Modern people perceive television as a regular, routine phenomenon that seems to have been there forever. In the middle 20th century, however, the active spread of the brand new medium created a considerable sensation and was able to change the society. Its most substantial consequence lied in an outstanding increase to news coverage, which influenced the involvement of the population in social and political life.
One of the brightest examples of the impact TV has had on American culture is the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960. Notably, television proved able to “assist the democratic process beyond the airing of 30-second commercials” (“The Kennedy-Nixon debates,” n.d., para. 1). That innovation fostered civil engagement and citizens’ interest to the functioning of the state. The Civil Rights Movement is also worth mentioning, as the 1950s were the period when TV began to illuminate the problems of black population (Goodwin, 2019). Unlike paper press, television covered the entire country at once, which improved awareness and favored for uniting.
Another event that left its imprint on American national spirit, having been broadcast on TV, is doubtlessly the Moon landing. The astronauts had an outstanding public relation campaign behind and were presented as heroes, which “brought previously unthinkable images and ideas into the homes of millions” (Jeffrey, 2019, para. 1). The epochal event extended the boundaries of human abilities, hence gave a new lease of life to American dream.
Tragic episodes were also shown on TV; actually, as soon as the medium grew mass, news networks began to seek for drama. Vietnam War became the first “television” one and provided Americans with a more realistic perspective on the lives of their soldiers (Kratzer, 2018). Empathizing with compatriots split the society that had always been proud of its unification. One part of it argued for the war, willing to support the troops, at least distantly, while the other one made a stand against numerous but senseless deaths. The latter part happened to prevail, which led to a rise of pacifistic motives in the USA.
To summarize, the appearance and spread of television enabled illuminating news to big amounts of people in a short while. This resulted in a substantial activation of social response towards both positive and negative events fellow Americans were involved in. That activation, in turn, could result in either a consolidation, hence a rise of the national morale, or controversies, depending on the context of the situation.
References
Goodwin, S. (2019). The Civil Rights Movement and the media. Oxford Bibliographies. Web.
Jeffrey, J. (2019). Apollo 11: ‘The greatest single broadcast in television history.‘ BBC News. Web.
Kratzer, J. (2018). Vietnam: The first television war. National Archives: Pieces of History. Web.
The Kennedy-Nixon debates. (n.d.). Britannica. Web.