A 'Brave' New World
Having just written America Needs a Renaissa, I was in no mood for Orwellian indignities. Traveling through three airports the other day, I had finally had it - not with the patdowns and security lines, but with the mandatory television.
I stopped into a store to grab a magazine, and there was CNN, unavoidable, blaring over my head. I went to my gate and there was CNN, staring at me, out-talking everyone trying to have a conversation, overriding anyone trying to read a book or use an iPhone. I arrived at my connecting airport, got to the gate to discover the flight was delayed and sat down in the only area available - under a particularly loud airing of CNN.
Of course, airports aren't the only places where television is mandatory. Children's clothing stores stupefy curious, energetic children with TV. Doctors offices subdue restless patients with TV. Office lobbies, takeout counters, hotel dining areas, even school and university "common spaces" keep things institutional (as opposed to personal) with TV.
But mandatory television watching in airports is political as well as institutional. On just my single travel day, CNN personalities highlighted the Patraeus sex scandal while having virtually ignored the Benghazi scandal; bemoaned the inadequate "local" response to Hurricane Sandy, despite having let the mayor of New Orleans completely off the hook in their rush to blame the response to Hurricane Katrina entirely on George W. Bush; and insinuated that the "fiscal cliff" could be avoided simply through higher taxes, having never emphasized the immutable problems created by reckless spending and borrowing.
And so, in the spirit of "America Needs a Renaissance," I spoke out. But I hadn't realized the irony when I ended that post by saying we needed to be more brave; at the airport, Brave New World came to mind. I asked the attendant at the gate to turn the TV off or down. You know the response. She "couldn't."
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Nov '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
I sympathize with your double-plus-ungood experience.
Aug '11
Re: A 'Brave' New World
CNN has contracts with airlines and airports to provide propaganda to the people. I doubt that they will be going anywhere anytime too soon.
Edited on November 15, 2012 at 12:54amMar '11
Re: A 'Brave' New World
CNN is for people who want to think they are current without the angst associated with actually understanding the present state of the world.
Mar '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Ouch, Anne! You've touched a nerve. I've long complained about CNN's rule over the airport airwaves. The unrelenting liberal worldview is nearly unbearable. A sympathetic friend and I went so far as to purchase one of those universal remotes that are supposed to be able to turn off any TV anywhere with the hopes of using it surreptitiously in airport gates across the country. Didn't work.
Can you imagine the cultural impact if a voice with a slightly more conservative perspective were coming from those screens?
Oct '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
There is a coaxial cable feeding Minitrue into the telescreen. It is usually connected to the rear of the apparatus with a BNC or twist connector. Disconnect it, and you have peace and quiet, not to mention an absence of indoctrination at the gate. Is there a statute which forbids this?
You can also easily take diagonal cutters through security. I leave it to your imagination.
Edited on November 15, 2012 at 12:57amMar '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
John Walker: There is a coaxial cable feeding Minitrue into the telescreen. It usually connected to the rear of the apparatus with a BNC or twist connector. Disconnect it, and you have peace and quiet, not to mention an absence of indoctrination at the gate. Is there a statute which forbids this?
You can also easily take diagonal cutters through security. I leave it to your imagination. · in 0 minutes
Good to know about the cables, but do you think anyone would notice the ladder? ;-)
Aug '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
I wonder if this gizmo would work:
https://www.tvbgone.com/cfe_tvbg_main.php
Jun '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
I have tried the argument at almost every airport and have been told by countless gate agents that they can not do any thing about it. They dont even have control over the volume.
Now, maybe a bit of guerilla warfare is in order here. Each of us should travel with a universal remote and test whether we can reek havoc on the screens from the Ministry of Truth at airports.
Oct '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Brasidas
Good to know about the cables, but do you think anyone would notice the ladder? ;-)
Didn't know they were so high there. In Europe, they're mostly reachable from ground level. (Not that I would have had any experience with that, of course.)
May '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
I am gross and perverted
I am obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
but very little has changed
I’m the tool of the government
and industry too
and I am destined to rule and regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
but you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
with the stuff that I say
I’m the best you can get; have you guessed me yet?
I’m the slime oozing out of your TV set
Frank Zappa, I'm the The Slime
Jul '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
I've had many times when I used to enter a breakroom and the room would be empty while the TV was blaring. I'd turn off the TV so I could read. The result would be the next person to enter the breakroom would see the TV off and ask, "Is the TV broken?"
The idea of shutting it off and shutting it out is incomprehensible to far too many people.
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Omid Moghadam: I have tried the argument at almost every airport and have been told by countless gate agents that they can not do any thing about it. They dont even have control over the volume.
Now, maybe a bit of guerilla warfare is in order here. Each of us should travel with a universal remote and test whether we can reek havoc on the screens from the Ministry of Truth at airports. · 9 minutes ago
I'm sorry to hear it's futile complaining at airports. As patients sit trying to read their magazines in Drs.' offices, I've multiple times requested that the TV's be turned down. Same response: We can't.
Edited on November 15, 2012 at 2:48pmApr '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
When possible, try demanding to see X sporting match. I've had success with that one, and airport personnel know that it's risky to thwart a desperate sports fan.
Oct '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Brasidas: Ouch, Anne! You've touched a nerve. I've long complained about CNN's rule over the airport airwaves. The unrelenting liberal worldview is nearly unbearable. A sympathetic friend and I went so far as to purchase one of those universal remotes that are supposed to be able to turn off any TV anywhere with the hopes of using it surreptitiously in airport gates across the country. Didn't work.
Can you imagine the cultural impact if a voice with a slightly more conservative perspective were coming from those screens? · 55 minutes ago
This is a great idea! Any techies out there know how to do this? If we could all carry secret "off" buttons it would probably take "the authorities" months to figure out what was going on!
Sep '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Can't we put a Burka over the television and claim religious freedom?
Jun '12
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Anne, may I suggest you start carrying one of these?
Dec '10
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Ease up on CNN. These are the only viewers they have. A guy's got to eat.
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Creative solutions, all! But, since I'm technologically very challenged, the only one I'd be capable of is throwing the burka over the TV. Think that would work?
Re: A 'Brave' New World
So true.
Apr '11
Re: A 'Brave' New World
Some gas stations now have a TV on the pump that starts blaring at you when the nozzle is lifted. What could be more obnoxious?
Now, if I pull in and see a screen I pull right back out and fill up elsewhere.