I’m trying to remember the name of a movie from about 30 years
ago
– it was a spoof of the James Bond genre with a complicated plot
where the evil genius behind all the mischief turned out to be
(drumroll) the phone company.
I’m trying to remember the name of a movie from about 30 years ago – it was a spoof of the James Bond genre with a complicated plot where the evil genius behind all the mischief turned out to be (drumroll) the phone company.
This was back when there was only one phone company, of course, and as one of the biggest business giants most of us encountered, it was delightfully scary to imagine it behind a fiendish scheme for world domination.
Now there are dozens of phone companies, and not only that, but phone company activities are blurring more and more as well with what we can do over the Internet or via cable TV.
You can phone from your computer, or receive e-mail or instant messages on your phone, or download ringtones that sound like music.
Television itself comes into our homes via satellite dish, or cable or over the airwaves, none of which I really understand.
Even though a lot of these technologies were originally pursued for military purposes, their current focus seems to be providing us with entertainment no matter where we are, what we’re doing or what time it is.
Thousands of pipelines that need to be kept full.
No wonder then, that what the pipelines are full of isn’t always very inspired. For example, I’ve noticed that on NBC the fall lineup contains not one but two TV shows about TV shows.
It was already bothering me that the news shows always have a “news” item about what’s going to be on later that night. That’s not news; that’s advertising.
Apparently the people who work in television are so immersed in their work that they never get outside to see what the rest of us are doing. Not only that, but it also blurs the line between news and promotion.
Nobody ever shows up on the news or a talk show just because the host thinks they’re interesting. You can be sure they have a book or a movie or a new TV show to promote.
Talk about a fiendish scheme for world domination. All the electronic and entertainment conglomerates, which nominally compete with each other but share a lot of the same board members and other alliances, are ganging up on us to make “entertainment” inescapable.
Then when we’re permanently wired, can’t bear to be without our cell phone or instant messenger at any time, spend hours and hours in front of the work computer, the TV and the home computer, they pound on us with messages to buy more and more stuff, most of it entertainment stuff to make sure our brains stay numb.
