TEXT 5
STAYING IN: YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE MEDIA
On average, people in Britain spend 230.6 minutes watching the television or video every day, which is more than in any other European country. These days, rather than talking about the weather, it is probably more accurate to say that television programmes provide a favourite topic of conversation for British people (according to market research, 46 per cent of the UK population discuss television programmes with their friends or family). In many ways, television now seems to be at the hub of 'the British way of life', offering a structure and rhythm around which people may shape their leisure time. Nowadays, the success or otherwise of major national holidays such as Christmas and Easter is less likely to be talked about in terms of the quality of church sen ices, than about the quality of programmes on television. In the 1990s, in fact, there is a mood of nostalgia about the 'good old days' of family viewing on television, especially in connection with Christmas. From the 1950s through to the 1970s, there was actually a regular BBC programme broadcast from a theatre in Leeds called The Good Old Days which simulated a night out at the music hall in Edwardian England (complete with audiences in fancy dress Edwardian clothes, singing along with the performers). In the 1990s, however, equivalent viewing slots are more likely to show archive footage of old television shows, and now there is even a satellite television station called UK Gold which is entirely devoted to reruns of British programmes from the 1970s and 1980s. So. whereas thirty years ago older people might sentimentally reminisce about 'happier' times when the family would make their own entertainment, singing songs around the piano or playing charades, these days people are more likely to recall nostalgically 'the golden age of television' during the late 1960s and early 1970s - a time when adults and children would supposedly sit together to watch favourite programmes (such as The Morecambe and Wise Show, Dr Who or The Generation Game), comfortable in the knowledge that it would all be 'good clean fun'.
A traditional British Christmas has been characterised (or caricatured) through images of the family (ranging across three generations) sitting in front of the television after Christmas dinner, watching the Queen's Speech at 3 p.m. and then a classic film such as The Sound of Music or The Wizard ofOz. It is important not to underestimate the status of these televisual myths in relation to the attitudes which British people themselves express about national identity, and as a corollary of this, it is often the case that anxieties about social decline are most readily articulated in terms of'falling standards' on television. The concept of family viewing is a central stake in debates about the role of the BBC, a public-owned institution known to the country as Auntie (suggesting its cosy, nanny-like persona — one programme which shows out-takes from BBC television series is called Auntie's Bloomers). It is often deplored in the press that current American or American-inspired television shows, such as Baywalch, Blind Date and Gladiators, are usually the most popular programmes, shown in the prime time family viewing slots on early Saturday evenings. In effect, programmes that are associated both with youth and American culture often seem to be regarded as anathema as far as British family values are concerned. In an attempt to recapture the all-round entertainment of twenty or thirty years ago, the BBC now has nostalgic television shows such as The New Generation Game, and a family quiz show called Telly Addicts which tests the contestants' knowledge of television's 'good old days'
Young people nowadays watch more television than did preceding generations. However, as far as television programmers and advertisers are concerned, 'youth audiences' are potentially the most elusive segment of the population in this country, for although' television may play an influential role in the identities of young British people, they generally spend less time watching television than people over 25 or under 12. British youth, implicitly, are less likely than any other section of the population to be seen as inhabitants of the domestic environment. In response to this, there has been a growing movement towards 'youth television' in Britain, which aims to 'catch' young people either before or after they go out to socialise. Youth television was famously pioneered in the 1980s by the cockney television producer Janet Street Porter and is sometimes satirically referred to as 'Yooff TV. The kinds of programme that fall into this category tend to have a fast-moving magazine format with young, fashionably dressed presenters often speaking in 'non-standard' English. A peak-time viewing programme such as Blind Date also targets a youth audience, not least because it is shown on Saturdays, fairly early in the evening so that people can watch before they go out on the town (to increase the programme's cross-generational appeal it also occasionally sends middle-aged or older people on blind dates).
WORD STUDY
I. Consult the E-E Dictionary to find out the meaning of the following words and expressions:
|
to beat the hub of smth (to) reminisce |
- delineation - to be blurred |
| - anathema | |
|
- (to) ascribe hectic - adolescent |
- (to) exacerbate - (to) spawn |
II. Match the words below with their meanings in the right-hand column:
1) charades
2) footage
3) (to) deplore
4) elusive
5) discrepancy
6) backdrop
a) a length of film made for the cinema or television
b) difference; failure to agree
c) difficult to Find or capture; hard to remember
d) a game in which one team ads a series of little plays containing syllables of a word which other team tries to guess
e) to he shocked or offended by smth; to condemn smth
f) a background to an event or a situation
COMPREHENSION
III. Identify the statements as True or False:
1. The interest in television programmes has decreased a great deal throughout the last decade.
2. "The golden age of television" took place during the late 70s and early 80s.
3. American television by no means influenced the structure of the current British TVshows.
4. Playing computer games involves human communication and thus is highly perspective.
5. Women in Britain should be described as passive consumers of pop culture merchandise.
6. Older generation's attitude to youth culture has always been immensely positive.
7. Teenage girls in Britain are inclined to stick to a stay-at-home life style.
8. Sex is a taboo issue as far as late-night youth television shows are concerned.
9. Teen magazines are more focused on romance and clean-cut love stories, than actual relationship.
IV. Answer the following questions:
1. How would you describe a traditional British Christmas basing yourself on the information presented in the given article?
2. What are the cult TVshows in Britain and how would you account for their popularity?
3. When was youth TV pioneered? What are its most prominent features?
4. Is there a chance that computers may compensate for the lack of communication?
5. What are the most popular teen magazines? Has any shift in their contents taken place since the 70s?
FOLLOW-UP
V. Make up an extended dialogue between two English youngsters talking about:
a) their favourite and most trendy TV programmes
b) the newest computer games they recently got their hands on
c) some sensational article in a popular teen magazine.