WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR COMMON CULTURE?
By Kenneth J. Uva
“Who watched Bonanza on Sunday night?” (Posted on Facebook)
When I saw that post on Facebook, it hit me that even though Bonanza has been off prime time TV for 48 years, that question could still be asked and answered. If a similar question is asked 48 years from now, would there be an answer? This reminded me of hearing about the 19 year old daughter of an acquaintance, a college student, who has never heard of Meryl Streep, arguably the greatest actress of our time.
What occurred to me is that we no longer have a common culture, a set of inputs and information generally known to most of us. This did not mean that everyone agreed about everything and had the same taste. It only means that there was a time when the general population was exposed to a limited amount of input so, at least, facts were not as much in dispute as they are today. Why is this and what are the implications for our politics, and society in general, if information is input from so many sources that reality itself is the subject of argument?
While each of us can look back to a particular time in our life and remember what we watched on TV, saw in the movies, and the music we listened to, we can best discuss this phenomenon in the context of BCI (before cable and internet).
For many decades, in my viewing area at least, we had seven TV channels. Three were networks and the others local. Our choices were limited to what was on a particular channel at a particular time. On Saturday mornings and certain after school hours, there was children’s programming. During prime time, however, we watched what our parents did, or we went to bed. And they watched what we did. In that era, TV was new and had a central place in our home. So, we all watched Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, and other fare of the era. If you tell a Boomer that someone is like Eddie Haskell, they would know what you mean. When Disneyland showed its series about Davy Crockett on three consecutive Sundays, all the boys talked about it the next day.
On Sunday night, we would watch Ed Sullivan. Everyone I knew of any age had something to say when Elvis Presley first played in that show in 1956. The Beatles first appearance on American TV was a huge phenomenon. It was hard to find a classmate who didn’t watch or an adult who didn’t have an opinion one way or another. While Ed would have acts to appeal to the young people, he also had performers from the past like Louie Armstrong and Sophie Tucker. If not for such variety shows how would a young person have ever seen or even heard of such old-time showbiz personalities?
In the 1970s, there were such popular programs as All in the Family. More controversial than the other TV of its day, it was, again, what a family would watch since most households had only one TV. When someone said a person was a real Archie Bunker, we knew what that meant.
It is not necessary to relate what we saw on early cable with mostly public access or reruns of old TV programs. But as cable grew our information sources did too.
Today, aside from network TV, there are an untold number of cable channels and streaming channels. People can watch anything they want on their regular TV as well as their computers and other devices. Viewers have access to the Kardashians, Real Housewives franchise, shopping channels, cooking channels, old movies, new movies, any shade of political opinion, etc. The idea of family TV time is an ancient concept. Is it any wonder that a college student would not have heard of Meryl Streep, to say nothing of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin?
While it is difficult to gauge the effect of the decline of a common culture, the greatest impact is on news and information. In New York City, millions of people used to read The Daily News each day. That paper presented a working class editorial view, and had extensive sports coverage. It was never known for presenting false or misleading news. I grew up hearing many conversations that began “Did you see what was in The News today?
TV news was 15 minutes a night, later expanded to 30. After sports, weather and some local human interest story, the news covered the events of the day with very little, if any, editorial comment. The bulk of the viewing audience, therefore, received the same facts. Of course, this is not to say there was universal agreement on the issues of the day but, at least, we could agree on the facts.
Today, there are uncounted numbers of news and information outlets. Fox channels, CNN, MSNBC, and spin offs, along with internet news sources, websites, blogs, and social media, present an enormous stream of opinion, facts, lies, real news, fake news, and total propaganda. We do not get our news from Walter Cronkite or Huntley and Brinkley these days.
On a personal note, at this year’s Super Bowl, there were three singers before kickoff and one at halftime. I had never heard of any of them. This is not a comment that these were obscure nobodies. I asked some family members if they heard of them and, if so, where did they hear. Some knew one or two and each had a different place where they heard that person. Since these were not outlets I usually visit, I didn’t know these performers. (Several were quite good, to fend off comments that I am old and inflexible.)
The greatest effect of the current plethora of inputs is that regardless of having different tastes in music, comedy, or entertainment in general. we no longer can agree on the facts. More than half of Trump voters, for example, believe the election was rigged and stolen from Trump. They are convinced enough to attack the Capitol in order to block the official certification of the votes. In reality, this was a fair election, yet constant yakking from Trump, Fox News, and certain social media sources have caused millions to believe what is not true. When interviewed, many people holding these views will just say they don’t believe the liberal media.
As Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said: “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”
If we cannot agree on facts, we cannot have a rational discussion about issues. We have seen this recently about the effectiveness of face masks, about vote stealing, about whether Black Lives Matter or “Antifa” are responsible for damage during protests. The litany of facts not accepted by many can be expanded but the reality is clear. The vast number of sources of information, news, and culture has resulted in a segmented society. If we do not have, at the least, a common understanding of our world, it is no wonder that it has become impossible to agree on how to begin to solve our problems.
Climate change, the pandemic and its human life and economic effects, income inequality, and gun violence are all issues that need to be addressed if we are to prosper and even to survive. If we cannot have a common base of reality, how can we ever agree on solutions?
