Generation
Ecch!
It’s
not exactly news that the baby boomers were the first generation
to be raised in the age of TV, while Ecch is the first
generation to be raised by TV. The electronic babysitter,
the glass nipple, Amusing Ourselves to Death—you know
the drill. The picture tube was our womb, the screen our placenta,
the cable box our teat.
And the milk that Flowed into Ecch’s growing minds
and bodies was pure, unhomoqenized MW. The basic take on the vid
net is that it was the final nail in the coffin of Ecch’s
short attention span. You didn’t have to concentrate on
it for more than a minute. It ruined music by providing pre-fabricated
images for every popular song. It was always on, its
images rushing throught the brainpan, demanding that you make it
part OF your life rather than a simple viewing experience.
-Jason
Cohen & Micheal Kruqman, Generation Ecch!
Nation
of Morons
If
the television craze continues with the present level of programs,
we are destined to have a nation of morons.
-Boston
University President Daniel Marsh in the year 1950
The
Great God Entertainment
For
centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldy
entertainment recognizing it for what is was—a device for
wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a
scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this
she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of
late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the
struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot
conquer the great god entertainment she may as well join forces
with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we
have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being
poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for
the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many
places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God. Many
churches these days have become little more than poor theatres
where fifth rate “producers” peddle their shoddy wares
with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote
a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man
dares raise his voice against it.
-AW.
Toter, The Root of the Righteous
Assimilation
For
an instant…I was alive.
Eyes
shining, heart swelling:
The
words I spoke told of the tales
churning in my mind.
But
my words followed the wind,
Their
meaning dead to the listeners.
An
emptiness is formed,
The
mask is replaced.
A
laugh escapes that is mockery to my ears.
All
is regular,
A
feeling smothered so not to shock;
The
facade slowly choking my dying soul.
I
wish to regain the moment, but it is lost.
A
smile is pasted on my lips,
And
I retreat to who knows where.
My
person altered, perhaps forever lost.
—
Susanna Richards, age 15