the culture of television, the television of culture
It sounds ridiculous, but getting this TV – even with all its faults (the v-hold is all screwed up, so it’s just reverted to filling up a quarter of the screen) – has heightened my mood considerably. And I think I know why.
Japan has this culture of “insider” and “outsider”, and if you are not inside the group you are outside the group. In my room, I’m disconnected from the outside world. The only connection I have is the internet – which for all intents and purposes is connecting me to Western culture. I am not in Japanese culture. I don’t read Japanese newspapers or the magazines, I don’t talk with the average Japanese person (not counting students and young people), I have no idea about the zeitgeist (時鬼？）.
But a TV is a magic box; it gives me a steady feed of what Japanese people are saying or doing or thinking about, 24/7. Like it or not, TV defines culture more than anyone would like to believe. And now I have a direct connection to Japanese culture, even if I don’t understand 90% of it. I can turn on the TV in the morning and watch the news and see the weather, and somehow that changes everything.
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