6,835,000 pageviews


Thursday, June 20, 2019

Thornton P. Knowles On Television, Fast-Food And The Coming Dystopia.

Crime novelist Raymond Chandler put his finger on why television in the 1950s put so many movie theaters out of business and changed the way we live: "Television is really what we've been looking for all our lives. It took a certain amount of effort to go to the movies. Somebody had to stay with the kids. You had to get the car out of the garage. That was hard work. And you had to drive and park. Sometimes you had to walk as far as a half a block to get to the theater. Then people with fat heads would sit in front of you." The birth of television, followed by the ability to control the thing without leaving your chair has produced a nation of couch potatoes with dull minds, poor taste, and fat butts. What's next, the ability to buy unhealthy food, make phone calls, and use the Internet without getting out of your car?

Thornton P. Knowles

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoy your blog. I must say I am thrilled that you are still writing and blogging about something that has interested me ever since I took an Arson Detection course of yours back at EUP prior to you leaving in 2004. I now live in Texas and am in the midst of creating an Intro to CJ course for the high school I now teach at that combines elements of history, procedure, law and forensics. It must be said that your expertise and source work are extremely inspiring and it just goes to show you that almost 14 years later (class in 2003) that your style as a instructor and writer are again much appreciated. I still have my arson detection notebooks and I hope with your resources and others that this course can turn students on to the world of CJ, Pathology, Law, Forensics etc. I hope this post finds you quite well! Bryon T. Gable B.A. History MEd. Middle/Secondary Instruction '06 '11

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's great hearing from you, Byron. It's quite rewarding to learn that one of your students has done so well. Good luck with the course, and best wishes from your old professor, aka Thornton P. Knowles.

    ReplyDelete