Furtherman
06-19-2003, 11:58 AM
TV & Shangri-la (http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,975769,00.html?)
This is a long, but very interesting read.
A quick description: Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences.
I always thought the people who complained about TV violence were over-reacting. But after reading this article.... well, I'm still not convinced that they are right in saying TV's influence can have have negative effects (for all those "Jackass" incidents I just chalk up to stupid people), but it is an alarming example of how a culture can change so quickly.
This is a long, but very interesting read.
A quick description: Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences.
I always thought the people who complained about TV violence were over-reacting. But after reading this article.... well, I'm still not convinced that they are right in saying TV's influence can have have negative effects (for all those "Jackass" incidents I just chalk up to stupid people), but it is an alarming example of how a culture can change so quickly.