Before ‘Black Mirror,’ Charlie Brooker Revealed How TV Ruined Your Life

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Picture yourself as someone who regularly experiences vivid dreams about your ideal life. Each night, you find yourself in a world where you have the perfect partner or single life, financial security, a diverse and vibrant social circle, and just enough challenges to keep things interesting. It’s a dream come true, filled with happiness and contentment. Waking up each day from these blissful dreams and carrying over the joy, love, and excitement into your everyday reality can feel underwhelming at times.

In your actual life, are you financially secure and do you enjoy your job? Do you frequently socialize with a close-knit group of friends, or is such a circle lacking in your life? When you return home after a day, do you find yourself in the comforting embrace of a loved one, or is that not part of your reality? Are you truly content with your life as it stands, or do you sometimes wish you could slip back into those dreams?

Television can be seen as a collective dream we experience through sound and visuals, affecting generations by shaping our perceptions of life, relationships, work, and friendship. Over time, each new technology subtly alters the way we see the world, which is not necessarily a judgment but a simple truth. The 2011 anthology series “Black Mirror,” a contemporary version of “The Twilight Zone,” primarily delves into this idea, examining the various impacts of technologically-induced mind-alteration on society, economy, psychology, politics, and culture. In essence, it’s a fictional portrayal of what its creator, Charlie Brooker, has been satirizing for years. Coincidentally, in the same year that Black Mirror debuted in the UK, Brooker produced a documentary series (ironically, on television) with similar themes: “How TV Affects Your Life.

Perhaps it was a turning point when we initially let ourselves be distracted by this persistent, flashing interloper.

Charlie Brooker’s Cultural Essays & Abandoning a “Happy Life’

In an episode of “How TV Ruined Your Life,” Brooker suggests that the more we crave, the less content we become. He explains that happiness often seems unattainable. Perhaps it’s because at some point we began to trust the messages this small, electronic device was transmitting… The fundamental concept behind aspirational programming is that if you watch people who appear beautiful and carefree on TV, you might start to feel as though they are your friends, when in reality, you’re merely a spectator peering at them from across the room.

Growing up, I often imitated behaviors I saw on TV, hoping to bring those fictional scenes to life in my own world. The characters on screen appeared more vivid and dynamic, with complex emotions, clever dialogue, and constant involvement in intriguing situations. I couldn’t help but wonder why my friends didn’t talk like the characters from Friends, or why my family seemed so ordinary compared to Family Matters. Why didn’t my classmates hang out together like the group in Community? And when would I find myself in a romantic relationship and share all the details with a close-knit circle of friends, as portrayed in How I Met Your Mother? The idealized world of television sometimes felt unattainable, at best offering an unfulfilled promise, or, at its worst, a deceptive illusion.

Unveiling the Deception: TV and Its Impact”

This series debunks the myth that TV hasn’t affected your life negatively, exploring six different areas where it has manipulated or transformed aspects of our lives. The episodes are titled “Fear,” “The Lifecycle,” “Aspiration,” “Love,” “Progress,” and “Knowledge.”

In this series, Brooker provides commentary over clips from TV shows and commercials spanning the past six decades, occasionally punctuated with comedic skits to drive home his points. Occasionally, Brooker can be seen lounging on a couch in a cluttered room, reminiscent of a hoarder’s living space.

The series belongs to what I would categorize as Charlie Brooker’s audiovisual cultural critique collection, a lineup of shows he’s hosted, each following a similar structure reminiscent of “How TV Ruined Your Life“, such as Screenwipe, Newswipe, Weekly Wipe, Gameswipe, and his yearly specials. His show You Have Been Watching adapts this format for a panel show with guests. Throughout these shows, Brooker’s perspective (and biting commentary) has always been the driving force. Each one is worth watching to varying degrees and in various ways, but “How TV Ruined Your Life” stands out as the one that seems to have a clear message – a synthesis of all the wandering cynicism and media critiques found in Brooker’s work.

You Will Not Be Fulfilled & Your Work Won’t Matter

In my later years, I came to understand that my career wouldn’t resemble the hilarious camaraderie and antics portrayed in shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “NewsRadio”, or “The Office” (US). Instead, I found myself confronted with work that was monotonous, filled with petty squabbles and power struggles, and often disheartening, a place where we were mere interchangeable components in an empty system. At times, it felt like I was changing the channel on my own life. When people suggest “follow your dreams”, they might not realize that they’re actually talking about the allure of television. As Brooker says in one episode of “How TV Ruined Your Life”, “Television… it doesn’t care about you.

It’s no surprise that an average person may feel insignificant due to the accelerating whirlwind of aspirations portrayed in media. The images we see on TV are becoming increasingly glamorous and ethereal with each passing second.

The main idea behind “How TV Ruined Your Life” is that television creates unrealistic expectations and exaggerates many aspects of life. It has changed our brains to make us more passive observers, transforming humanity into spectators. Since television started serving as a kind of babysitter, especially with entire channels dedicated to content for younger viewers, our understanding of growing up has shifted from what we actively do to what we watch on TV.

TV Has Adulterated Adulthood

As a lifelong cinephile, I can’t help but notice that my fascination with films has carried over into my adult life. Much like Neil Postman, a cultural critic often associated with Marshall McLuhan’s work, put it in his book “Amusing Ourselves to Death“, “The way television portrays the world sets the standard for how the world should be perceived.” In essence, the medium shapes our understanding of reality. Indeed, as McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.

