Core Response #2 by Anushka Kartha

The physical object that is today’s television object has been displaced within means of modernity. Particularly, the Smart TV functions as the ultimate example of nonspace as used by Margaret Morse. In An Ontology of Everyday Distraction, she notes that, “Nonspace is ground within which communication as a flow of values among and between two and three dimensions and between virtuality and actuality - indeed, an uncanny oscillation between life and death - can “take place” (Morse, 196). 

Surely, within the functionality of the Smart TV, this oscillation is further complicated. Formally, the (virtual and physical) space of the screen has become increasingly displaced; marrying the functions of several individual devices and blurring boundaries to create one object with seemingly complete access to whatever one needs. With the ability to view our social media practices in a larger than life fashion, and then quickly cut to a live game before altering our (individualized) Netflix list offers not only a peep into the “interiority of the human mind” but also switches from the highly personal to the liveness of public spectacle with fluidity. 

While housing several such functions, along with smart home capabilities and the neat division of a household’s viewing habits into separate profiles, there is both a hyper individualized experience and access to community depending on the rectangle being clicked on screen. The physical division of the black mirror, along with the ‘Favorites’ tab, offers a peep into the hierarchies within homes showing how the derealized nonspace could easily lend itself to battle (to reference Beatriz Colomina’s Domesticity at War). Following the remote (and the controller of said item) as the ultimate form of indoor artillery also points to a chain of command indoors. Who holds the remote is also the highest rung of the ladder; the wielder of domestic power.

The familial (and, of course, communal) unity while watching live events can be compromised by the all-encompassing power of the Smart TV. In fact, advertising seems to be increasingly aware of this constant tension, as evidenced by Tubi’s 2023 Superbowl commercial. The sanctity of shared valuable time is compromised in the commercial, as the TV seemingly switches from its capabilities of liveness onto another square (playing into the idea of accommodating another family member’s or friend’s preferences). Reactions to the commercial demonstrate the living room or a bar as battlefields as fingers are pointed and expletives are shouted in fear of missing but a second of a live, televised event. 

It seems as if the shared experience of advertising as well is rarely encountered by a majority of the public, except during event viewings such as the aforementioned Superbowl.. The audience is now splintered unless engaging totally live. With online advertisers and those on broadcast networks wholly separate, the homogeneity of even being sold something is far less effective. For those with adblockers, they are even further removed from the throes of consumerism - what is the latest SUV that is energy-saving, cost-effective? What side effects will be encountered upon switching over-the-counter medications? What are the current deals at Wendy’s?! Our interactions with ads and the products being advertised to us has severely been affected with our current viewing habits, making the question of the new frontier of TV (and certainly, advertising) an impending uncertainty re: its existence as a standalone cultural forum.