In the last paragraph of Lynn Spigel’s “Installing
the Television Set,” Spigel quotes historian Carlo Ginzburg, who writes:
“Reality is opaque; but there are certain points—clues, signs—which allow us to
decipher it.” Why do you think Spigel closes her analysis of
post-war television’s role in American domestic spaces with this quote? How
does she describe her historical approach/methodology? What types of “traces”
of the past does she examine in this essay and how does she use them? Do you agree with her approach to history?
I believe Spiegel chose to end with that particular quote to validate her choice of evidence as the "certain points-clues, signs" which the quote refers to. I believe that her approach to history is correct in theory, but in practice only serves as a justification for cherry-picking evidence that proves your own point. Spiegel is not the only person to use this approach in this fashion, nor most egregious. The main evidence Spiegel calls upon is magazines that tell people, mostly women, how to deal with the television. While the magazines serve as an indicator, it’s a narrow one. Fashion, home decorating, and “women’s” magazines are not entirely valid as the marker of society. A home decoration magazine is going to deal with the TV as a central point just as they did the radio previously, and computers and flatscreens today. A style magazine is purchased with the intent of making a home or person more presentable. If someone was buying it, they wanted the tips that were presented. And most interestingly, the “women’s” magazine is the most devious in terms of societal control. However, I do not believe that their points about TV would be much different than their points on any other topic. The evidence Spiegel has chosen paint the television set as a devious, manipulative box that is designed to harm women and give the suburban middle class a sense of superiority, thus hurting the less privileged. Using this approach to history makes it easy to paint a picture of your choosing. I do not argue that TV didn’t do this. I believe Spiegel paints this as a motive, as if television creators, networks, and fashion magazines were all working together with this particular goal in mind. I see it more as an effect, where all three groups realized that this was the route to profit, and therefore did it. None of these groups benefits monetarily from this approach, which I cannot assume motivates corporations. I believe the larger context must be looked at when viewing history. And, I think a less “conspiracy theorist” approach needs to be utilized.
ReplyDeleteI think that Spigel’s choice of the Ginzburg quotation paradoxically functions both as self-validation for her historical undertakings, and as a light disclaimer for the credibility of her argument. Spigel frames her entire article within the notion that television history is a fledgling study; she alludes to this notion throughout her article, noting at various intervals that there is very little historical precedent to build upon when studying the emergence of television - as if to suggest that her own assertions are based on insubstantial information and evidence. However, by closing with the Ginzburg quotation, she seems to suggest that history is best understood by tracing these “inconsequential” details. And indeed, to support her claims throughout the article, Spigel cites women’s magazines, advertisements, and other media that might seem historically insubstantial, or “inconsequential.” At the same time, though, her last line capitalizes the fact that television history is “only beginning to be written,” which seems to me a self-conscious choice that, when placed directly after the Ginzburg quotation, suggests an awareness of a slight credibility concern in regard to the strength of her evidence. I cannot decide if her emphasis on the newness of television history study undermines or strengthens her arguments on the whole. But with all that said, I do think that Spigel’s approach to history renders relatively accurate readings. By tracing the trivialities of mainstream, popular culture, I think that one can definitely glean the social concerns of a particular place in a particular time period.
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