My level of consciousness had just hit zero. With one out in the top of the ninth, Shawn Green hit what looked to be a one out grounder to the Phillies' shortstop Jimmie Rollins, thus allowing Endy Chavez, that most underappreciated of outfielders, to trot home from third and tie the game at three, staving off the Mets' fourth straight loss and keeping their lead in the NL East at four games over the Phillies who were surging in the Wins column. For five or so seconds, I was ecstatic. And then I was devastated. Second-base umpire C.B. Buckner called Marlon Anderson for interference for running outside the base lines before crashing into Phillies' second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and awarded the out at first to the Phillies, thus ending the game and moving the Phillies to a mere three games back in the NL East.
It was all over. Gary Cohen tossed a few words to Ron Darling who said something forgettable about the four game skid and then a Ford commercial came on. At least I think that's what came on. I can't really remember. And what was I doing on my feet? I couldn't recall standing up. And my throat felt kind of scratchy, as if I had just been yelling. And why was I sweating? What was going on here?
For the span of some half-a-minute or so, I had completely lost all awareness of myself. I had become so involved in the game that my consciousness seemed to melt away and I was being controlled by the flickers of the television. This wasn't me. Andrew doesn't yell at the TV. Andrew sits quietly and remains ironically detached from all things entertaining. Who was I? All of my higher cognitive functions seemed completely under the sway of another entity. Thank God the cerebellum's down there taking care of all that biological busy work. I might have forgotten to breathe.
It's not just sports programming that does this to me. Anything on the TV has the power to steal my consciousness. It's amazing, really. This is my version of LSD: tune in, kick back and tune out. Just relax, it seems to say, cast off all your cares, put your faith in me and you'll be just fine. Tomorrow is too far away to worry about and yesterday never happened. Right now, your only concern is how best to let me soothe you. I'll make you grin, I'll make you weep, I'll make you hold your breath with suspense. Would you like to laugh? Check out Fox 5 between 6:30 and 8. How about some tears? Old Yeller's coming on in five minutes. Want a boner? Might I suggest you scroll to IFC for a documentary on sexuality in French cinema. But really, why even go through the trouble of making a decision? Plant your ass and keep it here and I'll be sure to come up with something on this channel eventually. C'mon, don't I always come through for you?
Television seems designed to thwart any and all activity of higher consciousness. You can't resist television. As soon as you question what you're seeing and what those ever-seductive voices are saying, the argument's over, the picture has changed and, before you know it, you're tapping your foot along with The Rolling Stones in another commercial. It bombards you with stimulation and then makes you forget you were ever stimulated. The brain-damaging effect of watching thirty minutes of television is probably equal to a lifetime of huffing airplane fuel. It does all the work of consciousness for you so your brain can, essentially, run on auto pilot. When I'm watching TV, I'm like an empty vessel of consciousness, waiting to be filled by anything that comes along. Does this mean I'm an idiot? I don't think so. I volunteered for a hypnotist once. Nothing happened and I was invited to leave the stage. Doesn't that mean I'm too intelligent to be hypnotized? Or maybe he was just a shitty hypnotist. Either way...
I should have finished this posting last night. But a beer commercial came on and, for some reason, I got really thirsty. Jesus, I gotta cut back on TV
Comments (6)
Love your description of coach-potatoing. I think that TV is so seductive b/c it is an easy way to get into a "zone," so to speak, where the mind is going all in one direction. The mind likes to be one-pointed, staying on one thing. Granted the object of concentration leaves a lot to be desired!
Posted by Maryellen | August 30, 2007 10:55 PM
Posted on August 30, 2007 22:55
* I think that your scenario about the hypnotist is great. The use of hypnotism and its effects on conciousness would be a wonderful final paper topic!!!!
I think it is necessary for us to be less conscious every so often, but I don't think it completly shuts off while watching t.v. I think our consciousness just changes, it becomes more focused...I mean..you are concsious of the television right? I'm sure you were thinking about the game while watching it, predicting what might happen next...
I like television, I like to use it as a way to escape, but escape from what? I don't think we use it as an escape from life...but as an escape from deep thought process, as a way to dim down the lights in our head...because if we shut them off completly...there wouldn't even be the consciousness of a television.
Posted by Jessica Sede | August 31, 2007 8:03 PM
Posted on August 31, 2007 20:03
Your blog was the last thing my mind settled on towards the end of my ipod free run this morning and it got me thinking about my children and something that happened recently. For a while now we have been noticing our 12 year old singing along to practically every commercial that comes on the tv--from "1-800-588-2300. . . Empire. . . Today!" to "Stan, Stan the Countrywide man. He's going through town in is Countrywide van. Stan, Stan--he's smart! Stan, Stan--he's cool!" Yes, I just had her sing her two favorite commercials for me . . . kind of disturbing that she can sing them off the top of her head. I mean they aren't even Superbowl commercials . . . sheesh.
Anyway, the other day we saw a commercial for the show Kid Nation which begins this fall . . . before the commercial had even finished the same daughter blurted out, "Oh my God, I LOVE this show!" Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue . . . maybe she meant to say 'I'm going to love this show' . . . maybe she thought it was a different show. . . unfortunately I don't think so. . .
Now, thinking back on that and my attempt to make sense of this concept of consciousness . . . I can't help but feel jealous that some media magician has figured out how to get into my consciousness with apparent ease . . . while I'm still sitting here struggling to understand what the heck consciousness is . . .
Posted by Jennifer | August 31, 2007 10:05 PM
Posted on August 31, 2007 22:05
I agree with Maryellen-- nice desciption. Take a look at Jennifer Trautwig's blog for a related discussion, of what it feels like to resist the temptation to give the mind a "one-pointed" focus:
http://blogs.qc.cuny.edu/blogs/0907N_1599/007/
Posted by Jason Tougaw | September 1, 2007 8:58 AM
Posted on September 1, 2007 08:58
Ok- I hope I don't come off as an ass (to be blunt) but I don't necessarily think the mind LIKES to be one pointed. Studies have shown women are more adept at being multi-taskers and do often appreciate being in that state more often than not. I should find that study because I didn't pay enough attention to why that is in the brain, I just automatically felt like I had been explained. I do need more "focus" in my life, but I have never once hated doing more than one thing or thinking about more than one thing. I get sleepy when I do that. It's a guaranteed sleeping pill for me to do that, well that or pulling out old geography and social studies text books. The text is so dry I can't help but use it as a pillow. I think what I realizing as I type this though, is that if I look at the the times when I am trying to be one pointed, it is normally when there is some problem plaguing my conscience and I feel like the machinery of my brain is just trying to get everyone in on the job. Like when you realize you need help in the kitchen and you call others in and delegate jobs. It can be frustrating because not everyone does it and there is always some wayward part of the brain going "I was having a perfectly good time thinking about that TV commercial not consciousness." Hm. Hope this made sense.
Posted by Valerie | September 7, 2007 7:11 PM
Posted on September 7, 2007 19:11
I rarely watch TV for anything that interests me,
but I often sit in while my grandsons (6, 4, and 3)
are watching. I usually follow the show for awhile,
but somewhere along the line my mind goes blank
and I doze off. Or if I don't actually doze, I
get all foggy-minded, so if the child I'm supposedly
watching gets up and wanders off, I may not notice
it for several minutes.
Posted by Lucy Schmeidler | September 11, 2007 2:30 PM
Posted on September 11, 2007 14:30