Ship of Fools: The World Has Gone All History Channel

Thread: The World Has Gone All History Channel Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

It was always so, some of you will doubtless say, but it was never quite so bad. The channel that famously has 'aliens' as the answer to the theory of everything is leeching into our world. Not that we are all explaining everything away with aliens, but we don't seem to be able to cope with any more information on anything that cannot be contained in a single tweet. The problem is that even the tweets are grossly inaccurate about all kinds of things.

I was driving home today listening to someone on the radio explaining - in tweet form - how the church's Easter Vigil took the format of pagan rites. It was full of utter ignorance; I doubt the person even knew what an Easter Vigil was, but they happily presented themselves on radio as an 'expert' on the pagan roots of it. That is but one example, but in truth there seems to be an ignorance about almost anything folks try to spout about salaciously these days for the sake of book selling, website hits, listenership, watchers all the while wallowing in a sea of hubris and ignorance. I have a horrible feeling we all think we live in an age of cleverness but we are actually in one of the thickest moments of our history..........or am I just getting old?

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

quote:
Originally posted by fletcher christian:
..... or am I just getting old?

If the cap fits [Biased]

My grandma did you to say just the same stuff 50 years ago ...

I think if we look for the positive side of life we will find it, it's too easy to get into a negative cycle.

Posted by Al Eluia (# 864) on :

I'm not sure people are any more ignorant now than in the past, but we sure have less excuse to be ignorant now.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

Hmmm, it does seem that 15 minutes of fame has shrunk to 140 characters of relative notoriety down to 6 seconds of minor amusement.
But take some of the blame, older generation. The "new" Ancient Aliens rubbish is just the recycled Chariots of the Gods bullshit of the post hippie generation.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

I think it is true that print media are losing a lot of their specialist writers. Not just religion - read what Ben Goldacre has to say about the state of science in the media.

I think it is also true that this is because print media can't compete with news on the Internet, which for some reason people expect to be free on demand. In other words, the same invention that has made knowledge easily available has also made it commercially non-viable.

Posted by Teilhard (# 16342) on :

Okay … Let's just accept the facts …

The Earth is flat (on a stack of turtles -- all the way down) …
The Noon landings were faked in a Hollywood studio …
Elvis, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Hoffa are all still alive on an uncharted island in Lake Michigan …
Butter, eggs, sugar, bacon grease, salt, alcohol, cream, gluten and guns are good for your health after all …
Yes, space aliens built the ancient sacred pyramids of Egypt and when the come back some day and see how badly we have allowed them to deteriorate, they're going to be really angry ...

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

lilbuddha wrote:

quote:
The "new" Ancient Aliens rubbish is just the recycled Chariots of the Gods bullshit of the post hippie generation.

Yeah, crazy hippies, thinking God is coming down in a chariot. Where do they get these goofy ideas?!

[ 04. April 2015, 16:50: Message edited by: Stetson ]

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Teilhard:
Okay … Let's just accept the facts …

Elvis, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Hoffa are all still alive on an uncharted island in Lake Michigan …

Not sure about the others, but I am fairly certain I heard that Elvis shared the 7-11 nightshift with Bigfoot.

quote:
Originally posted by Teilhard:
The Noon landings were faked in a Hollywood studio …

But the Morning landings were real, right?

Posted by PaulBC (# 13712) on :

When Isee all these theories put out I have to roll over and wonder what planet the authors/broadcasters are on . Somethings happen
these theories are a waste of time.
OH HAPPY EASTER ALL [Smile]

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

Even before the internet I have heard the rumour that Easter has pagan roots.

It is based an the evidence that the name Easter sounds similar to the name Easter is similar to that of a pagan goddess.

That link only works in English. The rest of the world uses words connected to the Jewish name for Passover.

If it is anything else I'd be very surprised.

Posted by Teilhard (# 16342) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:
Originally posted by Teilhard:
Okay … Let's just accept the facts …

Elvis, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Hoffa are all still alive on an uncharted island in Lake Michigan …
Not sure about the others, but I am fairly certain I heard that Elvis shared the 7-11 nightshift with Bigfoot.

quote:
Originally posted by Teilhard:
The Noon landings were faked in a Hollywood studio …
But the Morning landings were real, right?

See … ??? Obviously, I originally wrote, "Moon" landings … but the space aliens who control our lives from orbit with god-like powers and interferences changed the "M" to an "N" …

Posted by Al Eluia (# 864) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
The "new" Ancient Aliens rubbish is just the recycled Chariots of the Gods bullshit of the post hippie generation.

