| current | | | archive » | | | hhakley | c-town | stanus | razor violins | ilm |
|
3.01.2004 posted by William 22:13 link |
If I'm eating at home sometimes I watch TV, and since I only get broadcast, there are only three options: The Simpsons, Seinfeld, or if neither of those are on, Whatever The Hell's On Channel 13. Which Channel 13 it turns out has some interesting programming, like documentaries about various royal Brits, and sometimes non-royal Brits like Shakespeare, and other generally anglophilic shows.
Tonight the program looked like an infomercial when I first tuned in, a seated middle-aged woman and man phonily discussing some product on display on a table between them. But whatever it was that was on the table wasn't shiny or new, and whoever they were in the chairs they weren't photogenic or even good-looking, so it couldn't really be an infomercial. The mystery on the table turned out to be an antique drum, which over the course of the discussion (really more of a lecture) some kind of antique drum authority revealed had been a campaign drum from the presidential election of 1848, with attending rarity and historical importance. The drum authority concluded his recitation with a subdued, "And about how much would you guess this is worth?" which the owner protested she had no idea about at all. "I'd place its value at ten to twelve thousand dollars." The lady's hand pops up to her mouth, she gasps, she's shocked. Wide smile. Kinda fun idea for reality TV, public television-style. Go around to random antique shows and get experts to appraise items and proclaim ordinary people rich. The name is simply Antiques Roadshow, and it's apparently PBS's "most watched primetime series". I'll even go beyond that and say it's easily good enough to leave on while your fingers are covered with cheese from your dissolving quesadilla and you don't want to fuck up the remote. Other memorabilia valued included a model of a fanciful, never-manufactured automobile design ($2000), a painting in which an American artist of the 19th century takes a stab at impressionism ($7000), and original poster advertisements of 60s rock concerts (various high prices). Here are the questions: Do my parents have anything like this lying around? Who would really pay that kind of money for this stuff? Is public television cashing in on the cheap thrills of reality TV to attract viewers at the cost of reducing genuine historical treasures to mere lottery tickets? & Are they conspiring to hype and thus inflate a bizarre, fetishistic market that glorifies materialism, thereby strengthening the hold capitalism maintains on our society? What about my grandparents? |
