Thursday, May 02, 2019
Didactic serials
I've noted often that radio in the '30s and '40s was kept honest by strict FCC control. Stations were expected to SERVE THE PUBLIC in many specific ways, so stations and producers FOUND WAYS to serve the public. This shouldn't be surprising.
When FCC gave up on the notion of public service, radio turned into just another Deepstate outlet serving the purposes of NYC demonic aliens, insinuating and instigating.
One peculiar consequence of the service requirement was didactic serials. Short adventure programs aimed largely at kids conveyed lots of actual information about the world. The writers handled this requirement variously. In Ann of the Airlanes the information was smoothly meshed into the plot, so you weren't really aware that you were learning about the arrangement of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, or the Asphalt Lake of Trinidad, or aircraft fuel efficiency. In Speed Gibson of the Secret Police the info was clumsily blocked in. The plot and action halted for two long minutes while a character essentially read from a textbook.
Ann of the Airlanes is like eating nutritious food. Speed Gibson is like taking a bitter vitamin pill.
Ann of the Airlanes is like eating nutritious food. Speed Gibson is like taking a bitter vitamin pill.Labels: defensible times, Entertainment
¶ 1:20 AM
