Television in the Time of Complexity. Between Crisis and Renaissance

Some people talk about the impendant “death” of television; others foresee a longer existence, even in altered cultural and technological landscapes. Nonetheless, the recurring word which nowadays rules over national and international discussion is, undoubtedly, crisis. This work aims to confront the television issue by getting a sense of the complexity of the fact and assuming both a historical outlook and an extensive eye on current markets. It is, indeed, well known that etymologically crisis means “the time to choose”, “to reach a decision”. This choice mainly regards the need to redefine the communication deal between italians and audiovisual language. What are the analythical features, both lexical and technological, from which is possible to start over new and revive a television good not only for celebrating the present time but also able to enact cultural and symbolic essences of change to come? Can this moment of stasis, that is seen by some opinion leaders as a time of cultural regression, become the chance for a different placement of the media, now able to fit with the deep changes that take up the technological, social and cultural background, in which we are living today? Then, is it possible that the complexity of current tv market will become an opportunity to rethink a new pattern for a television of the crisis? Destabilized by modern times crisis and the internet typhoon, traditional cultural industries require to be re-placed. This sort of redefinition cannot except such a fundamental field, like television is. If the new television was reinterpreted according to modern times’ needs, it could become part of the strategy to overcome social, cultural and even economical crisis.