Lauren Zalaznick: The conscience of television

Translator: Adrián Levices Casal Reviewer: Eulalia Baroja

I want to say that really and truly,

Vou ser sincera,

after these incredible speeches

logo destas incribles charlas

and ideas that are being spread,

e ideas que están a ser expostas,

I am in the awkward position

encóntrome na incómoda posición

of being here to talk to you today

de subir aquí a falarvos

about television.

sobor a televisión.

So most everyone watches TV.

Todo o mundo ve a televisión.

We like it. We like some parts of it.

Gústanos. Gústannos algúns aspectos.

Here in America, people actually love TV.

Aquí en América a xente adóraa.

The average American watches TV

A media que un estadounidense ve a televisión

for almost 5 hours a day.

é de case cinco horas ao día.

Okay?

Ben?

Now I happen to make my living these days in television,

Hogano eu vivo da televisión,

so for me, that's a good thing.

así que para min, é algo loable.

But a lot of people don't love it so much.

Pero a moita xente non lle gusta.

They, in fact, berate it.

Eles, de feito, desprézana.

They call it stupid,

Din que é inútil,

and worse, believe me.

e cousas peores, crédeme.

My mother, growing up,

A miña nai, cando era nena,

she called it the "idiot box."

chamábaa "a caixa tonta".

But my idea today is not to debate

A miña intención hoxe non é debatir

whether there's such a thing as good TV or bad TV;

se existe a televisión boa ou a televisión má;

my idea today

a miña idea hoxe

is to tell you that I believe

é dicirvos que acho que

television has a conscience.

a televisión ten consciencia.

So why I believe that television has a conscience

Se penso que a televisión ten consciencia

is that I actually believe

é porque acho

that television directly reflects

que a televisión reflicte directamente

the moral, political,

as necesidades morais, políticas

social and emotional need states of our nation --

sociais e emocionais establecidas na nosa nación...

that television is how we actually disseminate

a televisión é como difundimos actualmente

our entire value system.

todo o noso sistema de valores.

So all these things are uniquely human,

Todo iso é intrínseco aos humanos

and they all add up

e súmase

to our idea of conscience.

á nosa idea da consciencia.

Now today, we're not talking about good and bad TV.

Hoxe non falamos de televisión boa ou má.

We're talking about popular TV.

Falamos sobor televisión popular.

We're talking about top-10 Nielsen-rated shows

Falamos dos dez programas con maior índice de audiencia

over the course of 50 years.

durante un período de 50 anos.

How do these Nielsen ratings

Como ese índice

reflect not just what you've heard about,

reflicte non só o que escoitastes,

which is the idea of our social, collective unconscious,

que é a idea do noso inconsciente social e colectivo,

but how do these top-10 Nielsen-rated shows

se non tamén, como eses dez programas

over 50 years

durante cincuenta anos

reflect the idea

reflicten a idea

of our social conscience?

da nosa consciencia social?

How does television evolve over time,

Como evoluciona a televisión ao longo do tempo,

and what does this say about our society?

e que di isto sobor a nosa sociedade?

Now speaking of evolution,

Pasando ao tema da evolución,

from basic biology, you probably remember

dende unha bioloxía básica, se callar lembredes

that the animal kingdom, including humans,

que o reino animal, incluíndo os humanos,

have four basic primal instincts.

ten catro instintos primarios básicos.

You have hunger; you have sex; you have power;

Alimentación, relacións, poder,

and you have the urge for acquisitiveness.

e o desexo de posuir.

As humans, what's important to remember

Como humanos, o que hai que lembrar

is that we've developed, we've evolved over time

é que nos desenvolvimos, evolucionamos co tempo

to temper, or tame,

ata suavizarmos ou dominarmos

these basic animal instincts.

eses instintos animais básicos.

We have the capacity to laugh and cry.

Temos a capacidade de rir e chorar.

We feel awe, we feel pity.

Sentimos temor, compaixón.

That is separate and apart

Isto non é así

from the animal kingdom.

no reino animal.

The other thing about human beings

A outra cousa sobor os seres humanos

is that we love to be entertained.

é que amamos o entretemento.

We love to watch TV.

Encántanos ver a televisión.

