Sat Tv Crystal Ball
SATELLITE TV: THE CRYSTAL BALL THAT OPENED NEW NARRATIVES OF REALITY
Abstract
The world around us is being constantly studied, analysed, made ‘sense’ of, categorised, named and assigned meaning. This human endeavour invariably leads to the formation of the amorphous entity called ‘Reality’. The introduction of Satellite TV channels and the introduction of 24 hours News channels that broadcast directly into millions of households around the world, without little or no State control has led to the formation of new ‘reality’ which is not ‘coloured’ by the powers-that-be. One of the first such instances of where technology made TV accessible to a wider audience sans hegemonic domination though with limited interference was in 1962. The period also witnessed the entrance of information as the next frontier of warfare, aided by the development of requisite technology for war. The development of Internet access and the evolution of “Live TV Streaming” have added to the expansion of Satellite TV and its sphere of influence. The paper attempts to foreground the role of Satellite TV as a cartographer of ‘Reality’ and to probe into the evolution of popular culture through popular media. The resultant issues of this interaction range from the creation and perception of an ‘unknown threat’, moulding a new culture where popular thought ceases to be an independent and dynamic entity. The paper proposes to look at literary texts that are excluded from mainstream or canonical works but come forth because of the interaction and interchange between the popular media and culture. One of the numerous issues to be examined would be the question of the creation of the construct called ‘Reality’ and how this perceived ‘reality’ manages to affect and effect the empirical ‘reality’. The paper will attempt to bring into the discourse the issue of hyper reality as a popular construct, which challenges the hegemony of the dominant power structure at its own terms. These carnivalesque
Abstract
The world around us is being constantly studied, analysed, made ‘sense’ of, categorised, named and assigned meaning. This human endeavour invariably leads to the formation of the amorphous entity called ‘Reality’. The introduction of Satellite TV channels and the introduction of 24 hours News channels that broadcast directly into millions of households around the world, without little or no State control has led to the formation of new ‘reality’ which is not ‘coloured’ by the powers-that-be. One of the first such instances of where technology made TV accessible to a wider audience sans hegemonic domination though with limited interference was in 1962. The period also witnessed the entrance of information as the next frontier of warfare, aided by the development of requisite technology for war. The development of Internet access and the evolution of “Live TV Streaming” have added to the expansion of Satellite TV and its sphere of influence. The paper attempts to foreground the role of Satellite TV as a cartographer of ‘Reality’ and to probe into the evolution of popular culture through popular media. The resultant issues of this interaction range from the creation and perception of an ‘unknown threat’, moulding a new culture where popular thought ceases to be an independent and dynamic entity. The paper proposes to look at literary texts that are excluded from mainstream or canonical works but come forth because of the interaction and interchange between the popular media and culture. One of the numerous issues to be examined would be the question of the creation of the construct called ‘Reality’ and how this perceived ‘reality’ manages to affect and effect the empirical ‘reality’. The paper will attempt to bring into the discourse the issue of hyper reality as a popular construct, which challenges the hegemony of the dominant power structure at its own terms. These carnivalesque