Blog Post #2

Zachary Fortgang

CCS 313-01

Professor Smith-Casanueva

Due: 21 October 2014

Televisual Technology: Time Shifting

At this point in the course, we have read copious articles pertaining to televisual technology.  There has been insight given by specific authors that allowed me to understand certain concepts and theories.  For this post, I will tie in one of my current favorite television series.

It has been the longest six months of my twenty-year old life.  After one of the most suspenseful cliffhangers in television’s history, it has finally arrived.  Already gloomed with devastation, I was not able to view the season premiere of The Walking Dead during AMC’s original airtime.  It resorted to what was to be the next best thing, which was setting the DVR (Digital Video Recording) on my home Verizon Fios box through my Slingbox.  Another option would be to watch the re-run of that episode later that night.  All in all, the day was saved.  I was able find out what had happened to Rick, Daryl, and the rest of the gang in the past six months.

It’s such an incredible advancement and convenience to have technology that allows a person to record what they had missed in the present.  In Friedman’s article, he suggests six precepts of cinema spectatorship.  The result of having a form of time shifting experience has enhanced cinematic spectatorship, as the first form of time shifting was the VCR (Friedberg 132).  The VCR (Videocassette Recorder) brought upon a new idea of being able to re-watch programs.  In fact, according to Friedberg, television programming relies on scheduled reruns that give the viewer an opportunity to catch up on missed programs (136). 

In contrast, there is a downside to having this ability to control when we watch a program.  Friedberg state’s “that the recording capabilities of the VCR have altered television’s absolute presence” and that “the aura of the original moment disappears” (141).  Virilio suggests that the VCR allows for man to organize a time which is not his own, a deferred time, a time which is somewhere else- and to capture it (141).  This can be a consequence for many because there is a risk of losing any suspense into watching a program.  I agree with this theory to an extent because personally, it is a ritual for me to watch The Walking Dead every Sunday night.  If I had found out already what had happened due to social media, I would have no interest in watching the episode.  Also, maybe watching it on my MacBook will not give me the full ambiance compared to a fifty-inch Samsung LED television with surround-sound.   

This technological advancement of time shifting has changed the perspective in the way people have viewed television over the years.  Whether it’s VCR, DVR, or TiVo, viewers in this generation will always have the ability to put time and television in their own hands.  Overall, it is important to understand how the opportunity to record programs and re-watch them can either enhance or take away from an individual’s viewing experience.       

Works Cited

Friedberg, Anne. “Spectatorial Flanerie.” Window Shopping: Cinema and the Postmodern. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1993.