Chief, when Grayson was living the TV was on when he was in the house. Now
that I'm alone, I very seldom watch TV. I love to read and had never
thought of connecting the radio and reading. However, I also loved
listening to the radio on Saturdays and after school during the week. Now I
only listen to musc or religious programs when I'm driving!
Gwen
"Califchief" <califchief@fidotel.com> wrote in message
news:1210560536.11.0@fidotel.com...
_ Area: Fidonet MEMORIES _______________________________________
Msg#: 10584
Date: 05-04-08 08:58
From: Bob Breed
To: All
Subj: OTR thoughts? (Old Time Radio)
__________________________________________________ ______________
Now that this OTR stuff has popped up again, I was listening to a few of
my favs again - one of course is the "Suspense, House In Cypress Canyon"
episode and as that plays and just pulls me into it, I had some thoughts
I'll share.
I grew up with OTR, and am also a avid reader and I wonder if this isn't
linked?
OTR, often called "Theater of the Mind" is just that. While the actors,
sound effect guys, and the background music try to weave a story, it's
up to you to picture it in your mind.
But isn't this true of a novel, as really they're just words on paper,
you have to picture what's going on to really enjoy the book.
Today, TV provides the picture as they want to present it - you really
have no choice, nor is your mind really involved for the most part.
I guess my question is "did OTR radio make better readers out of our
generation?"
I know one thing for sure, that episode can really get into your head and
while I've listened to it many, many times, I still jump when the 'beast'
howls.
One more point:
Shortly after I retired one of my wife's friends got me hooked into doing
brief talks about OTR in nursing homes. We did about one a month, and I
had made up some cassette tapes with clips of various stuff - comedy, some
WWII flashes re Pearl Harbor attack, clips from the Shadow, Gunsmoke and a
few others, and it was always fun to watch the old folks drift back in
time. This talk ran about 30-40 minutes depending on how much intro I
provided, but I always had a full recording of the HOUSE and I ended by
saying those that would like to hear this can stay and we'll play it
later.
Usually about half would stay, and I'd provide the background - a bit about
the stars, the producer etc, then play it.
While it played, I'd watch them closely. You could see the ones that were
doing the mind bit - that is filling in the blanks with their own images.
Then, after it was over I'd play some games with them.
In this program there's a scene where a closet door is opened - I won't tip
the plot here, but I'd ask a person - "Where is this door?"
Off we'd go - everyone had a different location:
It's just inside the hallway.
NO, it's by the back door!
You idiot, it's plain it's right there in the living room, just as you go
into the kitchen.
Of course what's happening here is everyone if filling in the blanks based
on their old homestead, or at least one they can picture vividly.
Maybe we've lost something with this TV stuff?
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