Céline on the Effects of Television
The brain is a muscle: it becomes flaccid.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894–1961), in an interview with Télé Magazine (11 January, 1958), my translation:
Let’s return to the subject of television. It is useful for people who do not go out, such as my wife for example. I have a set upstairs, but I never go up to watch it. It is a fabulous means of propaganda. It is also — alas! — a way of dumbing things down, in the sense that people come to rely on what they are shown. They no longer imagine. They look. They lose their sense of judgement, and they easily succumb to laziness.
Television is dangerous for people.
Alcoholism, gossip, and politics already make morons out of them. Was it really necessary to add something more?
But you have to admit it, there is no fighting against progress. Have you ever tried to swim up the Niagara Falls? No. Nobody can stop the forward march of television. It will soon change all modes of reasoning. It is an ideal instrument for the masses. It replaces everything, it eliminates all effort, it provides a great deal of peace and quiet to parents. Children are fascinated by this phenomenon.
The tragedy today is that people think effortlessly.
We knew Latin much better when there was no Latin grammar book. If you simplify the effort, the brain works less. The brain is a muscle: it becomes flaccid.
Here is one example: women had calf muscles during the occupation. They used to walk. Today machinery has triumphed, and we live in the kingdom of beautiful cars. Women don’t have legs any more, they are hideously ugly. The men have paunches…
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Would not have thought it possible to have even greater admiration for Céline -- but this post did the trick. Thanks for a great post!