In today’s era of binge-watching, television significantly alters our perception of reality and encourages us to model it after our preferred series. However, there’s a catch: people and life are generally not as fascinating or satisfying as they appear on screen. Television content is created by a vast team, offering an artificial narrative that cannot be replicated. Ironically, we strive to recreate this fabricated reality, only to end up repeating the same patterns seen in past shows, with new programs merely imitating their predecessors’ form and content.

Indeed, past technologies and communication methods have significantly shaped human perception. The shift from oral tradition to written language reshaped our lives and memory, making textual history more dominant than individual memory. Today, reality seems to be overshadowed by the “stories” of television and film, which hold greater cultural impact than literature. As Brooker suggests in one episode, humanity has a tendency to adapt to new technology, both for better and for worse.

It’s amazing how quickly we simplify groundbreaking innovations to their most basic forms. For instance, television, once associated with epic dramas like ‘I, Claudius’, is now more commonly linked to talk shows like ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’. The internet, an unprecedented attempt at communication, has become a platform for sharing funny cat pictures. Smartphones, which can provide access to the world’s greatest art galleries at your fingertips, are also used for downloading silly apps that produce sounds of a farting duck.

Performing tasks is significantly simpler with television compared to most other media forms. Unlike literature, which requires active participation from the reader, television can be considered less engaging or “cool,” as it primarily serves as a passive experience. While one might have fantasized about living a life reminiscent of Jane Austen’s novels in the 19th century, transforming that novel into an audiovisual medium changes its essence. It becomes easier to covet something depicted on screen rather than described in words.

Video Killed the Politics Star

It appeared to me that I held political power, took part actively in society, and had a keen interest in global happenings. However, this is just another trick of television. Despite consuming current news daily, I’m merely digesting empty nutrients. I seem to accumulate knowledge and foster righteous indignation, but my actions remain non-existent. My seemingly active engagement with television overrides any practical action, giving the illusion of political awareness while actually justifying inaction. As Brooker puts it in an episode of How TV Can Make You Feel Powerless:

The daily news today frequently appears to be centered around an endless sequence of shocking events stacked upon each other, leaving little room for contemplation or understanding. It’s as if we are merely spectators to a never-ending story, where the narrative unfolds without our control. Over time, this relentless barrage of news can make reality feel surreal and detached, like reading a disturbing novel that seems beyond our influence, leaving us in a state of disbelief and powerlessness.

According to Neil Postman (may he rest in peace), “TV news doesn’t aim to suggest that any story has deeper meanings, because such an approach would encourage viewers to keep thinking about it after it ends, which might interfere with their attention for the next story.” This is a result of turning news into a television format, particularly during the era of 24-hour news broadcasts. People tend to seek out perspectives that align with their own views, watch news in the background, engage in debates among commentators, share clips on social media, and pay attention to commercials interspersed between stories, as Postman explains.

When information is presented as entertainment on TV news shows, such a format inevitably occurs. To state that these programs entertain yet fail to inform is not merely pointing out the lack of real data, but rather expressing concern over the erosion of our understanding of what it truly means to be well-informed and knowledgeable.

In essence, Postman suggests that television redefines the concept of being informed by producing a type of information that he terms as disinformation. Disinformation isn’t about false information; rather, it refers to misleading information – information that might be out of context, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial. This kind of information gives an illusion of knowledge but in reality, it leads us astray from true understanding. In today’s world where brief clips and headlines have replaced traditional literature, the modern multimedia news industry could potentially be hazardous due to this misleading nature of information.

It can be risky when those controlling the media platforms hold ideological beliefs that go beyond mere profit-making. Many media moguls aim for more than just money; they seek to influence your views, and until social media took off, television was an ideal tool for spreading ideological viewpoints. This situation can feel like a political cage, though the bars are not always visible. As the renowned TV critic Marshall McLuhan stated in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, such media can function as extensions of ourselves and shape our perceptions significantly.

When we allow others to control our senses and responses for their own gain, we effectively relinquish most of our personal freedoms and autonomy.

Learn to See How You’re Being Blinded

Television can be seen as a detailed plan for a structure that’s entirely different from the one it represents. It’s similar to an instruction guide for something non-existent. It’s like a tantalizing menu offering dishes that will never be prepared. Regrettably, its influence has extended to social media, spreading misery across the globe with false expectations, misinformation, exaggeration, and manipulation. It’s disheartening because it presents an idealized version of life, yet in shaping our minds to view reality as it “should” be, we lose our ability to accept reality as it is.

In simpler terms, Neil Postman suggests that no medium is inherently too risky if its users are aware of its potential hazards. However, I’m not entirely convinced by this statement. If it holds true, then shows like “How TV Ruined Your Life” become essential in helping us grasp the dangers associated with television. Essentially, it serves as a form of ‘deprogramming’ from a societal norm we’ve unknowingly adopted since birth.

Once you begin understanding how TV has influenced your perspective, you might find yourself appreciating life more genuinely. You could grow less inclined to view experiences as opportunities for learning tidy lessons, and instead, simply savor them for what they are. By letting go of the pressure to constantly be entertaining, interesting, or impressive, you may discover a sense of freedom and relaxation in everyday moments.

In my perspective, life can sometimes feel unbearably tough, especially when all I yearn for is to dwell in a fantastical daydream that seems unattainable. Yet, this longing can often transform the mundane reality of life into a nightmarish existence. So, let’s strive to awaken ourselves to the possibilities and beauty that lie within our reach.

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2025-02-10 07:33