Headline of the Week
Submitted by bertie on Fri, 02/03/2006 - 05:19
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In its day, the humble telegram was admired and feared. Admired as a marvel of modern communications technology, and feared as the medium through which bad to extremely bad news was conveyed. If it was wartime and you had loved-ones in service, you did not want to see the telegram boy park his bicycle at your front gate.
But now, thanks to the ubiquity of the telephone, cell phone, and e-mail, the day of the telegram is past. Western Union has announced that it has delivered its last little yellow slip of doom.
I had to admire the newspaper headline that broke this story:
TELEGRAM DEAD. STOP.
Great headline. And even though I've never received a telegram in my life, its death makes me a little bit sad.
Instant communication and rapid transportation makes it harder to build some kinds of suspense in the movies. Imagine how short Lord of the Rings would be if Aragorn had a cellphone, an Uzi, and a helicopter?
Cellular . If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Yes, it is indeed the end of an era in communications and in social history.
And the headline is one of the most bitingly ironical I have ever seen.