ABSTRACT
Why are television and movies so powerful? What is it about TV that motivates people to watch it 3, 4, 5 even 6 hours each day? What makes it so compelling? Why is it referred to as the “plug-in drug” (Winn, 1985)? Why are so many negative effects associated with it? Can it “cause” violence? Can it affect the personality in a profound way so as to cause ill? Why are we so enthralled when watching movies? What causes us to be transported and transfixed into stuperous and trancelike states by the images and sounds experienced within the movie theater?
