Television Behavior by Erick Msumanje

Introduction

Television 'goes through a constant process of making and remaking, and exploring possibilities.' (Ellis. Pg 79) Therefore, there exists no one-way of demonstrating the means of knowledge that television has to offer because it is always shifting and morphing into something else. Furthermore, it always requires a new language and a way of knowing. Nevertheless, it does not mean it's texts and television itself cannot be examined at a critical level. In this paper, I am going to examine three different kinds of texts to explore certain aspects of television through its content and existing structures in the texts. More specifically, what television is saying about its behavior and behavioral structures throughout the texts in order to gain a "connective" or "networked thinking" of what television incites through its knowledge. In the first text called Lebron James (Zoom v Better than me) is a commercial about NBA player Lebron James's evolution in basketball. In this specific clip, I am going to treat television as Lebron James in order to explore it on a psychoanalytic plane. This is because I am going to examine televisions behavior and the space in which it occupies.
In the second text, called Larry Fitzgerald Super Bowl 43 is a sports clip of NFL player Larry Fitzgerald sixty-four yard touchdown. Off course, it is an incredible catch but the matter that I am going to investigate is the structure of how television presented it by examining the commentator's function and the replay function as a whole. Originally for the third text, I was going to use a short clip from the American television series called 24. However, the clip expired on the Internet website. This shows that we actually do not have full control or access to television content. So, instead I am going to use a still image from 24 from an episode called Day 2: 10:00pm- 11:00pm in order to analyze televisions occupation of dual spaces through split screens and the availability of information for the viewer. In order for such an examination of Television to work, I have divided the paper into different sections. This makes it easier to give a very precise analysis of the texts through specific details in discussing Televisions behavior and the knowledge it incites as a whole.


1. Lebron James (Zoom v Better than me)




When watching this clip, 1. I want you to view Lebron James as Television. 2. In the narration, replace the word Lebron James to Television. Now, you should watch this clip at least once or more to gain a better understanding of what I am about to engage in. Off course, this is televisions behavior and the reason why I am grounding this in the narration is because it gives us a strong sense of television itself. To begin, read the revised narration from the clip here.
"You don't wanna be [Television]. I can inspire you. Impress you. Make you believe. And I am just one man. Nothing about my game is great yet. I still have work to do. More challenges to face. Much more to learn. To be as good as I can be. But, I do see the light and its up to me to go and get it. I am [Television]. You don’t wanna be me. You wanna be better than me."

The first question I want to raise from the dialogue is why does Television not want us to be it? It seems that is very much self-aware and has the ability to consciously think about itself. Moreover, it is hinting to the fact that in it's present state it's actually not that good. This is not in the sense of being evil, but that it has not yet reached it's highest potential. Nevertheless, it recognizes that it is actually better then you and in a way is mocking the viewer. As you've already read above, Television knows that it is not yet great and still has work to do. Along with that, it is self-consumed in this task, strongly narcissistic, and very obsessed with trying to out do itself. What could this task be? And why the obsession of trying to out do itself? (Please continue to Lebron James Still Image # 1)

Lebron James Still Image # 1



To illustrate, seconds before Television leaps up into the air, it says “But I do see the light and its up to me to go and get it. I am [Television]. You don’t wanna be me. You wanna be better than me." Now, being that Television is enclosed in four walls that make up the basket ball court makes this image very interesting. This is because it's as if it is trying to escape from the infinite physical space in which it is in that is the four walls. I made the connection that this was the very task Television was engaged in and therefore obsessed with. Notice, 1. When Television is up in the air, the background of the black and white images completely disappear 2. The outer lines of the basketball court disappear as well. This leaves Television floating up in the air not being grounded by any specific physical structures. Furthermore, the basketball hoop looks like it is just floating rather then permanently secured by a pole on the ground. Here, I made the connection that Television was constantly trying to out do itself. In real life, Lebron James is one of the best basketball players in the world. So, in this case, why does Television have the urge and drive to try and escape its four walls if it exists in an infinite space? Could this be the light? According to Emmanuel Levinas, this would be an act that would surpass man and place Television in a space beyond all things because it would be the ultimate act and freedom. Furthermore, it would exist as just 'an idea and nothing but an idea, without counterpart in being.' (Levinas. Pg 55) I wondered if this would this be the perfect future for Television? In figuring out why it would want to pursue such an existence, I found that in the clip we do not actually see its origin or beginning. (Please continue to Lebron James Still Image # 2)