This is something that clearly separates us

Isto é algo que nos diferencia claramente

from the animal kingdom.

do mundo animal.

Animals might love to play,

Aos animais pode que lle guste xogar,

but they don't love to watch.

pero non se entreteñen mirando.

So I had an ambition

Así que pretendo

to discover what could be understood

descubrir o que se entende

from this uniquely human relationship

a partir desta relación exclusiva dos humanos

between television programs

entre os programas de televisión

and the human conscious.

e a consciencia humana.

Why has television entertainment evolved the way it has?

Por que o entretemento evolucionou así?

I kind of think of it

A miúdo imaxínoo

as this cartoon devil or angel

coma os debuxos do demo e o anxo

sitting on our shoulders.

sentados nos nosos ombros.

Is television literally functioning

A televisión funciona

as our conscience,

coma a nosa consciencia,

tempting us and rewarding us at the same time?

tentándonos e recompensándonos ao mesmo tempo?

So to begin to answer these questions,

Para comezarmos a contestar a estas preguntas,

we did a research study.

fixemos un estudo de investigación.

We went back 50 years

Retrocedemos 50 anos

to the 1959/1960 television season.

deica a tempada televisiva 1959/60.

We surveyed the top-20 Nielsen shows

Fixámonos no top 20 do índice de audiencia

every year for 50 years --

que houbo durante 50 anos...

a thousand shows.

miles de programas.

We talked to over 3,000 individuals --

Falamos con 3000 persoas

almost 3,600 --

case 3600...

aged 18 to 70,

de entre 18 e 70 anos,

and we asked them how they felt emotionally.

e preguntámoslles como se sentían emocionalmente.

How did you feel

Como vos sentistes

watching every single one of these shows?

vendo cada un destes programas?

Did you feel a sense of moral ambiguity?

Sentistes unha ambigüidade moral?

Did you feel outrage? Did you laugh?

Sentístesvos ultraxados? Ristes?

What did this mean for you?

Que significou para vós?

So to our global TED audiences,

Á nosa audiencia de TED,

I want to say that this was a U.S. sample.

quero dicir que isto levouse a cabo nos Estados Unidos.

But as you can see,

Pero como podedes ver,

these emotional need states are truly universal.

estes estados de necesidade emocional son universais.

And on a factual basis,

E segundo os feitos,

over 80 percent of the U.S.'s most popular shows

un 80% dos programas máis populares dos EEUU

are exported around the world.

expórtanse ao resto do mundo.

So I really hope our global audiences

Desexo que a nosa audiencia foránea

can relate.

se sinta identificada.

Two acknowledgments

Quero darlle as grazas a dúas persoas

before our first data slide:

antes de pasar á primeira diapositiva:

For inspiring me

Por terme inspirado

to even think about the idea of conscience

mesmo a pensar na idea da consciencia

and the tricks that conscience can play on us on a daily basis,

e as trampas que a consciencia nos pode tender no día a día,

I thank legendary rabbi, Jack Stern.

doulle as grazas ao lexendario rabino, Jack Stern.

And for the way in which I'm going to present the data,

E polo xeito no que vou presentar os datos,

I want to thank TED community superstar Hans Rosling,

quero darlle as grazas ao recoñecido membro de TED Hans Rosling,

who you may have just seen.

a quen vides de ver.

Okay, here we go.

Ben, imos alá.

So here you see,

Aquí vedes,

from 1960 to 2010,

dende 1960 deica 2010,

the 50 years of our study.

os 50 anos do noso estudo.

Two things we're going to start with --

Hai dúas cousas coas que imos comezar

the inspiration state and the moral ambiguity state,

o estado de inspiración e o estado de ambigüidade moral,

which, for this purpose,

que, para este estudo,

we defined inspiration

definimos a inspiración

as television shows that uplift me,

coma os programas de televisión que me soben o ánimo,

that make me feel much more positive about the world.

que me fan sentir mellor con respecto ao mundo.

Moral ambiguity are televisions shows

A ambigüidade moral son os programas

in which I don't understand

nos que non comprendo

the difference between right and wrong.

a diferenza entre ben e mal.

As we start, you see in 1960

Ao principio, vedes que en 1960

inspiration is holding steady.

a inspiración mantense firme.

That's what we're watching TV for.

