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business newsComing Soon: Bear Market TV
By
Robert Jay Aug 03, 2010 11:50 am
Television programming reflects the trend of the stock market because both are fueled by the same social mood. And right now the mood is getting darker.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Robert Jay of Elliott Wave International. He covers Socionomics on a regular basis.
Roy Rogers. Lassie. Lucille Ball. Jackie Gleason.
If you recognize the names, as every American over the age of 40 should, there's no biography necessary. Their mention immediately conjures up memories of a distinct time in American social history.
These and other icons of 1950s television have long disappeared down that "Happy Television Trail." But in their heydays, they were broadcast into millions of living rooms and reflected the innocent optimism that permeated society (and the airwaves) during the bull market of that period.
From the three channels on the dial, then to the hundreds we browse via remote control today, television has gone from innocence to R-rated and beyond. Along the way we've seen the tube both lead and play catch-up with cultural trends -- including the sweeping cultural changes of the 1960s.
Elvis's gyrations broke television's rules in the 1950s. Just a decade later, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In reflected a zany, "be free" attitude that pushed the boundaries much further. The change in psychology came as 1966-67 marked the start of long and deep bear market. In a September 1967 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Who finished with a real bang when the group's drummer, Keith Moon, reportedly packed three times as much explosive into his drum set than the television crew was led to believe. Also around this time, idealistic family TV scenes began to take on more realism.
The social mood continued its decline in the 1970s, and in 1971 television broke ground again with All in the Family. Viewers learned to laugh at the bigotry portrayed by endearing characters like Archie Bunker. And then came similarly acerbic Maude.
The bull market of the 1980s and '90s included a return to popular family-oriented shows like The Cosby Show and Full House. Disney (DIS) themes were successful again. And the upbeat, big hit Friends coincided with the ebullient psychology and skyrocketing stock prices of the mid- to late-1990s.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in 1999. Ratings started strong. But just as falling social mood caused the Internet Bubble to burst in 2000, it also caused the public's interest in seeing someone win a million bucks to wane.
The ratings for Super Millionaire also fell dramatically in 2004, from a spectacular 13.5 Nielsen rating in February to an anemic 6.1 in May, to off the tube (and the charts) in June.
Roy Rogers. Lassie. Lucille Ball. Jackie Gleason.
If you recognize the names, as every American over the age of 40 should, there's no biography necessary. Their mention immediately conjures up memories of a distinct time in American social history.
These and other icons of 1950s television have long disappeared down that "Happy Television Trail." But in their heydays, they were broadcast into millions of living rooms and reflected the innocent optimism that permeated society (and the airwaves) during the bull market of that period.
From the three channels on the dial, then to the hundreds we browse via remote control today, television has gone from innocence to R-rated and beyond. Along the way we've seen the tube both lead and play catch-up with cultural trends -- including the sweeping cultural changes of the 1960s.
Elvis's gyrations broke television's rules in the 1950s. Just a decade later, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In reflected a zany, "be free" attitude that pushed the boundaries much further. The change in psychology came as 1966-67 marked the start of long and deep bear market. In a September 1967 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Who finished with a real bang when the group's drummer, Keith Moon, reportedly packed three times as much explosive into his drum set than the television crew was led to believe. Also around this time, idealistic family TV scenes began to take on more realism.
The social mood continued its decline in the 1970s, and in 1971 television broke ground again with All in the Family. Viewers learned to laugh at the bigotry portrayed by endearing characters like Archie Bunker. And then came similarly acerbic Maude.
The bull market of the 1980s and '90s included a return to popular family-oriented shows like The Cosby Show and Full House. Disney (DIS) themes were successful again. And the upbeat, big hit Friends coincided with the ebullient psychology and skyrocketing stock prices of the mid- to late-1990s.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in 1999. Ratings started strong. But just as falling social mood caused the Internet Bubble to burst in 2000, it also caused the public's interest in seeing someone win a million bucks to wane.
The ratings for Super Millionaire also fell dramatically in 2004, from a spectacular 13.5 Nielsen rating in February to an anemic 6.1 in May, to off the tube (and the charts) in June.
No positions in stocks mentioned.
