Mediocrity
Mon, December 9, 2019 I sometimes feel our society is drowning in an ocean of mediocrity. Crappy TV, crappy music on the radio, and crappy movies shown at my local theater. Not to mention junk food being fed to us.
The sad thing is there is good music and good movies being made but you won’t hear it on your radio or see it at the theater. Why? Because music you have to really listen to fully appreciate, or movies that make you think, do not appeal to the masses.
Just as junk food gives a body instant gratification, so too does junk TV, music and movies. And crappy TV and other entertainment is destroying people’s minds, just as surely as junk food destroys bodies.
The sugar or salt on junk food only gives a person fleeting pleasure while they are actually eating it. The moment they stop eating they are craving more.
So too with entertainment, people are constantly listening to music through ear buds because they are not actually listening, it is just background noise.
It is not difficult to eat healthy, it is not even expensive, however, it does require a conscious effort to research, choose and prepare the right food. It is not difficult to find decent entertainment either, it just takes a conscious effort to seek it out.
Some people might even find benefit if they removed the ear buds while running or riding their bikes and simply listen to the sounds of nature, or even just enjoy the silence. Plus, they would have increased awareness of their surroundings, thus increasing their safety.
About six years ago I dropped cable TV. I got tired of paying a premium for 150 channels and finding nothing worth watching. All I have now is an Internet connection, and my TVs connect through Wifi.
I switched to Hulu and Netflix, together with Amazon Prime that comes with my annual subscription. Between the three I can pick and choose what shows I want to watch. More important I can watch them when I want to, I am not tied to the TV channel’s schedule.
I also subscribe to NBC Sports Gold / Cycling, which means I can watch all the Spring Classic Bike Races, and the Grand Tours in my big screen TV.
It is one of the best things I ever did, it is costing me a fraction of what I previously paid for cable. And I have found there are some great movies being made that never make it to the movie theatre.
I never have a TV on unless I am actually watching it. Only occasionally will I play background music, and never when I’m driving, I find it distracting. If I am not consciously listening, I prefer silence.
I find by constantly listening to, or watching something but not paying attention to it, desensitizes the mind. We develop a habit of "Not Listening," and we never fully appreciate what we see or hear.
Like all mediocre art and entertainment, it appears good at first glance. But look deeper and there is no substance. It is important to me what I feed my body and my mind.
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Reader Comments (17)
I think this touches on a wider issue of control from goverments, big business etc. They need a complient, dependent society, fed a daily diet of mind numbing tv, poor food with the resultant diseases which big pharma companies supply shed loads of medication to treat. I think cattle on some farms have a better life than some people!
Len Clark,
You are so right, but this is my point. We still have a choice, (Somewhat.) and can opt out of the system. I don't follow blindly what my doctor tells me, or take whatever he wants to prescribe. I research stuff, and become my own advocate. There is good food and good entertainment out there, one has to make an effort and seek it out.
Dave
I agree this country is now liberal and no longer has any values. TV the net, movies you name it are garbage. I recently signed up for Acorn TV at least I can get some good British TV shows and movies, Netflix is OK I will not watch any American sit com's etc. all as far as I am concerned garbage. Hollywood is so liberal, that all they make anymore is Violence and sex. FOOD that's another story. I can not remember the last time we ate at a fast food joint. But thinking back to the 1950s we ate a lot of junk then, fried this and fried that, chips bloody chips with everything, but I am 86 STILL HERE!! So I guess it did not do that much harm, Maybe the fresh home grown veggies we ate helped, Mom never ever fixed anything out of can .Meat fresh every day from the local butchers.Cooked fresh everyday WOMAN'S LIB NOW HUH!
Good points about radio and TV. I only listen to my own song lists in the car, never radio stations. For the last 10 years I've recorded any TV I want to watch on my DVR and only watch news live. Now the Tour de France is the only classic left on Cable and the cost keeps going up while content diminishes, I'm seriously considering doing what Dave did. Half the stuff I watch now on my smart TV is either free or cheap via Internet.
I would disagree with some comments that the short-attention-span, immediate-gratification state of our culture has anything to do with the country being liberal or conservative. Rather, the internet has made it possible for businesses, entrepreneurs and regular folks to dangle a seemingly infinite number of “shiny things” to lure people into thinking they need to see, hear or experience the latest whatever. People’s brains get hooked on the pleasure of “shopping” and indulging. (My 24-year-old daughter can drive me crazy by her inability to listen to an entire song. She’ll listen to half of it, get bored, and then switch to something else. Although, she’s so used to our on-demand world that she sees no need to have a TV while on her own. She watches everything on her laptop or phone.) I think one of the best antidotes to the unhealthy aspects of this situation is doing things like cycling. You don’t get your endorphin buzz unless use your heart, lungs and legs to get there. And you’re using your brain and senses all the time to observe and process all the information that surrounds or impacts you during such an activity — rather than passively taking in what’s fed to you. And there’s also the meditative aspect, which allows you to clear your mind of life’s stresses and strains. (One of the reasons I no longer use a speedometer and odometer when I ride.) In short, cycling requires discipline and provides an escape—which people need a lot of right now. ... But I have my weaknesses too. Like Dave, I too subscribe to NBC Sports’ cycling package and also a VPN service that hides my location so I can watch Eurosport’s cycling coverage, which otherwise is blocked in the U.S. But, ya know, that’s different 😊
I ditched the TV completely over a year ago, don't even miss it.
