our finger tips. We don't even have to formulate our own opinions anymore, all we have to do is push a button.
ReplyDeleteUFG8tor
Technology certainly does have the capacity to make us lazy, to take in what we hear/read/see without processing it. On a similar note, though, I think that an interesting dynamic of new forms of media is that there are more opportunities for "audience participation." Just as one example, blogs (such as this one) make it possible for anyone to voice their opinions via a mass medium - which creates opportunity for us to exercise our mental muscles a bit more.
ReplyDelete