Television and American Culture

"Television will be of no importance in your lifetime or mine."
Bertrand Russell, 1948

"Not more than 10 percent of the population will take up television permanently."
Raymond Postgate, 1935

"Television won't last because people will get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox co-founder, 1946

Loved or hated, television holds a unique place in modern American culture. Often scorned by intellectuals, scoffed at by critics, and blamed for a variety of social ills, television even after more than sixty years is still America's favorite pastime. No other medium can claim the breadth of influence as American TV in the twentieth century. No other medium can claim to be concurrently a catalyst for and a reflection of the extraordinary changes in this country and around the world.

The ubiquitous television is intertwined so completely into life it is taken for granted as an essential in the American home. Pre-packaged dinners, quick to serve and easy to eat snack foods, entertainment units, and recliners with cup holders all are designed to accompany or enhance the TV viewing experience. Multiple TV sets and dozens of channel options are commonplace in the American home today. Televisions are on in doctors' offices, airports, and even in our cars. With the latest technology, a tiny hand-held unit the size of a cell phone will make it possible to never be out of touch with a favorite program. Within sixty years, television went from a curiosity with an unclear future to an indispensable part of modern life.

In 1951 intricate networks of affiliated television stations connected the country coast-to-coast giving the fledgling medium national coverage. Coupled with the post WWII proliferation of children, a phenomenon was born. Sitting on the floor in front of small black and white screens, television’s first generation of viewers fell in love with Ricky Nelson, Kitten, Beaver, and Captain Kangaroo. As television's first devotees, they matured and their tastes evolved right along with the technology and the programming. Now, with wall-size sets and flat screens no deeper than a picture frame, they along with children and grandchildren are still faithfully watching. In fact, by the time the average Baby Boomer reaches retirement age, he will have spent a full ten years of life in front of the television.*

Television has settled into this important place in our contemporary life for many reasons. Perhaps one of the more compelling is that, unlike film, it fulfills a variety of emotional needs. On Sunday afternoons with beer, chips, close friends and an anticipated football game, watching TV becomes the focus of an exciting social gathering. In the middle of a sleepless night, curled up alone on the sofa with a pint of ice cream and reruns of much loved childhood programs, television becomes a reliable, comforting companion. With our children gathered around us after dinner, watching a favorite weekly sitcom can be a delightful opportunity to bond. When earth-shaping events occur, we turn to the TV so we can experience the news in real time with other people from around the globe making the entire world feel smaller and more connected.

When it is off, a television it is just another piece of electronic equipment. But, when it's on it captures the imagination and reflects the spirit of an entire country. Whether watching seven indomitable Americans stranded on an island, an irascible bigot at home, a police precinct at work, or a neighborhood of slightly crazy desperate housewives, we watch ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our communities. Sometimes we see a reflection and sometimes what we see is only fuel for dreams. No matter how it is interpreted, television’s influence is so tightly interwoven into the American experience that modern life is unimaginable without it.

*the statistical average is four hours per day