Born in the mid-eighties, I was part of the first real TV-Generation. We were the kids who spend more time in front of goggle-box than every other Generation before. It was the time when the commercial TV stations started to be big in Germany. Before, the German media environment was quite lucid. Of course also the three public-service channels were broadcasting some foreign TV shows like Dallas, the Denver Clan, or Bonanza, but the majority of TV shows were German productions. The upcoming commercial TV stations have twisted this ratio completely. The new TV shows, mostly from the United States, congested us literally.
This wave spared no-one. The elder people started to watch and love the imported game shows like Jeopardy and various formats of daily-soaps. But the change was bigger for us. Growing up with our favorite Astrid Lindgren characters like Emil (Emil I Löneberga), Karlsson (Karlsson på taket) and of course Pippi (Pippi Långstrump) we were now faced with Heman and Saberrider and the Starsheriffs. Doubtless at this time I was nuts on this shows and all the old stuff was totally uncool.
Nowadays I try to screen what I am watching. One effect is that I am endeavoring not to watch these preposterous shows were some third-class-sort-out celebrities are sitting in juries deciding who is good enough to be a model or a singer. In all honesty sometimes I have a look on it. It's necessary to be up to date, because sometimes I have the feeling, that these time-wasting shows are for the mass of people more important than politics and world affairs. Nevertheless in this dessert of entertainment, there are some shows I like. For example there is no episode of The Simpsons I haven't seen. Shows like Friends and King of Queens caused the one or another snigger in me. Since lately there is one actual show I am following like none before. It's called How I met your mother. This masterpiece of a sitcom makes me laugh the whole 30 minutes of every episode. However the humor is embedded into a continuous story about friendship, love and people searching for the right path in life. A lot of these topics are well-placed between the lines of the visible story. Unfortunately it has to be added, that these tricky, well-conceived parts are decreasing in the latest of the four seasons in the wake of the strike of Hollywood authors. Nevertheless I would still recommend to zap-in at a look.
Regarding to my experiences with television I have to conclude that it is harder than ever before to find some good entertainment in television. The fact of having more than 30 free accessible TV stations in Germany doesn't make it easier to do the right choice. It's like with everything in life. It's not the quantity that counts, it's quality. Since a few years I am very happy that it's possible again on some Sunday mornings to follow the adventures of Pippi and the prank of Emil on the German children TV channel, by the way broadcasted by public service.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Assignment #1
When we all are getting older, we start to think about our past life. Even when we are just around the mid-twenties. We realize bit by bit how strong influenced we are by our parent's upbringing. It's fair to say that this is a usual fact but I'm thinking not about things like good behaviors, in my mind are all trifles which are accounting for our character. Now we catch ourselves at carping at the same behaviors like our parents did. Although we refuse to believe that.
Consequently also my expectations about how children should grow up and which experiences are important for their future life are characterized by my own upbringing.
It's not necessary to complain continuously that everything was better in the past. Times are
changing. If our parents, or we would have the same opportunities and the mass of leisure time offers, I'm sure we wouldn't say “Oh great, I don't want to play playstation with my friends. I want to go out and do something different.”.
It's not important for children to make our experiences, or what we think it's necessary for them in our world, because to be honest we don't really know what is going on in their “world”.It doesn't matter if we are just in the twenties and are thinking that we are still so young. Compared to the children we are old. The children have their own language, they prefer other music and of course they have some other needs, because they are growing up in totally different environment.
Maybe for us it was great to play in the forest, but it was great because we were there with our friends. If in nowadays children are playing on line-games it is the same feeling for them. In a for us absurd way it is their way of communication. We are complaining about it and are wondering why they meet in the world wide web even when they are living just some streets away from each other. But then we are sitting in our offices where we are sending instant messages to the colleague one office away.
We should respect the changes in the world and let the children make their own experiences in their own world. We shouldn't try to like everything, but we should try to understand them and give them just the “toolbox” for their future lives including all the tools which helped us to grow up in our environment. Regardless of times, children always need to absorb the core values of humanity. They need to make the experience of respecting each other, friendship, helping each other and the experience of being loved by someone.
With these and some more experiences they will be able to grow up happily and satisfied in their for us sometimes unintelligible world full of new technical and social inventions.
Consequently also my expectations about how children should grow up and which experiences are important for their future life are characterized by my own upbringing.
It's not necessary to complain continuously that everything was better in the past. Times are
changing. If our parents, or we would have the same opportunities and the mass of leisure time offers, I'm sure we wouldn't say “Oh great, I don't want to play playstation with my friends. I want to go out and do something different.”.
It's not important for children to make our experiences, or what we think it's necessary for them in our world, because to be honest we don't really know what is going on in their “world”.It doesn't matter if we are just in the twenties and are thinking that we are still so young. Compared to the children we are old. The children have their own language, they prefer other music and of course they have some other needs, because they are growing up in totally different environment.
Maybe for us it was great to play in the forest, but it was great because we were there with our friends. If in nowadays children are playing on line-games it is the same feeling for them. In a for us absurd way it is their way of communication. We are complaining about it and are wondering why they meet in the world wide web even when they are living just some streets away from each other. But then we are sitting in our offices where we are sending instant messages to the colleague one office away.
We should respect the changes in the world and let the children make their own experiences in their own world. We shouldn't try to like everything, but we should try to understand them and give them just the “toolbox” for their future lives including all the tools which helped us to grow up in our environment. Regardless of times, children always need to absorb the core values of humanity. They need to make the experience of respecting each other, friendship, helping each other and the experience of being loved by someone.
With these and some more experiences they will be able to grow up happily and satisfied in their for us sometimes unintelligible world full of new technical and social inventions.
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