Remote Control: Television and the Manipulation of American Life

by Frank Mankiewicz

A study of the social and political effects of two generations of television viewing concludes that television influences every aspect of our lives and that events are considered important only if validated by television coverage

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Frank Mankiewicz (1924 – 2014) was an American journalist, political adviser, president of National Public Radio, and public relations executive.

He was the son of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and the nephew of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book blew my mind back in 1978. It's about the ways in which watching too much TV impairs the viewer's sense of reality. By now, many of these issues are well familiar, (certainly that of desensitization to violence). Perhaps less so some of the other issues discussed, e.g. the idea that viewing crimes night after night tends to increase a viewer's paranoia, or that growing up seeing problems solved in an hour's time can distort your ability to defer gratification, and, of course, the book questions the wisdom of turning one's brain off for hours every night before the cathode glow. I'm sure it's a bit of a period piece now, in the internet age.