n Amy Horowitz, in your column on television at Boston University, I felt that you made a very strong argument, but against yourself (“Silbervision: Justifying no TV,” Jan. 27, pg. 3). I myself might not be normal, but I despise television and while I might not agree completely with Dr. Silber, I do believe he has a point. I live on Beacon Street, on campus, and get cable TV. From what I can see, you’re not missing anything.
When Vladimir Kosma Zworykin invented the cathode ray tube in the late 19th century, he intended the television to be a tool of education and cultural exchange, and in 1985, he himself said, “I hate what they’ve done to my child … I would never let my own children watch it.”
I believe there’s something to be said for an inventor who disapproves of what his invention has become. Einstein did, and again, we have a worldwide problem with his work too. Is there a difference? I don’t think so. Both kill, it’s just that television kills more slowly, brain cell by brain cell.
Mainstream television today is garbage, from the unintelligible Osbournes to the banality from MTV’s pretty faces. Even the news broadcasts are unintelligible snippets of headline news meant to pique interest, not what matters. How many students at BU watched the news to hear what Hans Blix had to say to the U.N. Security Council? This country is on the verge of war and economic disaster, and all we care about is what Rachel and Ross are up to?
The reason Dr. Silber does not want television here is for that reason. With it, there would be even more student apathy than there already is, as every Thursday night we’ll be watching “Must See TV.” Will you watch the History Channel, TLC, CNN? Right, only if it’s something about the vicissitudes of pop culture.
Some television is well-written (“Everyone Loves Raymond,” “Law ‘ Order”) and I can be caught watching it in its worst hours (“American Idol II,” anyone?). But I cannot see TV being useful to your academic career here at BU if you would not use it for its educational value. Until our generation realizes we are a part of this larger global community, and that some of our parents and grandparents are mucking it up for us without us knowing, then Dr. Silber, leave us in the dark.
Jesse B. Rauch
CAS ’04
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