One of the reasons why Modernity seemed to be building in wonder and splendor was the fact that inventions were radically changing how man interacted with both nature and each other. The invention of electricity alone was responsible for man reaching new heights and continues to be to this day. Can you imagine life without electricity? You may not need to just imagine if our laws get ahead of our ability to produce electricity without fossil fuels (as experienced by some in Texas recently), but it's hard to imagine for most at the moment.
Thomas Edison is largely held responsible for the Age of Electricity, though as time passes we become more acquainted with his rival, Nikola Tesla. Edison was convinced the introduction of the light bulb would transform society, and he wasn't wrong. Once the light bulb and uses for electricity became apparent, the distribution of electricity was the problem. Edison favored Direct Current or DC technology, and Nikola Tesla favored Alternating Current, or AC/DC technology. The feud between the two was heated, but Tesla's technology eventually won out, being more efficient and requiring fewer generators. The long battle bankrupted Tesla, and he sold his patents to Westinghouse so they wouldn't go bankrupt as well.
Television was first envisioned by men like Philo Farnsworth, John Baird, Vladimir Zworykin, and others, and their collective work resulted in experimental broadcasts in 1928 by Baird, and 1937 by Farnsworth. RKO, CBS, and NBC were doing experimental broadcasts leading to the Federal Communications Act of 1934, which is the basis for the FCC today.
Television programming began from limited audiences to nationwide broadcasts in the late 1930s/early 1940s and by the 1950s were an accepted phenomenom. I Love Lucy (1951-1957) was one of the first wildly popular television programs, and recorded the highest rating in history, at a 71.7 rating, which has never been approximated since. Color television broadcasts began in 1954, and color tv sales went from 20,000 in 1955 to 67,145,000 sets in the U.S. by 1960.
Broadcasting began as family friendly and in line with the mores of the times, but by the 1970s broadcasting took a different tack by flying in the face of then current mores. All in the Family was a somewhat innocuous "sitcom," or situational comedy, whose episodes took on controversial subjects, such as prejudice, abortion, and homosexuality, but pushed ideas contrary to Christian mores in an effort to "liberalize" American thought. It was a watershed moment in television and entertainment in general that was a call to action for those who wanted to change how society worked. That element is now a staple in entertainment programming on all levels.
The Blame Game: A Tradition Started by Adam and Eve
As soon as the first thing went wrong in the Garden of Eden, Adam blamed the woman (and God indirectly), the woman blamed the Serpent, and the Serpent had already made his escape. We blame each other, our children blame each other to start and then us, and then we blame everything from technology to our upbringing. I even had a superior at a new job tell me I needed to learn the names of all those under me so that I would know how to affix blame when something went wrong.
That being the case, it's not surprising that for quite some time television, movies, video games, and entertainment in general has gotten the blame for everything from the dissolution of the family to the corruption of our country's morals. There is some truth to it in that there has been a rather anti-Christian undercurrent to much of what has been foisted upon us, but we share in that blame for watching it.
If one totals up the number of hours that the average adult watches television per day, and multiply that by the number of adults in the country, it amounts to almost 1.2 Billion (yes, billion with a "b") hours per day. The amount of time spent that could otherwise be used in a productive way boggles the mind. Are we truly "Amusing Ourselves to Death" as Neil Postman wondered in 1985?
