Response to readings (10/09)

"Watching TV Makes You Smarter" by Steven Johnson

Overall, I agree with this essay and I feel that it is very informative and well-put. Jonson begins by displaying a dialogue between two scientists on Woody Allen's Sleeper. This is a good way to start because already, he has shown us that we can learn new things just by simply watching TV. Then, he begins to talk about the show "24" and how it's many characters and numerous plot-lines make the viewer become more educated and more comprehensive of the scenarios taking place on the show. He asserts that shows today are becoming more complex and are forcing the viewers to comprehend more challenging plots, be more attentive, and overall, become more intelligent. His supports for this claim were very good. He used charts to compare the numerous plots in current shows to the more older, simplified shows. He also gave examples of earlier shows that helped the audience understand what was going on by pointing out things that the audience should focus on and explaining terms. Johnson said that these earlier shows were undermining the intelligence of their audiences, which at the time, was acceptable since society was demanding simplistic shows. Following this claim, he goes on to tsay that today, more complex and intelligent shows are being demanded, which ties back to his previous explanation of the show "t4", which is, indeed, very popular. I agree with Steven Johnson because I have noticed that as i watch TV, I am compelled to be more attentive to what I am watching and to be more accepting of the knowledge that I am learning from these programs. Like Johnson, I feel that even those shows and video games that are violent should not be pre-judged solely by their content because these may be very educational.

"Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" by Dana Stevens

In this critical analysis of "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" Dana Stevens is opposing Steven Johnson's views in a very sarcastic manner. In the first paragraph, Stevens uses phrases like "as far as I can tell" and "from what I understand" to begin the sentences that explain Johnson's essays. These phrases indicate that Stevens is confused or thrown-off by Johnson's thesis and supports and this, in turn, begins to sway Stevens' audience to second guess all that Johnson says. Stevens argues that Johnson neglects to show the effects of commercials and also, his assumption was off because instead of television making people more intelligent, it is only convincing them to continue watching more. Although Johnson did not talk about the commercials, his article covered the points that he intended to make about television programs making people more intelligent. Near the end of her essay, Stevens explains that she also does not like anti-TV watchers. She feels that people are too quick to judge television shows by its content. Just because a show has something to do about nature, does not mean that it is educational.