by Che Tibby

When my television looked like it was going to pack up last year, I did the respectable thing and sold it to someone on TradeMe. It was a 68cm behemoth that perched on a slab on the corner of the room and fed me a constant stream of bull-pucky interspersed with the occasional gem. It took two people to lift and move it. It consumed a huge amount of electricity. And I loved it to bits.

Of late though, I’m come to see that co-dependent relationship with the tube to be extremely unhealthy. Sure it keep me amused on demand. It was a companion when I was alone, and didn’t mind that I gorged myself on chips and soft drinks (with the obvious results). It didn’t mind if I had dandruff or had forgotten to shower. It didn’t mind if I dressed for any particular occasion in my trackies and an old t-shirt. And most importantly, it didn’t starve if I switched it off and went away for the weekend.

It was what I got from out of the television that was the problem. A stream of what I now recognise as the most mind-numbingly stupid drivel you can imagine. In fact, you don’t need to imagine. You can just switch the thing on and there it is.

Now, in television’s defence, I’ve seen some great TV. There are fantastic shows: drama, comedy, documentary, cartoons and news. There are movies I’ve stumbled across when channel surfing I never would have thought to take off the shelf at the video store. You can see monumental sporting events that you could never travel to and stories of places on the far side of the globe. TV connects us instantly to world-changing events - remember seeing the Berlin Wall fall anyone? And, on average, television is a good thing.

But then you have to consider one small title. “Dancing with the b-grade celebrities Stars”.

Kind of puts it all in perspective really.

Anyhow, some time after my beloved TV ‘Bubba’ had to be sold, I went sans-tube into a new one-bedroom flat by myself. And surprisingly, I didn’t miss it. Sure, there was a transition phase, which meant I browsed Youtube and AcceptableTV a lot, but generally I transitioned across to a new stage in my life. I can now stand up and happily admit that I no longer need television.

Furthermore, I know I’m hardly the first person to forgo the tube. This is not revolutionary stuff we’re talking about. I’m not about to commission a legion of Elvis-impersonators armed with handguns, dispatching TVs across the nation. Although, there’s probably a business opportunity in that …

What is interesting, though, is how much my world-view has changed since losing Bubba.

Thing is – I don’t think about the USA any more. This is a small comment, but not to be underestimated.

US programming and content dominates TV, and news of American political activity is the one thing you can be guaranteed to hear and see on any given week. This is natural of course - they are the most powerful nation on Earth both militarily and culturally.

What I’m driving at, though, is without TV there is no source for this cultural domination to reach me. Sure, I still listen to American music. In fact, ‘Americana’ and ‘Alt-country’ has been a favourite genre of mine since I lived in Melbourne a few years back. But I choose to listen to this. And it’s only one genre within a number than I enjoy. I also really like Wellington ‘Trombone-reggae’ for example.

Again, US cultural dominance really is nothing new. What has amazed me is the penetration into my daily life that other types of media and information can make without TV screaming meaningless gossip at me. For starters, I have a lot more time to take an interest in the city around me. It’s made me actually see how much people here block out their close neighbours, and more importantly neighbourhood, in favour of spoon-fed entertainment from an electric box.

Finally, what this lack of TV means is that I’m much more interested in other New Zealanders. Instead of being a passive consumer of culture, often someone else’s, I’m advocating and enjoying some of the things produced by other Wellingtonians. And much more importantly, I’m choosing what it is that I consume. A powerful thing, and one not be underestimated.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Guest blogger - Che Tibby. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.