The American Talk Show.

Essay by chikrunner April 2003

download word file, 6 pages 5.0 1 reviews

Downloaded 78 times

The American Talk Show

As I sat down and began to think about American Culture, I realized that there is one thing that binds us as a nation: Television. Television has been a part of American society since its prevalent emergence in the 1950's. The surfacing of the television quickly began to alter the hard working and ever-so-changing America into a mindless society completely devoid to the sense of right and wrong. Soon after television made its way into American homes, major changes to society took place. The nights that were usually spent with the family gathered around the radio listening to the next installment of your favorite series quickly became accompanied with visions. Thus television - bringing with it its gifts of paralysis- initiated the notorious couch potato behavior. This became the newest factor, encouraging anti-social behaviors. One could assume a 'vegetable' state in a trance-like manner, pushing their responsibilities aside.

From the television, viewers are exposed to the ideas and influences proposed and applied by the endless commercials, movies, and shows, and when ended, leaving their mind's imagination without substance.

Television in the home became a part of a normal phenomenon in America and today in the year 2000, and a home without a television is a rare occurrence. The television shows of the fifties however, such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Ed Sullivan Show" are long gone. It almost seems that anything goes in regards to television these days. Shows such as "The Jerry Springer Show," "South Park," "NYPD Blue" and "The Tom Green Show" often include violence, profanity, and partial nudity in their programming.

One genre of popular Trash TV that has taken American culture by storm is the Talk Show. The Talk Show has become as American as apple pie, although not quite...