I have been watching the ITN news tonight; generally I'm a BBC chap, so the sensational nature of things on the 3rd channel has again struck me. This brings me to my two points for tonight.
The first is the use of language. I have a confession. My job relates to language and even when I am not at work I find it fascinating. WHAT A SAD MAN - I hear you chant. Well the truth is language is wonderful.
When I was at Uni I remember a lecture about the interaction between the sign and signifier the relationship between language and the thing it represents. It was fascinating and a bit over my head. But thinking about the nature of thought and the way that language links to it.
When is a tree not a tree - when it is the though of a tree.
Also the inter connection of words, 'I say "tree" you have an image in your head of a tree, but you also link - subconsciously - to all the other times you have read and heard tree' You create a list of interpretations of the words you hear into ideas and concepts.
So watching the news is a form of literary study. You interpret what you hear, which for ITN means the use of language which, like much semi tabloid journalism, seeks to present or argues from a perspective of moral panic. There are no real stories I want to explore it is just the nature of language.
Second was one of the stories on the Scottish section. It contained my main fear. It was a sad story of a teenager who was killed at an unmanned level crossing. It is not death, which scares me, it is level crossings. They are just not right. I am terrified to cross them. I start to hyperventilate when I approach them. I drive well out of my way to avoid them. There is no personal basis for this fear but whenever I see something on the news or in dramas with trains and cars and level crossings I sweat.
So that brings me to my question?
What are your fears. Please let me know. Engage in a cathartic experience. Rid yourself of the weight of fear.
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