Who's Philo T. Farnsworth?

Why isn’t Philo T. Farnsworth among the iconic pictures of modern history in your head?

He's the father of electronic television. He had the idea for how to make television work in his head at the age of 14 and created a working prototype at the age of 21. This American genius should be burned into our collective memory. But Farnsworth's place in history has been skewed by corporate America. He should be easily cited by any high school student with such icons as Benjamin F. Franklin, Alexander G. Bell, Guglielmo M. Marconi or Thomas A. Edison.

Farnsworth's story is tragic. The truth about the birth of television challenges the myth of the American Dream. It's a David and Goliath tale where Goliath wins. I offer some links here for those of you wanting to know more about Farnsworth as a companion to the documentary we watched in class-- Big Dream, Small Screen.


New Line Cinema (A Time Warner Company) has acquired the rights to The Farnsworth Invention-- a script drafted by The West Wing's Emmy-winning producer Aaron Sorkin. Word in Hollywood is The West Wing's Tommy Schlamme was to direct it.

The irony here is Sorkin and Schlamme's history is with NBC-- the broadcast network created by Farnsworth's nemisis, David Sarnoff. While there's speculation about the film production, the script has been adapted for the stage.


One final note here...Pem Farnsworth died last year at the age of 98. Her and Philo's narrative clearly includes a love story worth considering as well.

Time's 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century
Farnovision
The Farnsworth Archives
The Farnsworth Chronicles
Farnsworth's Story
The American Experience: Big Dream, Small Screen
Big Dream, Small Screen Transcript
The Boy Who Invented Television
Wired's Televisionary
Pem Farnsworth's Obituary
MIT's Inventor Profile

After Spring Break: "CRASH"

When we return we will explore the motion picture industry. We'll begin by screening the Best Picture Oscar Winner for 2005, "CRASH." We'll watch the director's cut.

In addition to standing out as an impressive movie, the film's subject matter works well with your Soc 109-Majority/Minority class.

Strangers in L.A. cross paths because of a random car accident and the story bounces around the lives of these people in the day leading up to the CRASH. The film tackles the racial divides in our modern culture from multiple perspectives. A great story with twists that matter.

Mass Comm Students Praise "The Bluest Eye"

The class reviews are in...and this is what some of you are saying about Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Consider this promotion spot based on your reviews? Who shapes the pictures in our heads? What's the role of the gatekeeper?

Is it Acceptable to Combine Web & TV?

Get a celebrity pitchman like Jack Black and efforts to market consumer created sketch comedy with some created by a "professionals" and you put it online and on cable. They call it Acceptable.TV. Worth a look-- maybe a bookmark? But will you tune in to VH-1 to watch it? The promos released on TMZ make it fun to consider the role of technological determinism in this age of converging media. The theme here again is consumer created content-- the mission carried over from YouTube, CurrentTV, etc. Here the effort is focused on sketch comedy. All those budding SNL writers will likely submit.

The Departed: Oscar WInner & It Translates on Video

There have certainly been other films directed by Martin Scorsese deserving the Academy of Motion Picture's Best Director and the Best Picture Awards, but this year it finally happened. The Departed winning BEST PICTURE has convinced me to look closely at the clips online and I've added the movie to my Netflix queue. The clips I've watched seem to have that intimacy with closeups and storytelling that I'm convinced is key to translating a film to home video where most voting Academy members view nominated pictures. I'll blog more once I see it later this week. But here are some other clips showcasing the film. It even appears to translate well for online viewing.