Por iso vemos a televisión.

Moral ambiguity starts to climb.

A ambigüidade moral comeza a ascender.

Right at the end of the 60s,

Xusto a finais dos 60,

moral ambiguity is going up,

a ambigüidade moral aumenta,

inspiration is kind of on the wane.

e a inspiración baixa.

Why?

Por que?

The Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK is shot,

A crise dos mísiles de Cuba, o asasinato e JFK,

the Civil Rights movement,

o movemento polos dereitos civís,

race riots, the Vietnam War,

loitas raciais, a guerra do Vietnam,

MLK is shot, Bobby Kennedy is shot,

o asasinato de Marthin Luther King e de Bobby Kennedy,

Watergate.

o escándalo Watergate.

Look what happens.

Mirade o que acontece.

In 1970, inspiration plummets.

En 1970 a inspiración desmorónase.

Moral ambiguity takes off.

A ambigüidade moral despega.

They cross,

Crúzanse,

but Ronald Reagan, a telegenic president, is in office.

mais Ronald Reagan, un presidente televisivo, está ao mando.

It's trying to recover.

Intenta levantar o voo.

But look, it can't:

Pero mirade, non pode:

AIDS, Iran-Contra,

Sida, o Irán-Contra,

the Challenger disaster, Chernobyl.

o desastre do Challenger, Chernobyl.

Moral ambiguity becomes the dominant meme in television

A ambigüidade moral convértese na tendencia dominante

from 1990 for the next 20 years.

dende 1990 ata os seguintes vinte anos.

Take a look at this.

Botádelle unha ollada a isto.

This chart is going to document a very similar trend.

Esta gráfica amosa unha tendencia similar.

But in this case, we have comfort -- the bubble in red --

Mais neste caso, temos a felicidade -a burbulla vermella-

social commentary and irreverence

o comentario social e a irreverencia

in blue and green.

en azul e verde.

Now this time on TV

Nesa época en televisión

you have "Bonanza," don't forget, you have "Gunsmoke,"

temos "Bonanza", temos "Gunsmoke",

you have "Andy Griffith,"

temos a "Andy Griffith",

you have domestic shows all about comfort.

e programas nacionais que reflicten felicidade.

This is rising. Comfort stays whole.

Vai en aumento. A felicidade abrángao todo.

Irreverence starts to rise.

A irreverencia comeza a subir.

Social commentary is all of a sudden spiking up.

De socato o comentario social aumenta.

You get to 1969, and look what happens.

Chegamos a 1969 e mirade o que acontece.

You have comfort, irreverence, and social commentary,

A felicidade, a irreverencia e o comentario social,

not only battling it out in our society,

non só loitan na nosa sociedade,

but you literally have two establishment shows --

máis ben existen dous programas,

"Gunsmoke" and "Gomer Pyle" --

"Gunsmoke" e "Gomer Pyle",

in 1969 are the number-two- and number-three-rated television shows.

que en 1969 son número dous e número tres nos índices.

What's number one?

Cal era o número un?

The socially irreverent hippie show,

A serie hippie socialmente irreverente,

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In."

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"

They're all living together, right.

Todos conviven xuntos.

Viewers had responded dramatically.

Os espectadores responderon de forma espectacular.

Look at this green spike in 1966

Vexamos este pico verde en 1966

to a bellwether show.

cun medidor de tendencias.

When you guys hear this industry term, a breakout hit,

Cando escoitedes o termo, éxito sen precedentes,

what does that mean?

que quer dicir?

It means in the 1966 television season,

Quer dicir que na tempada de 1966,

The "Smothers Brothers" came out of nowhere.

os "Smothers Brothers" saíron de ningures.

This was the first show

Este foi o primeiro programa

that allowed viewers to say,

que permitíu aos espectadores dicir,

"My God,

"Meu deus,

I can comment on how I feel about the Vietnam War,

podo comentar o que penso da Guerra do Vietnam,

about the presidency, through television?"

sobre o presidente, a través da televisión"?

That's what we mean by a breakout show.

Iso é o que quere dicir un éxito sen precedentes.

So then, just like the last chart, look what happens.

Ben, ó igual ca no último gráfico miren o que acontece.

In 1970,

En 1970,

the dam bursts. The dam bursts.

a burbulla estoupou. Estoupou.

