Whenenver I have a chance to attend special exhibitions of museums in Seoul, I try to avoid going there on weekends. During weekends, there are surprisingly many parents who take their kids in a long que. They believe that attending live performances such as exhibitions or conerts can be more enjoyable and helpful for their kids than just watching them on television. Even though I hate the hall is full of boistrous children, I totally agree with the idea not only for kids but for everyone. There are many reasons why I think so, and here I present some of them.
First of all, people can see and interpret performances in their own ways. Generally people who perfer watching televisions do not perceive that they only see what televisions show and they are watching through televisions. This fact implies that there are always some risks that the public accepts edited versions of performances containing media's ideas unintentionally. The public has to watch the programs which the media already picked up among many others and they have no other choices to see another parts of the show which camera anlges do not reach. Even sporting events are not exeptions. Whenever soccer games are on television, there are always explainations about the game, and people have to hear them regardless to their desires. On the contrary, live performance provide entire alternatives to think about the performances without prejudice to the public.
In addition, attending live performances gives the public more impressions and theses impressions lasts long. Attending live performances means active participation and watching television means passive acceptance. Many educational and psychological studies revealed that kids who participate class actively and passionatelycan learn fast and this memory maintains longer. It is also true about live performances. Live performances give deep impressions to people, which television can never provide and this, in turn, inspires emotional sense and other sensibility which is not only limited to the same genre.
Some people insist that live performances are less valuable because of some limitations and it is more important to watch as many performances as possible through media. It is true that attending live performances are time- and money-consuming activities. However it is also undeniable that it is worth for those time and money because people can have an opportunity to interpret the performances with their own ways and the experiences provide great impressions and last long. I strongly believe these benefits of live performances can make our lives more enjoyable and valuable. |