Has anyone else seen the latest TVNZ 'On Demand' advertisement on TV?It's basically asking that at the end of your life when your whole life flashes before your eyes, would you rather see your own boring life or would you rather see yourself surrounded by famous people and actors (because you've been watching TV) as this will somehow be more satisfying to you when 'the end' finally comes.
As ad campaigns go, I find it rather ineffective; perhaps it will get more people to stop watching though and actually go and enjoy life, which is a good thing.
The idea of having better memories at the end of your life because you'll see the people in the TV shows you've watched is rather cynical though; it reminded me of the video wall in Ray Bradbury's excellent novel Fahrenheit 451 in which people interact with a soap opera that constantly runs and nothing ever happens; it keeps the people sedate. In a case of life imitating art, TVNZ has just started a web-only series called Reservoir Hill, which is billed as our first 'interactive TV series'. You can watch the programme and then txt the main character, Beth, and let her know what she should be doing or to warn her etc.
As though people haven't got enough problems in real life, they have to be concerned about, and interact with, fictional characters. I suppose it's just one step further from movies and TV.
Television- the opiate for the masses.
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