Comfort is no longer why we watch television.

Xa non vemos a televisión por entretemento.

Social commentary and irreverence

O comentario social e a irreverencia

rise throughout the 70s.

ascenderon ao longo dos 70.

Now look at this.

Agora mirade isto.

The 70s means who? Norman Lear.

Quen protagonizou os 70? Norman Lear.

You have "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son,"

Temos "Todo en familia", "Sanford and Son",

and the dominant show --

e o principal programa

in the top-10 for the entire 70s --

no top 10 durante toda a década dos 70...

"MAS*H."

"MAS*H."

In the entire 50 years

Nos 50 anos

of television that we studied,

de televisión que estudamos,

seven of 10 shows

sete dos 10 programas

ranked most highly for irreverence

máis irreverentes

appeared on air during the Vietnam War,

saíron durante a Guerra de Vietnam,

five of the top-10 during the Nixon administration.

cinco do top 10 durante a administración Nixon.

Only one generation, 20 years in,

Só unha xeración, en vinte anos,

and we discovered,

e descubrimos,

Wow! TV can do that?

¡vaites! A televisión pode facer iso?

It can make me feel this?

Pode facerme sentir iso?

It can change us?

Pode cambiarnos?

So to this very, very savvy crowd,

A esta audiencia tan sabia,

I also want to note

quero dicirlle

the digital folks did not invent disruptive.

que a xente do dixital non inventou os problemas.

Archie Bunker was shoved out of his easy chair

Archie Bunker foi empurrado fóra da súa butaca

along with the rest of us

xunto co resto de nós

40 years ago.

hai corenta anos.

This is a quick chart. Here's another attribute:

Este é outro gráfico. Con outras variables:

fantasy and imagination,

fantasía e imaxinación,

which are shows defined as,

que son programas definidos coma:

"takes me out of my everyday realm"

"evádeme da realidade cotiá"

and "makes me feel better."

e "faime sentir mellor".

That's mapped against the red dot, unemployment,

Que lle fan fronte ao punto vermello, ó paro,

which is a simple Bureau of Labor Department statistic.

que é unha estatística do Ministerio de Traballo.

You'll see

Verán

that every time fantasy and imagination shows rise,

que cada vez que a fantasía e imaxinación ascenden,

it maps to a spike in unemployment.

coincide cun auxe do paro.

Do we want to see shows

Queremos ver programas

about people saving money and being unemployed?

sobre xente aforrando cartos e no paro?

No. In the 70s

Non. Nos setenta

you have the bellwether show "The Bionic Woman"

temos a serie líder "A muller biónica"

that rocketed into the top-10 in 1973,

que se catapultou deica o top 10 en 1973,

followed by the "Six Million-Dollar Man" and "Charlie's Angels."

seguido por "O home dos seis millóns de dólares" e "Os anxos de Charlie".

Another spike in the 1980s --

Outro pico na década dos oitenta...

another spike in shows about control and power.

outro pico de programas sobre control e poder.

What were those shows?

Que había naqueles programas?

Glamorous and rich.

Glamorosos e ricos.

"Dallas," "Fantasy Island."

"Dallas", "Fantasy Island".

Incredible mapping of our national psyche

Unha increíble mostra da nosa psique nacional

with some hard and fast facts:

con feitos rápidos e duros:

unemployment.

o paro.

So here you are, in my favorite chart,

Agora este, o meu gráfico favorito,

because this is our last 20 years.

porque estes son os últimos vinte anos.

Whether or not you're in my business,

Esteades ou non no meu gremio,

you have surely heard or read

seguro que oístes ou lestes

of the decline of the thing called the three-camera sitcom

sobre a caída das comedias

and the rise of reality TV.

e o auxe da telerrealidade.

Well, as we say in the business,

Como dicimos neste gremio,

X marks the spot.

o X marca o lugar.

The 90s -- the big bubbles of humor --

Os noventa, a década do humor,

we're watching "Friends," "Frasier," "Cheers" and "Seinfeld."

series coma "Friends", "Frasier", "Cheers" e "Seinfeld".

Everything's good, low unemployment.

Todo vai ben, pouco paro.

But look: X marks the spot.

Pero mirade: o X marca o lugar.