We probably could have a similar discussion when radio became a standard in every house, than it was the television, MTV and rock/roll, and now it is computer and internet! I think that we still need to keep in mind that one person's crappy music could be someone's treasure. To some (including me), earbuds are dangerous and to others freedom from wires.
This is all about how we manage change within ourselves and interacting with others. Whether we like it or not, everything evolves in some fashion or another. We can decide to fight it, jump in 100%, or manage it. The problem is that we are in the middle of an overloaded and probably overstimulated society and it is difficult to 'take it down' a notch. How can we emphasize more quality and less quantity? Dave, I definitely agree that paying attention or being mindful of whatever we do (or not do) will give us the direction we need.
I do not agree with John's comments implying a liberal society has no values...where did that come from? I had to re-read Dave's post and look for liberal/conservative. No mention of it. Keep up the great posts Dave!
Mike S, My comments about "a Liberal society has no values". In my mind we need to get back to family values. its seems to me that people are to permissive with their children, have lost control, let them do as they please, buy them what they want when they want it, watch the garbage on the TV and PCs That is why Hollywood and these PC game company's make all this junk When do families get together have a meal TALK to each other WITHOUT A BLOODY CELL PHONE TURNED ON That is what I am talking about. What do you think Dave?
Please keep political comment out of my blog. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find interesting and entertaining subject matter to write about, without what I do write about being turned into a political discussion.
If I delete comments or ban people from commenting here, (Which I can do.) that is a censorship on free speech which I am against.
The article is about poor taste in entertainment and the arts. The idea that a person's political affiliation has anything to do with that, is ludicrous and just goes to show how politically divided we have become.
If anyone has any ideas on how to stay neutral anymore, I would like to know.
Dave
Dave "Poor taste in entertainment and the arts" concerns me also, Classical music is now almost never heard of anymore Children are obsessed with videos games and violence and sex on TV and in movies. Hollywood and the all the PC games company's are only interested in making money, as long as the parents allow their kids to watch and NOT control what they watch, this will continue. My comennets about "liberal society has no values" is just, that nothing political. We seem to live now, in a do as you please anything goes world with no values anymore, no family life as we knew it. I was taught as I am sure you also, to respect your elders and listen to what they have to say, learn from them. You and I are both artists and musicians that have a lot to offer the younger generation but they no longer care, they are only interested in EAR BUDS AND USING THE INDEX FINGER on a BLOODY KEY BOARD Sad I think PROGRESS???
Just look for the label "amazing" that seems to be tagged onto everybody and everything being marketed to the unthinking masses, and you can just about be guaranteed they/it fit(s) into the mediocre category.
I'd like to be able to see more bike racing on TV here in the UK (I live in Scotland). ITV4 covers the big races though, which is something. I read recently that there's a Sky Sports package that you can subscribe to on a month-by-month basis, which I'll look into. Amazon are also getting into sports coverage which might be interesting. I don't watch much TV usually though - just the news.
Addressing Dave's comments on TV programs: I was recently having a discussion with some friends on something similar. I thought back to shows I watched growing up - 'To the manor born', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Yes, minister/Prime minister' etc. These were all relatively intelligent shows that ran for a season or two. They stopped when the writers ran out of quality material.
Contrast that to popular shows on TV over the last few decades. The modern shows have a good first season and maybe a good half season following that, then they run on and on with poor story lines and limp acting. Then they die when nobody is watching them any more. It is a focus on milking the cash cow to death instead of making art. For example take the show 'House'. The first season had excellent stories, and phenomenal acting and then the show went on and on with less compelling stories and more of a 'soap' feeling to it.
It's funny when people ask me if I have seen this or that show. It has been almost a decade since we stopped watching TV. While we have Netflix and Amazon, I rarely have the time to watch anything. On rare occasions I will watch a documentary or maybe a show like 'Endeavour', but that's pretty rare. I spend most of my time hiking, riding or doing woodwork. If I'm home, I'll read or cook. No time for shows.
That being said, people are going to watch what they find compelling. I get it - life is not easy for a lot of people, and sometimes an escape into the fluff on TV is welcome. It is also easy to get pulled in, but as you say Dave - it is like empty calories. Nothing substantial there.
Great Granpappy told me the world had gone to blazes,
since the Emperor Franz Joseph died.
Or was it when the Navy went to steam, or the high wheeler was
replaced by the so-called "safety bicycle". Me, I believe the
end was when the Bible was translated into English.
At least the English have voted to finally free themselves from
the Norman boot.
Merry Xmas, from the Hapsburgs!
Scottg. Funny, Your comments about "High wheelers" been replaced by the "Safety bicycle" .I think " HIGH WHEELERS" could now be the "SAFETY BICYCLE", At least then, all the bloody motorist could see you, maybe save a few cyclist lives.
@John Crump
If penny-farthings were the only bicycles on the roads, I'm sure they would be clearly visible. However, with just a fixed wheel "brake", they would be illegal and very few people would be skilled enough to ride them anyway.
john B You got that right, plus its a little hilly in Colorado. BUT we have had several cyclist killed of late around this area, something has to be done. I will now not ride the roads if possible and only ride the bike paths, we are lucky to have a large system of paths in Parker,Colorado I can now ride almost 100 miles on them.