Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in Essay

Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in the late 1950s - Essay Example Talking about reasons we cannot take in consideration only technical progress and therefore technical reasons. When one media channel of information for mass perception is changed and replaced by another, not only practical and technical reasons are at hand but also people’s ability to adapt, social challenges, and general mood of the society. Radio was the most widespread, successful, and popular media source in the twenties, thirties, and forties in the United States and Europe. Historical changes and political collapses urged society to develop new and fast means of communication and entertainment. Radio as a mass media instrument quickly developed after the First World War because progress in communication was a necessary tool during the wartime. The Roaring Twenties masterfully inclined the idea of home entertainment and news broadcasting using radio transmissions (Mowitt, 2011) Of course, printing was at the high level too offering their consumers all the necessary package of global events, comic strips, home recipes etc. But with cinema being used only for the art and entertainment, collective consciousness quickly developed a new necessity for the ability to hear everything about anything without a need to leave their house. In 1936 Federal communications Commission’s first chief commissioner Anning S. Pral l named radio â€Å"a combination of the schoolhouse, the church, the public postrum, the newspaper, the theater, the concert hall – in fact all media devoted to the education and enlightment of the people† (Prall, 1936). Radio was the voice of the world, the voice of the time in the late period of the first half of the twentieth century, century of global and local breakdowns. Radio was used as a generator of public opinion, describing and uniting all classes and groups of people, creating the means of propaganda for the purposes of governments and entertainment for the average citizens. With cinema still being on the low level and considering

Sitcom Internet Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sitcom Internet Assignment - Research Paper Example Presently, people cite most of these sitcoms lack the necessary â€Å"glue† and creativity, which in the past used to draw large masses into watching them (Rowles). They are just like other â€Å"easygoing† shows comprising TV programs often trying hard to be clever in both entertaining and creating attention but in vain (Rowles). For instance, Rowles in his article cites the current â€Å"Modern Family† does not have those â€Å"gluing† and thrilling scenes, hence, many viewers currently only watch them because it is â€Å"just there†. This depicts lack of creativity leading to retarding nature of characters that almost throughout relayed episodes do not have anything new but the recycled depiction of behaviors. Hence, turning to be predictable such that viewers are always aware of the upcoming episode and what will present, which signifies absence of originality almost in all shows. Therefore, current sitcoms seem to attract viewers only by use of well-crafted and scripted names or titles. This is evident in â€Å"Modern family† whereby the show ought to depict the reality characterizing 21st century family setting but assumes a conservative nature, which is even far from incomparable to the 1920s American sexual transition era (Rowles). Most of this show’s episodes do not deal with modern predicaments facing families to make them thrilling and entertaining but tend to focus on jealousy issues mostly represented by Petty. This has prompted some of its viewers claiming the show even in ten decades to come will remain the same irrespective of airing numerous episodes. Since, the show has never presented viewers with anything thrilling to challenge their imaginations to such an extent they are unable to guess the nature of next episodes (Rowles). Ojalvo, Doyne and Schulten in their study refer sitcoms as â€Å"cultural texts† whereby anybody is capable of predicting their entire outcomes. They are similar t o numerous texts students normally analyze whereby eventually manage to get similar stylistic devices. This is absence of innovation on the part of scriptwriters and those behind sitcoms despite giving them fancy names bear similar materials. This is recycling of ideas with little or no change to add on the thrilling aspects contrary to the viewers who are changing by the day as they watch other varied programs. Hence, they depict a downward trend that has prompted numerous viewers stop watching them or doing so because they are â€Å"just there† while waiting for their favourite programs (Ojalvo, Doyne and Schulten). The new sitcom family has certainly matured since the days of â€Å"I Love Lucy,† yet do the new sitcom families represent the diversity of American families today? Do we see African-American families? Asian families? Same-sex families? Are we seeing diversity or are the networks still playing it safe so as to not â€Å"offend† advertisers. In the present age, despite directors and other proponents citing sitcoms have undergone immense transformation by presenting mature content, they have lacked representation of American racial diversity. Characters comprising most of the current sitcoms are whites, which is not a reflection of American families. For instance, after â€Å"Cosby† series, other telecasted shows like â€Å"Reed between the Lines† feature attractive and well off family having beautiful children facing daily challenges but manage to resolve them within 30 minutes (Braxton). This leaves viewers