In 2001,

En 2001,

the September 2001 television season,

en setembro de 2001,

humor succumbs to judgment once and for all.

o humor sucumbe perante o xuízo.

Why not?

Por que non?

We had a 2000 presidential election

Tivemos as presidenciais do 2000

decided by the Supreme Court.

determinadas pola Corte Suprema.

We had the bursting of the tech bubble.

O estoupido da burbulla tecnolóxica.

We had 9/11.

O once de setembro.

Anthrax becomes part of the social lexicon.

O anthrax convírtese en parte do léxico social.

Look what happens when we keep going.

Ollade o que acontece co tempo.

At the turn of the century, the Internet takes off,

No cambio de século, internet avanza,

reality television has taken hold.

a telerrealidade afiánzase.

What do people want in their TV then?

Que é o que quere a xente nas súas televisións?

I would have thought revenge

Eu pensaría que vinganza

or nostalgia.

ou nostalxia.

Give me some comfort; my world is falling apart.

Dádame felicidade, o meu mundo vense abaixo.

No, they want judgment.

Non, queren xulgar.

I can vote you off the island.

Podo botarte fóra da illa.

I can keep Sarah Palin's daughter dancing.

Podo facer que a filla de Sarah Palin baile.

I can choose the next American Idol. You're fired.

Podo elixir o novo triunfito. Estás expulsado.

That's all great, right?

Xenial, non si?

So as dramatically different as these television shows,

Pese ao radicalmente distintos que son estes programas,

pure entertainment, have been over the last 50 years --

de puro entretemento, estiveron aí durante 50 anos...

what did I start with? --

que foi o que dixen ao principio?

one basic instinct remains.

Mantense un instinto básico.

We're animals, we need our moms.

Somos animais, precisamos das nosas nais.

There has not been a decade of television

Non houbo unha década de televisión

without a definitive, dominant TV mom.

sen unha impoñente e dominante nai televisiva.

The 1950s:

Na década dos cincuenta:

June Cleever in the original comfort show, "Leave it to Beaver."

June Cleever no relaxante programa, "Leave it to Beaver".

Lucille Ball kept us laughing

Lucille Ball fíxonos rir

through the rise of social consciousness in the 60s.

a través do auxe da consciencia social nos sesenta.

Maude Findlay,

Maude Findlay,

the epitome of the irreverent 1970s,

o arquetipo dos irreverentes 70,

who tackled abortion, divorce,

que falou de aborto, divorcio,

even menopause on TV.

mesmo da menopausia na televisión.

The 1980s,

Nos oitenta,

our first cougar was given to us

chegou a primeira "asaltaberces"

in the form of Alexis Carrington.

baixo a forma de Alexis Carrington.

Murphy Brown took on a vice president

Murphy Brown enfrontouse cun vicepresidente

when she took on the idea of single parenthood.

cando se lle ocorreu a idea de ser nai solteira.

This era's mom,

A nai desta era,

Bree Van de Kamp.

Bree Van de Kamp.

Now I don't know if this is the devil or the angel

Non sei se se trata dun demo ou dun anxo

sitting on our conscience,

sentada na nosa consciencia,

sitting on television's shoulders,

sentada nos nosos televisores,

but I do know that I absolutely love this image.

o que sei é que me encanta esta imaxe.

So to you all,

Así que a todos vos,

the women of TEDWomen, the men of TEDWomen,

mulleres e homes de TEDWomen,

the global audiences of TEDWomen,

a audiencia de TEDWomen,

thank you for letting me present my idea

grazas por deixarme presentar a miña idea

about the conscience of television.

sobor a consciencia da televisión.

But let me also thank the incredible creators

Pero tamén déixenme darlle as grazas aos creadores

who get up everyday

que se erguen polas mañás

to put their ideas on our television screens

para plasmar as súas ideas nas nosas pantallas

throughout all these ages of television.

ao longo destes anos.

They give it life on television, for sure,

Dan a súa vida pola televisión, seguro,

but it's you as viewers,

pero vós como espectadores,

through your collective social consciences,

a través das consciencias sociais colectivas,

that give it life, longevity,

dádeslle vida, lonxevidade,

power or not.

poder ou non.

So thanks very much.

Así que moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)