I used to be really into that. When I was 12.

Posted by Mere Nick (# 11827) on :

Shame on Bigfoot.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
Even before the internet I have heard the rumour that Easter has pagan roots.

It is based an the evidence that the name Easter sounds similar to the name Easter is similar to that of a pagan goddess.

That link only works in English. The rest of the world uses words connected to the Jewish name for Passover.

If it is anything else I'd be very surprised.

AIUI the Venerable Bede, writing several centuries after the event, claimed that the English name for Easter was taken from the pagan celebration of the goddess Eostre, which happened around that time of year. As there is no evidence for a cult of Eostre outside of Bede, and as Easter genuinely resembles an Old English word for 'rising' (hence east = where the Sun rises), it is quite possible that Bede made it up.

There are a handful of parallels between Easter and the holy week in the cult of Cybele. According to Wikipedia these were pointed out by Lactantius and Tertullian but I am too lazy to follow the references. Anyway the point is that not only is it not some Christian conspiracy to Hide The Truth, it was Christians who drew attention to it in the first place and possibly even exaggerated the similarities.

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :

And how is any of this different from cave people cowering under a ledge in stormy weather concocting stories about thunder being the roars of annoyed supernatural giants?

We are the Explaining Species. We've never had especially demanding standards for the validity of those explanations, though.

Posted by Prester John (# 5502) on :

Now if only someone can explain Giorgio Tsoukalos' hair.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

The weird thing is that in the Olden Days Christians were quite keen to show that many of the Pagan writings were unwitting foreshadowings of the Gospel. So Virgil's fourth Eclogue was supposed to be a prophecy of the birth of Christ (hence Virgil gets to be appointed as Dante's guide), and Ronsard wrote a strange poem called Hercule chrestien purporting to show how the legend of Hercules was really an allegory for certain incidents in the life of Christ.

Now a bunch of non-Christians are finding some equally tenuous links, so that they can say "Haha! We've proved .... er .... something! Take that, institutional church!"

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Of course there are pagan roots to some aspects of the Easter celebration (not that that need be a problem any more than Christmas trees or Halloween candy, etc.). And I don't see a reason to believe that Bede was a liar...

As for Bigfoot love slaves, where does one sign up for that? [Biased]

[ 06. April 2015, 03:12: Message edited by: ChastMastr ]

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
AIUI the Venerable Bede, writing several centuries after the event, claimed that the English name for Easter was taken from the pagan celebration of the goddess Eostre, which happened around that time of year. As there is no evidence for a cult of Eostre outside of Bede, and as Easter genuinely resembles an Old English word for 'rising' (hence east = where the Sun rises), it is quite possible that Bede made it up.

It is entirely possible that both are right. If Eostre was linked to spring, the return of the sun after the darkness of winter then it's not entirely impossible that her name shares the same root "rising" origin.

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Of course there are pagan roots to some aspects of the Easter celebration (not that that need be a problem any more than Christmas trees or Halloween candy, etc.).

And, generally, those pagan-origin trappings are not significant parts of the theology, or the worship of the Church. Even though there are good Biblical metaphors of the resurrection drawing on the imagery of seeds transforming into plants, it's probably only the occasional childrens address that converts that to chicks hatching from eggs (although, as a metaphor it works quite well).

So, yes the Easter celebration includes some elements of non-Christian origin, and Christians don't usually abstain from those parts of the celebration. And, the Christmas celebrations likewise. But it's a big stretch from that to saying that the whole of the festival is pagan in origin. A very big stretch.

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :

For reasons I can't explain even to myself, I spent an hour or so watching the History Channel last night, having previously only watched it once or twice several years ago for some special program being offered (and I'd forgotten how disappointing I found those).

Ye gods.

After I shut it off, I looked in the printed guide to see what else was on offer on the channel that evening.

Nothing: hours and hours of stories on the alleged interference by extraterrestrial aliens in American -- yes, specifically American -- history. Because, you see, it is of course exclusively the 350 millions of *us* and *our* doings that ETs would be interested in, nobody else on a planet of 7 and a half billion people (or whatever we're up to now) which have produced civilizations remarkable and splendid (or alternatively, horrific) for assorted reasons.

After shutting it off, I was going to try googling for info on how heavily-watched this thing is, and then decided no: too close to bedtime, and I need my sleep.