Lebron James Still Image # 2

In this image, a younger version of Television is thrown a basketball from an unknown person or force outside the four lines in which it cannot cross. That could be where the origin or beginning of Television lies. However, in this case, Television cannot remember. How so? The black and white images in the background that serve as a kind of screen memory never begin outside the line where the basketball is coming from. Off course, I only noticed this after playing the clip over and over again. I found doing this very interesting because it put Television and me in a state of repetition. The more I replayed the clip, the more I realized the younger version of Television was not going to cross that line and I was not going to find out what or who was throwing the basketball into the court. In real life, a basketball player is bounded by rules and regulations that will not allow him to cross that line. If one does, then the play starts over which in itself is a form of repetition. To move on, Television is imprisoned by a rule like that because it does not stop the repetition process, which is the repeating of playing basketball in the clip. According to Sigmund Freud, the repetition of ones behavior or actions leads to the reawakening of memories. However, what if Television can't actually remember and therefore repeats its actions in order to try and unlock the perfect future instead? From this clip, we have no real way of knowing because moments after Television is up in the air the screen fades to black. Nevertheless, it could be heading in that direction because the clip starts at point A and just keepings going until it blurs to black. If this is the case, then Television has put us as viewers in a unique position of being a witness. 1. This has to do with the initial address through the narration and 2. As, a witness it has us wondering because it has not presented us with a clear conclusion about its future state. Nevertheless, I found that in Televisions complex behaviors and structures it has a way of inciting the future through prediction. This means in certain environments television has to stay ahead of itself. (Please continue to Larry Fitzgerald Super Bowl 43 section)

2. Larry Fitzgerald Super Bowl 43












The thing I want to point out in this clip happens very fast. It would be wise of you to watch the clip at least several times to have an understanding of what is going on. The matter that I want to first point out takes place in a matter of seconds while the football is still up in the air. The second point, takes place when Fitzgerald is running to the touch down zone. The last point I am going to make in this section is about the replay function in the clip. (Please continue to Larry Fitzgerald Still Image # 1)

Larry Fitzgerald Still Image # 1

This is a freeze frame of Fitzgerald seconds before he actually caught the football. In regards to the first point, 1. In the clip, the commentator already knows that it's Fitzgerald and 2. He calls the football as officially caught before Fitzgerald has clear possession of it. When replaying the clip over and over again, I found that through Televisions structure, being the commentator, has a way of predicting the future even if it is a real-life event. According to John Ellis, this is a process of working through. This is one of Televisions mechanisms of processing material and transforming it into information for the viewer. This process takes the material and continually worries over it to a degree of exhaustion. Off course, this only builds space for understanding and feelings. In relation to this clip, this form of exhaustion happens in the form of the replay function. Even though it is supposed to show the viewer what has just happened it removes them from the current viewing state of live and splits them between the co-presence nature of Television and the past. (Please continue to Larry Fitzgerald Still Image # 2)

Larry Fitzgerald Still Image # 2

This is a snap shot of Fitzgerald moments after he made the called catch. Moreover, by reading the current situation, the commentator also made the prediction that Fitzgerald would make a touchdown. Off course, when watching this clip it is obvious that he is going to make to the end zone but it is made even clearer when the commentator says "Goodbye.” However, making the prediction puts Fitzgerald into a category of Super human. This is because by the commentator already saying it's a 'touchdown' it removes the possibility of human error or failure. For example, Fitzgerald could have tripped or had a sudden heart attack before making it into the end zone. Nevertheless, by predicting, the viewer does not have to be become frustrated for events to unfold at their own pace and space. Around the 26-second mark of the clip, a NBC logo comes up removing us from the present into the past.

