Television historian Thomas Cripps and Eli Rubinstein, who was vice-chairman of the Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and the Young Viewer, address the social and cultural impact of television and film in the first of a two-part discussion. The scholars discuss public concerns regarding violence and television, arguing that “sanitized violence” seen on television is a novel problem that divorces violence from consequences for children.
At the time of this interview, Cripps, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1980-81), was professor of history at Morgan State University. Rubinstein was adjunct research professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
