Turn off the TV

 

TURN OFF THE TV!
A Sitcom Mixtape

 

“Because even if you weren’t watching, I’d be doing this anyway.” -George “2.0” Twopointoh

 

 

[January 2010]— Packaged in a series of songs, short skits, commercials, and voicemail messages, Turn off the TV (TOTV) suggests that anybody and everybody can do what they see on television, as long as they turn it off long enough to be proactive about chasing their dreams. As all of the music and videos inspired by the mixtape were developed, recorded, shot, and edited with a Laptop, cell phone, or an improvised audio/video device, TOTV posits that artists of any age and skill level can produce competitive content with little to no resources.

Turn off the TV is an approximately 40-minute sitcom mixtape that ushers in a new wave of expression and appeals to a population that is encouraged by the possibility of being as successful in their field of endeavor as those they see on television. Turn off the TV is a lifestyle soundtrack that gives legitimacy to an already burgeoning network of bloggers, tweeters, rappers and readers. As an example of what can happen when one takes the time that they would spend watching television and instead use it to develop original content and subsequent programming, Turn off the TV argues that television is no longer the fastest, most reliable source for information or entertainment.

Shepherd’s Words

“Television: chewing gum for the eyes.”
~Frank Lloyd Wright

It is no secret that the Laptop is the new television screen. As an extension, audio and video software come standard on most new computers and cell phones and more often than not news stories are developed based upon footage shot on a cell phone in lieu of a more professional tool.

Whereas in the past the major networks and premium cable channels served as trustees of information and entertainment, now internet content custodians serve as cultural stewards of the search engine. They are managers who keep track of trending topics and viewer patterns, which they, in turn, use to attract consumers by tagging their content with popular search terms. It is this process of turning off the TV that allows for an immediate and vastly more interactive experience between the artist and their audience than that television, itself, can provide.

Made for Me

As a motivational tool, TOTV is the audio contention that one does not need the TV to become whatever they want to be. While giving kids of all ages good reason to Turn off the TV, this project also seeks to inspire them to believe in themselves. This is perhaps the most important component of the sitcom mixtape. When an artist develops the ability to produce art “even if people weren’t watching”, they no longer fall victim to the pitfalls of peer pressure and criticism, and subsequently become responsible curators of the culture; a culture that is theirs to maintain and pass on.

Conceived by George Twopointoh, an actor, writer, producer, and short form film maker, TOTV, is an episodic journey that chronicles one man’s efforts to convince the world that the “TV has [them] trapped.” With the release of this project, “2.0” seeks to inspire a new generation of media that is not reliant upon the television. It is through the sitcom mixtape “Turn off the TV” that the world will learn to be unafraid to tell their stories…even if nobody is listening.

Making of Turn off the TV: Many Hats