This is the replay function of Television and I found that this behavioral structure puts us into a position where we have to juggle multiple things at the same time. 1. The replay function is a form of repetition that takes us back into the past while things are still happening in the present. Furthermore, around the 39-second mark, Television presents the same exact event in a totally different angle. After, it flashes back into the present state and shows Fitzgerald talking to his couch on the sidelines. This is interesting because Television is actually controlling time and has the power to show things over and over again exactly how they happened. The only difference is it can choose to show it in different angles and move about the past and the present depending on what it wants to show. According to Marshall McLuhan, Television is always in a temporal state because it is always processing and moving information. Moreover, through this process, it makes us more involved with it. However, what happens when Television decides to show things happening at the same exact time loaded with information? (Please continue to 24 Still Image)

3.24 (Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm)

In this episode, President David Palmer is busy trying to make a decision on whether or not a taped conversation of an attempted bombing is real. Also, Jack is piloting a plane with a small nuclear bomb into a desert outside Los Angeles. The matter I am going to address, in understanding what happens when loaded with too much information is the still image from the episode called 10:17:07. (Please continue to Still Image)

Still Image

First of all this snap shot is taken at exactly 10:17:07. Now, if I had not read about what happened in this exact moment I would have no idea what was going on. This is because it's a ton of information frozen in time without clear explanation visually.

The description-

"After Tony receives a phone call, CTU Agent Graves brings a suitcase full of Syed Ali's belongings to him. An encrypted hard drive is among these items. Graves also escorted Yusef Auda, an intelligence liaison from an Arab country suspected of helping Second Wave. Auda is eager to participate in the analysis, but Tony is hesitant. He asks Michelle Dessler to assign someone to watch Auda and not let him see anything of importance to the case. Michelle states that she personally will work with Auda, but Carrie Turner reminds her that Tony asked Michelle to assign a subordinate. Carrie asks whether Michelle has problems with her working here."

It is important to note that at this whole scene ends at 10:21:15. This is amazing because allot of information is given to the viewer and it all exists in different physical spaces through the multiple split-screens. This is how Television occupies different spaces at once and presents it to us at the same time. If you can imagine, this must be overwhelming for a viewer. At least it is for me because I have to direct my attention to simultaneous things at once. Furthermore, those spaces have vary in content and emotional stimulation. Nevertheless, it seems that it makes it easier for Television to present information because of its temporal state. Moreover, it is a way of giving us to a certain degree of what McLuhan called 'the whole.' This is dropping the illusion of perspective and full interpretation of information because the split-screens offer an instant sensory of total awareness by bringing nearly everything that is happening in the show at once and in the present moment. (McLuhan. Pg.12)

4. Overall Conclusion

In conclusion, by examining the three texts, I found that Television behavior and its behavioral structures have a way of manipulating time. This is an important aspect of Television behavior because through manipulation it has the power of controlling time and how it moves information and itself. In the Lebron James clip, Television is self-consumed in trying to out do itself and step out the space it is confined in. This is by engaging in repetition where it has the ability to move back and forth through time in order to move forward in search of the perfect future. In the Larry Fitzgerald clip, I demonstrated how Television can predict events in the future by stepping ahead of itself and what is happening in the present moment. This shows how Television knowledge is always growing because it's constantly exploring possibilities. Therefore, it makes it difficult to pin down what Television is as a medium or fully figuring out what it is itself. This affects our position as viewers in watching and interacting with Television because our experience of it always shifts in time through it's content and capability of occupying the past, present, and future using it's structures as shown in the 24 still image. This is the "connective" or "networked thinking" of Television that I found it incited through its available knowledge in the texts as a whole. Lastly, by using a "multi-media" platform of clips and taking still images within them, I showed that moments of Television can be captured in order to build a better understanding in defining and exploring it's knowledge and its self. However, with rapid technological advances and Television existing in our time, I wonder as we continue on into the future, how will Television as a medium and itself will look like or be in the future?