Modern TV audiences have longer attention span, says Spacey

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Over-stimulation of the short attention span accords with many primary facets of modern capitalism and the compliant mindset for its operation that responds when trained from early age to subliminal messages and codes, seeks immediate satisfaction of secondary, often over primary needs, experiences everything in relation to an overloaded, isolating/ted sense of selfhood, and is made to believe that this is the essential prerequisite to overcoming sloth and hence thereby ensuring survival. With all that on board, I guess re-engaging the longer attention span is going to need to invoke a lot of escapism if it is to work; hence those amazing plots.

Modern Western Capitalism depends for its survival on selling stuff.

In order to sell unnecessary stuff, glossy advertizing (which makes the unnecessary stuff seem more essential to a happy existence than the necessary stuff) is needed.

Advertizing gives unnecessary stuff status; people are encouraged to believe that their lives become "better" if they buy the unnecessary stuff.

Advertizing is everywhere: telly, cinema, magazines, billboard posters.

Advertizing presents its "information" in short captions which are frequently repeated, so that these enter people's subconcious.

Advertizing is aimed at all age groups, but that directed at children gets people used to "reading" adverts from the earliest age.

The captions are presented with exciting, happy, "sexy" imagery designed to make people feel that they will be unsatisfied if they don't buy unnecessary stuff.

The exciting, happy, "sexy" imagery is constantly refreshed after a few weeks, whilst the captions remain. This reinforces the idea that the scale of satisfaction that comes from buying the unnecessary stuff is limitless.

"Criticism" is reduced to a comparison of the merits of identical unnecessary products with different names. Longer-term, "deeper" considerations are discouraged.

(You know you've reached middle age when the only unnecessary stuff people want to sell you is health insurance and earwax remover.)


The intricate plots of modern TV drama series (with their often elaborate "twists" requiring the viewer to remember details from several episodes earlier) is a possible way to encourage people to enjoy concentrating on information for long periods of time.

[Serial_Apologist]

I believe there's a real point in there trying hard to get out, SA. Do you get your inspiration from such as The Postmodernism Generator?:

http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/

Or from Alan Sokol's infamous article?:

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/transgress_v2/transgress_v2_singlefile.html

No - largely from a rapid succession of "clicks" in my mind from ideas expressed at the Dialectics of Liberation Congress, 1 day of which I attended at the Roundhouse in May, if my memory serves me correctly, 1967. Then reading Alan Watts's "Psychotherapy East and West", containing a lot of quotes leading me to anthropology, Gregory Bateson, alternative psychology, RD laing, and seeing Berger's "Ways of Seeing" on telly and finding out about Benjamin, Adorno and co..

These things stay with one, either being confirmed or not by successive experiences and other people's researchings.

Ferney's #16 sums up part of the position really well - thanks for that, ferney.

[Pabmusic]

...These things stay with one...

Yes indeed they do. As I know only too well from my own experience...

[eighthobstruction]

I have always struggled with the Buddhist idea of 'the world being an illusion'....but it is easily grasped when sitting watching adverts....

[Serial_Apologist]

I have always struggled with the Buddhist idea of 'the world being an illusion'....but it is easily grasped when sitting watching adverts....

Wrong translation of maya, Watts would say. The world as described is an illusion, always being a step ahead.

[cheesehoven]

Spacey's observation is an interesting one, but does not necessarily fly in the face of the idea that culture is generally being dumbed down. A certain proportion of the population will always seek out challenging things and the audiences for these programmes tend to be relatively small.

Besides, I do wonder whether, for all their labyrinthine plotting, any of the works can be considered high culture? The works mentioned all seem to revolve around serial killers, murders and the more sordid aspects of life, an emphasis on sex and dialogue which often consists of a series of expletives, all things designed to grab the attention. I'm guessing the main audience is those who have grown up watching soap opera (and teen or indeed any soap operas could be described as 'complex' by Spacey's definition) and have matured to expect an adult version of the same, ie grittier and nastier. While there is certainly a place for this, it is basically all we get now.

[french frank]

I suspect that is true, cheesehoven. I remember hearing Mark Thompson referring to Doctor Who as 'multi-layered' and very superior these days to how it used to be. Yes, it has certain references, but being forced to watch it every Christmas doesn't alter my view on it. A children's soap opera would cover it (hope you're not a fan: if so, I take it all back).