Have we forgotten how to listen?

On March 23, in a post titled, "Let's give that set a standing ovation" I complained about how excessive and absurd audience enthusiasm is these days This is an update. Last night on Turner Classic Movies I watched a 1971 interview between Dick Cavett and Bette Davis. First of all I happen to think Dick Cavett is one of the worst interviewers ever. His success astounds me. He is uncomfortable, fidgety, self-flattering, fawning and pretentious. But that's not the point of this post. This is: Bette Davis was a fascinating and incredibly witty actress with a wealth of great anecdotes, which she gleefully shared with Cavett's live audience. They listened and were fascinated, as they should be, and applauded only when appropriate. It occurred to me that if that interview were conducted today, the audience would have applauded wildly at every sound bite. At one point, in discussing her lawsuit with Warner Brothers, she said these two words, "I won." The silence that followed allowed the viewer to absord the significance of that victory. Today, it would have been greeted by inappropriate hollering and hooting. Why? Because today's audiences are no longer content to observe people greater than them. They want to be part of the show. And they are encouraged in that by today's unsophisticated producers who equate noise with success.