UN declares 21 November is World Television Day

‘World Television Day is not so much a celebration of the tool, but rather the philosophy which it represents. Television represents a symbol for communication and globalization in the contemporary world.’ – United Nations

Television has the power to inform, entertain the masses and through advertising – the means to market products for us to buy. We as individuals have the power to change the channels!

It has become part of our shared experience. We can talk about the latest episode of a popular show with friends at work, in the playground, at college, in the bar, even on the phone to friends. We watch it together as a family, as a couple, with a group of friends for a sports match or alone. It can allow us to connect with the world around us and bring something happening on the far side of the world right into our living rooms. The wonder of nature, protests, music festivals, famine, war…

‘Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America – not on the battlefields of Vietnam.’ – Marshall McCluhan (Canadian philosopher of Media Theory)

…and scientific achievements such as the televised moon landing in 1969.

Perhaps this gallery will help rekindle a memory or enlighten and remind you of the power, reach and responsibility of television in our lives –

And if TV is a turn-off for you, remember these words –

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx

All images in this article and on the Kaleidoscope blog site are available for licensing. Please contact UIG at info@universalimagesgroup.com

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