How does this crap stay on the air?

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Porridge:
How does this crap stay on the air?

Presumably advertisers think that if the audience will buy the stuff it airs they'll buy anything?

Posted by Honest Ron Bacardi (# 38) on :

It's half-owned by Disney, isn't it? Presumably also people prefer to watch a Disneyfied version of history rather than attempts at the real thing.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

Disneyfication is putting a happy-shiny lacquer over subjects.
What the History Channel applies isn't lacquer.
But they are not alone, Walking with Dinosaurs is an example of the same type of programme.

Posted by Honest Ron Bacardi (# 38) on :

I guess you're right.

On the other hand, we're talking the difference between "entirely fabricated" and "mostly fabricated".

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :

If extra-terrestials actually showed up in a visible fashion, entertainments like this would probably go out of business.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

ll I know is that the History Channel repreats
its programmes ad nauseam so I saved some money by cancelling my suibscription.

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :

The thing that floors me is it's not even entertaining. Even the tin-foil bollocks aspect of it loses amusement value after about 10 minutes.

At least with Disney, if you enter into it with the right 7-y.o.-spirit, it can be mildly diverting for a while.

Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

I know. I sometimes am tempted to tune in for amusement, only to be infuriated and annoyed five minutes in; or worse, bored out of my mind.
The worst ones are the interesting descriptions of programmes about life in a favela or infiltrating a drug syndicate or some such gang, only too discover that the whole thing is actually a glorified soap.

Posted by Teilhard (# 16342) on :

The "History Channel" -- as with ALL TV channels and programs (with the exception of "public" channels and programs) -- is commercially produced in order to attract and hold the attention of a large enough viewing audience in order to display the paid advertisements -- to satisfy the corporate sponsors …

The problem is not *them* … The problem is the audience, i.e., you and me ...

Posted by Full of Chips (# 13669) on :

We are living in an age of cleverness but, through that cleverness, thickos have easy access to public (and generally lightly moderated) platforms they never had before.

Plus side: more diverse opinions get an airing.

Minus side: depressingly many of these are utter bollocks

Posted by crunt (# 1321) on :

Fabrication and hyperbole is not restricted to the History Channel. A colleague of mine who works in a neighbouring district told me that the Discovery Channel came to a small rural school he visits to report on a superstar teacher working with indigenous children in a remote area. The local school is well funded and the children have access to a modern and well resourced school, but the children's parents will take them out of school at various times of the year to help with seasonal harvesting or other community work tasks.

Anyway, when the Discovery Channel came to do a story about this teacher doing such great work with indigenous children, they were surprised to find such a modern, well-maintained school out in the jungle, so all the filming was done in the rickety janitor's hut on the school perimeter. The teacher was asked to take the kids out to the hut where the camera crew had set up, and pretend to hold their lesson out there because it looked more real!

Posted by Pasco (# 388) on :

A daughter of a friend of ours took part in her sister's One Born Every Minute and in her own, Come Dine With Me. In both of these programmes, she experienced at first hand the programme maker's right to EDIT:

Essential Data Is TWISTED:

i.e. That Which Is Slightly Turned, Essential Data

[ 14. April 2015, 23:26: Message edited by: Pasco ]

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

I was thinking that it was a shame I couldn't get the History Channel, thinking it was worth watching. Now, after reading this thread, I don't mind at all...

One of my sons took part in a series - it told part of the story but not the whole story. I've been ticked off before for saying he's now doing something particular in his life: 'But he can't be, I saw him on Television doing ..... so it must be true!'

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Teilhard:
The "History Channel" -- as with ALL TV channels and programs (with the exception of "public" channels and programs) -- is commercially produced in order to attract and hold the attention of a large enough viewing audience in order to display the paid advertisements -- to satisfy the corporate sponsors …

The problem is not *them* … The problem is the audience, i.e., you and me ...

I do not agree. The producers shape more than they are shaped. Not that the audience lacks complicity, but they are not the drivers.

Posted by Russ (# 120) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Full of Chips:
We are living in an age of cleverness

An age of information, yes. An age of clever devices, possibly.

But the process of being educated involves more than acquiring information. Somewhere along the line we're supposed to develop wisdom.

Maybe the correlation between the amount that people know and the extent or depth of their understanding is reducing over time ?

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

An age of data. A lot of data, but not necessarily the proper tools to sort through it.

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