Do you remember those commercials? Well, I guess that wouldn't be that long ago - I'm pretty sure I've seen some recently. However, it's not like you can learn much from the "educational" programming that TV has nowadays.
TLC, or The Learning Channel is such a joke - how did they get that name anyways? It's pretty much just a bunch of reality shows about having a baby, or decorating your home or something. They have these funny commercials about a made-up line of figurines called "life lessons" that you collect when you watch their programming, but what do you really learn from these shows? (Except how to dress any figure well - I can't dump on What Not to Wear - Stacy, Clinton - you my dawgs, yo!)
Same thing goes for Discovery - I agree with Jane, it's a little disconcerting the content. However, one show I like that they air is Mythbusters. Yes, it's purely entertainment, and loses focus on the learning, but it gets kids interested in science and math, as they often have to use physics and equations to carry out their experiments. Plus its always fun to watch them blow stuff up. Some of my favorite programming on Discovery used to be Shark Week. I loved watching all of the shows about feeding habits, migration and the like, but in recent years it seems to be lacking. Most of them now are CG recreations about prehistoric sharks, or a half-hour of "Poke the Shark with a Stick"
As for PBS, I can't say that I've watched much of it lately. The last thing I saw was a documentary on Jim Jones, which has me paranoid now of men who wear sunglasses inside. (For anyone not in the know, Jim Jones wore sunglasses constantly - and people still trusted him! How can you trust someone who won't let you see their eyes?!) About a month ago, my preacher joked that he was going to have to start wearing sunglasses because of the bright sunlight coming through the window. He put on some sunglasses, and as the thought ran through my head, I heard Caitlin's dad whisper "Jim Jones". (I watched the documentary at their house). Next thing you know, the old preacher will ask us to drink the Kool-Aid.
I kinda miss the educational shows. Every once in awhile they show something interesting. My favorite gimmick lately has been the "Anatomy of Sex". People watch it for the sex, but it's a clinical breakdown of all the processes and secretions made by the human body during foreplay and intercourse. Fascinating, but a total disappointment for any yokels looking for free porn on TV. (Duh, that'd be Cinemax...wait - you have to pay for that too... um, duh - that'd be MTV (yeah, that's better!))
Whatever happened to Bill Nye? or Beakman's World? or Mr. Wizard?! How about 3-2-1 Contact? Or Square One? (That's the show that had Mathnet, Caitlin, not 3-2-1 Contact (I just looked it up)). I miss all of those shows, and they made learning fun. What do kids have now? Welcome to the dumbing down of America.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
It's interesting that a lot of responses on this topic have "educational" being synonymous with "science-based".
Either we take the news and news programs for granted, or we've written them off to the point where they are barely worth mentioning.
I freaking love What Not To Wear. Did you see the one with the mom in her mid-thirties who had a pleather miniskirt, and her sisters read the tag that said "Wipe clean with a damp sponge"? And Stacey was all like "Let's introduce her to natural fibers!" and Clinton was all, "Yeah, and fitted jackets!" and Stacey was all "Yeah, and dark wash jeans and emPIRE waists!"? Well, that's every show. But they're good lessons!
I used to love Square One - mainly for Mathnet :-)
Also, recently they've been showing "The Science of Shark Sex" on Discovery.
Seriously? Who would want to watch about shark sex?
Oh - and Brooke- I totally saw that one. What's amazing to me is that there are people they surprise who watch the show and know who they are and still dress horribly.
Stephanie, I completely forgot to tell you that I saw Clinton on the street the other week. He was standing there on the office right by my corner looking around like he couldn't remember where the hell he was supposed to be going. He's really tall and was wearing a tan blazer over a pink button down. He wears stuff like that on the show ALL the time so now I'm convinced it's a uniform or something. When I saw him I immediately looked at myself to be sure I was dressed okay. Thankfully he caught me on a good day.
Post a Comment