Stephanny Ramos 11/16/2013 Professor Lala Eng-010

Have we become so dependent on TV that we just believe blindly what is being sold to us on TV show and movie, have we come to a point in time that we cannot differentiate between reality and illusion. Robison and Cross both have negative view on TV and they both agree with the fact that TV was not meant for society to take it as a manual to guide them through life it was meant to amuse and entertain to us, it was in no way ever intended to educate. Robinson and Cross both used different examples and scenarios so that they would be able to show their readers the negative aspects of TV. Robinson recalled an episode of a documentary that aired on July 20th 1978 on NBC called I Want It All Now where the town of Marin county was depicted as Predominance of narcissism which was leading to many divorces as much as 75 percent. Robinson also states in that paragraph that producers saw what they wanted to see and what they wanted to see is exactly what they were showing their viewers and that led to Robinsons belief that not even twenty four hours would be enough to show the world the dynamics of a whole town let alone one hour. Cross used a different approach instead of using a TV show as a example she used the story In Book Four of The Republic where Plato tells the story of four prisoners who were chained in a cave since birth and where they grow up knowing only the reality of shadows one day a prisoner escapes and sees the real world and how much better it is then what he ever expected when he went back to tell the others they did not believe him because the only truth they had ever known where the shadows and that is the exact message that cross is trying to convey to her readers , we only believe what we know we do not have open minds to believing the unknown.

TV is not educational because at time it can me very misleading and confusing For example Cross used evidence that was collected to show the confusion between reality and illusion Trial lawyers for example stated and complained that juries had become conditioned to the formulas of television dramas Mario Merola said All they want is drama, suspense, and a confession Merola states that TV has created a misconception of what a court case actually is most people expect a big confession and it never comes. Cross also uses a statement that Merola made about how TV shows make the jobs of district attorneys much more harder then what they need to be because society was been blinded between reality and illusion. Robinson looks back to a lecture he once attended where a young German historian took issue from a film about Hitler Robinson claims that the critics along with the young historian where guilty of the same error they both believe TV and movies could be a source of knowledge because you could never get the answers you require from a movie or TV show you need to read books when you have questions and are looking for answers Robinson claims because it is the only way you will actually learn valuable information. In Robinsons eyes the worst thing a TV can claim to do is to be educational because it corrupts the very notion of education because people start believing what they see on TV and because people start believing that they have already learned everything they needed to know in those 60 minutes of watching a documentary or TV show Robinson also states ignorance is preferable because ignorance means that there is still a small space that can be filled with knowledge instead of approximation. Cross is a strong believer in the fact that in todays society we shape the way we believe our lives should be because of what we see TV She also claims that A generation of Americans has grown up so dependent on television that its images appear as real to them as life itself . Robinson and Cross believe people have become so expectant that life is the way it is on TV shows that they become disappointed when faced with the reality.

In conclusion what both Cross and Robinson are trying to get people to understand it that we should not accept so blindly what we see in movies and TV shows as our reality we should also not accept it as an educational source. Robinson and Cross both believe TV shows where made to entertain and to amuse not to become our manual in life or a source where we get all of our factual information.