Cat Kawaii

 

THE REMOTE CONTROL FARCE

IN POLITICS AND ON TELEVISION, SOMEONE IS ALWAYS ACTING

 

"Television is not reality. Television is the illusion of reality."
— Voltaire

The curtain rises and the play is called "The Absurd Censorship." The cast includes Jimmy Kimmel, a man who earned the wrath of public opinion with his comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination. In the role of the "Benevolent Censor," we have the great Disney corporation, which suspended the show. In the role of the "Outraged People," we have the local TV stations, which decide that even if Disney lifts the suspension, they will not air the show. In the role of the "Audience," we are all of us, sitting with our remote control in hand, watching a farce that reminds us that in the world of television, reality is just a script.

The first scene is an act of pure corporate hypocrisy. Disney, in a move that seems more like a public relations calculation than an act of justice, lifts the suspension. Perhaps the pressure of contracts or the need to keep one of its biggest stars on the air outweighed the desire to avoid controversy. It is the eternal battle between reputation and revenue. In this case, money won. But the audience is no longer the same. The "passive viewer" has been replaced by the "digital citizen," who now has the power to influence the script.

In the world of media, true power does not belong to the one who broadcasts the message, but to the one who silences it.

The second scene is an act of local rebellion. Local TV stations, in an unprecedented move, decide that even though Disney gave them "permission" to air the show, they will not. This is the most interesting part of the play. It is a reminder that in the world of media, authority does not always come from above. Public opinion and local pressure have a weight that, in this case, outweighed the corporate order. It is an act of silent defiance, a sign that censorship can come from any direction, even from the one we least expect.

In this play, all the characters have a role: Jimmy Kimmel is the comedian who became controversial; Disney is the giant trying to control its image; and the local stations are the chorus representing the voice of the people. But in the end, the real question is not whether Kimmel's show will be aired, but who really has the power to decide what we see on television.

Could it be that the next season of television is no longer written by Hollywood, but by public opinion?