# Fahrenheit 451 was misinterpreted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958 "2007-06-14T04:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/21 "2007-06-14T21:18:10Z")
There’s one passage in the books where the mentor-figure tells Guy that the problem _isn’t_ the “walls” (the TVs) taking over from books, but the death of art. It would be perfectly possible, he said, to produce great, enduring art for the walls, just as it’s possible to produce schlock in print. The problem isn’t the medium, it’s that people don’t want great art any more. They want schlock. ---
**Author:** ![Filmsg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/edb3f5/32.png) [@Filmsg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filmsg)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/22 "2007-06-14T22:45:13Z")
And now schlock is about all we get on TV. Reality TV. Soap operas (the new night time ones, Soprrano’s, 24, etc). When Soprano’s is the best example of high art we are in sad shape. The shows where they RACE artists against one another are the worse. American Idol, Apprentice, Dancing With The Stars, and the dozens of others. Now they are racing comedians, interior designers, models, musicians, inventors, actors, film makers. This is where our artists have ended up? Being raced against one another like horses? Thanks Bradbury, it’s all your fault! TV executives are just following your irresponsible blueprint. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/23 "2007-06-14T23:36:05Z")
I wonder how much of this is sour grapes. Bradbury’s career has declined over the decades. Maybe he takes comfort in the idea that television stole his readers. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/24 "2007-06-15T02:38:55Z")
Declined? He’s an institution! He is taught in schools! :rolleyes: I think the Ray Bradbury of today is no longer the Ray that wrote his classics. Too long, too many cells replaced in the organism. He’s presumably reinvented himself in his mind. Also, he may be going senile. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/25 "2007-06-15T05:08:15Z")
[QUOTE=Filmsg] And now schlock is about all we get on TV. Reality TV. Soap operas (the new night time ones, Soprrano’s, 24, etc). When Soprano’s is the best example of high art we are in sad shape. [/QUOTE] See, this is EXACTLY what I’m talking about. “Reality TV” is a fancy television buzzword for shows that fall into two categories: “Expanded Length Game Shows” and “Behind the Scenes With a Celebrity.” And shows like The Sopranos and 24 are no more schlock than any of the “art” that came before them. And why should they strive to be “art” anyway? They’re entertainment and the goals of both should be to entertain. And they do. And they do it well. And I hate to bring out this tidbit, but sometimes people need a reminder: Shakespeare wrote for the masses. Yes, there were deeper themes there, but the plays were written for the masses. Not unlike the world’s foremost director of blockbusters, Steven Spielberg. Society is doomed because our entertainment choices don’t measure up to your definition of art. Oh no! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/26 "2007-06-15T06:52:16Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] And how is racing home to watch a TV show any different than racing off to watch a play or the opera? [/QUOTE] You don’t have to pay for parking. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958/27 "2007-06-15T07:38:46Z")
[QUOTE=Filmsg] And now schlock is about all we get on TV. Reality TV. Soap operas (the new night time ones, Soprrano’s, 24, etc). When Soprano’s is the best example of high art we are in sad shape. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about “high art,” but _The Sopranos_ was consistently excellent entertainment, and frequently presented (what I felt to be) an example of the television medium at its very best. What would work for you— nothing but a neverending repetition of _Der Ring des Nibelungen_ or _Last Year at Marienbad_ on public television? I’d turn one of the flamethrowers on myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fahrenheit-451-was-misinterpreted/407958.md?page=1)