While I do advocate the responsible use of television, I stumbled upon a video at AdBusters that I thought was pertinent to this thread. Just so you know, AdBusters is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to de-branding the world.
Anyway, check out the link below. At the very bottom of the page, there is a video entitled "Evidence" by Godfrey Reggio. The movie is a little bit boring, but also ominous and a little disturbing. The premise for the short movie is simple: Godfrey pointed a video camera at a bunch of children while they watched television. These children look absolutely catatonic.
Watching Godfrey's movie reminds me just how receptive we are to advertising and other messages while we're watching TV.
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