School and television: going beyond antagonism

Abstract

The article discusses the proximities and distances there are between school and television. First, it analyses the particularities of television in Brazil, a country in which it is the mass medium that has the greatest insertion and reach, covering all the levels of the public in the most different locations, regardless of social class, gender or age. Then, the author discusses the role school has in society, briefly covering the theoretical tendencies that, on one token, analyze the school as an institution that reproduces the dominant ideology; while on the other, analyze the schooling institution as a space where resistance and knowledge production is possible. To finalize, the article discusses the relationship between school and television, linking this discussion to the wider relationship there is between television and society.