Why do people in movies almost never watch television, except in horror movies?
Posted at February 2, 2006 03:13 PMCheck out Barry Levinson's Avalon. There's a very memorable scene that shows people watching TV, used as a bit of social criticism.
Posted by: wildsoda at February 2, 2006 04:14 PMCheck out Barry Levinson's Avalon. There's a very memorable scene that shows people watching TV, used as a bit of social criticism.
Posted by: wildsoda at February 2, 2006 04:14 PM1) The film industry still looks down on the television industry and doesn't want to promote it. (maybe)
2) Looking at people while they're watching tv is just depressing. (more likely)
I don't like to promote the guy, but Tarantino came to mind immediately as another exception. He always includes scenes of people watching television.
Posted by: gordon at February 2, 2006 09:48 PMThat's what I'm thinking: watching people watching television is boring, or depressing. I'm guessing Tarantino, or anyone else, would be using it for this effect. When I was writing that, a scene in some old episode of Miami Vice came to mind, where I believe they found some corpse in a hotel room somewhere, with the TV still on and Dr. Ruth talking and talking throughout the scene.
Posted by: mig at February 3, 2006 06:37 AMIt's not just watching people watching television. Having a television on in the background is usually a judgment against the characters so engaged.
Even more interesting, compare how often characters whom we're to admire are seen reading in bed (an activity that non-readers tend to regard as passive), to how often (how seldom) such characters watch television.