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What would Charlotte Mason watch on TV?


kaxy
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Humor me with imagining what, if anything, Charlotte Mason might do with a TV if she were around these days.

 

Netflix and chill? And if so, what would be on her watch list?

 

PBS news? Or some other source?

 

Documentaries? BBC costume dramas?

 

Or, no TV or streaming?

 

I'm thinking of her own use here, but also we could take it to what she'd say for students.

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I have read books/blog posts about Mason, and only excerpts of Mason's writings and I'm not an expert in the slightest.

 

I know she valued being exposed to interesting ideas, things of beauty and truth. She didn't want pre-digested info; she wanted the source and to let the authors speak.

 

I'm trying to find the name of the book series that she read from every night for her own enjoyment. Perhaps she'd also watch the TV equivalent of that?

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Hmmm. I'm wondering if she'd even have a tv. She might have had one of the no-tv households, preferring books instead. Good books of course, no twaddle. :)

Perhaps so. But, I'd argue that movies and shows are just one medium for which to tell a story, and while you can see a play in person, sometimes it is limited to time and financial constraints.

 

So maybe she'd go to a movie theater? I do think she'd be picky about what she watched, if anything.

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Maybe some foreign films? Bollywood or Korean drama?

(OK - probably not, but I just thought it'd be funny to juxtapose CM with Bollywood for a moment. .... although maybe a Korean Historical Drama may not be as far fetched.)

And because I cannot get enough of Korean dramas I am going to get on board picturing CM watching them ;)

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I think she would look for things which don't encourage cynacism and which are written by passionate writers who desire to tell a story (as opposed to opportunistic money grubbers looking for a quick buck). She would likely look for excellence in production.

 

I think this rules out reality TV! I do think something like The Lego Movie would make the cut, though, because of the excellence, passion, and creativity. But maybe purists would disagree. 

 

I don't know much about recent movies, though, or TV, so I have a hard time telling what makes it through this set of criteria!

 

Emily

 

 

 

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I wonder if she would like Firefly. Her loss if she didn't. :)

It would definitely be her loss ;) and while we are realizing that CM would easily see the superior genius that is Joss Whedon I think she would fancy herself a Buffy and Angel fan as well.

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This is fascinating.

 

I think the kneejerk reaction is to say things that are quite traditional - the Attenborough documentaries mentioned above, Masterpiece theater, costume pieces like The Crown or Downton Abbey... And I can get with that.

 

But if CM was watching TV, that would mean she was more modern. I can't quite see her loving things filled with gore and sex because I'll bet she'd be a bit traditional even today - so I think she might turn her nose up at Breaking Bad, but I'll bet she'd enjoy things that are just very well done stories. So maybe... Doctor Who? Sticking with scifi, I'd bet anything she'd like Star Trek TNG reruns. I'll bet she'd enjoy things that are focused on family drama like The Good Wife, Parenthood, maybe even Mad Men... maybe she'd enjoy the twee of Gilmore Girls. I'll bet she would watch a lot of documentaries. I can totally see her loving NOVA and Cosmos and so forth. She might like some darker things that make you think, like Black Mirror. She might enjoy some smart comedies, like Modern Family or Parks and Recreation or Veep.

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She might not have a tv - or maybe she would have it in a closet.

 

I think she would want insightful plots, but not cynical.  I suspect she'd not put up with gratuitous sex and violence.

 

Costume dramas and literary adaptations seems obvious, but not all are as really well done as others.  Father Brown is a little light-weight, for example. 

 

The Lego Movie - I don't know - it might be too blatantly made to sell consumer goods.

 

I was thinking maybe something like THe Crown?

 

But it's funny, although I think there is some very good tv shows on lately, a lot of the things I keep coming back to are about 20 years old - the Original House of Cards, the Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett. Maybe something like Wonder Years.  In terms of comedy, perhaps Yes Minister, or sketch comedy like Simon and Schuster?  I can see her getting a kick out of their Julius Caesar sketch.

 

 

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I don't think she would watch tv. Not because of content but because it is passive. It doesn't engage the mind like books do. It tells you what to imagine. E.g. The movies tell you what Gollum and Orcs and Frodo snd Hibbiton look like...so there is no space for you to draw the pictures that you can understand.

 

The problem I have here (to blabber on) is that sometimes film draws more explicit pictures than one might be able to handle. I think Charlotte would object to this.

 

And that's all I have to say 'bout that. :0)

 

And I watch TV.

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Humor me with imagining what, if anything, Charlotte Mason might do with a TV if she were around these days.

 

Netflix and chill? And if so, what would be on her watch list?

 

PBS news? Or some other source?

 

Documentaries? BBC costume dramas?

 

Or, no TV or streaming?

 

I'm thinking of her own use here, but also we could take it to what she'd say for students.

Netflix and chill = have sex 😉

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Thank God I never used this outside of my own head before dd18 enlightened me some time back, lol

 

Hahahaha ok I'm awkward, sorry memory of Charlotte Mason for taking it down THAT path.

 

Really unsure about Jeopardy. Not sure how she felt about trivia contests or knowledge bees if they did them back then.

 

I like to imagine that she'd enjoy some of my own favorite shows, but I can also see her not having a TV, or using it very sparingly.

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Ooh I'm glad I finally came across this: Charlotte Mason read and enjoyed the Waverly Novels by Sir Walter Scott. These were historical fiction.

 

(I was reminded of this name finally in Anne White's book "Minds More Awake"). 

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