--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't watch TV longer than five minutes…" description: "\"I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.\" — Bill Hicks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg" --- # I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying… ![“I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg) > “I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.” [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker’s hyperbolic dread of media consumption reflects a cynical view of television’s impact, using dark humor to critique cultural desensitization. **In simple terms:** TV feels apocalyptic. Key Takeaway Media can provoke existential dread. Themes media criticism dark humor cultural commentary satire apocalypse Mood cynical sarcastic Type satirical cultural critique When to use this quote - media literacy classes - stand‑up comedy - online commentary Key Concepts media effects theory cognitive overload Practical Applications - limit screen time - use satire to spark discussion Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of TV truly disturb you? - How can humor be used responsibly to critique media? A Different Perspective Exaggeration may undermine legitimate concerns about media influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Minutes Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes-praying-769663/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-holocaust-338871/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Praying Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying-nuclear-1295384/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Tv Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv-longer-1295385/) [Tvs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tvs/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/) ## Related quotes > [Ten minutes praying is better than a year's murmuring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/ten-minutes-praying-is-better-than-a-year-s-murmuring/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [TV has a longer narrative, and TV's more like short stories. So there's less rules with TV; you can make it a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/tv-has-a-longer-narrative-and-tv-s-more-like-short-stories-so-there-s/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [We're very powerful nuclear country. I've been briefed, I can tell you one thing about briefing that we're allowed to say, anybody that read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-re-very-powerful-nuclear-country-i-ve-been-briefed-i-can-tell-you/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Nuclear holocaust might eliminate the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/nuclear-holocaust-might-eliminate-the-internet/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [Better contraceptives will control population only if people will use them. A nuclear holocaust can be prevented only if the conditions under which nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/better-contraceptives-will-control-population-only-if-people-will-use/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I most sincerely wish that the world in which we live be free from the threat of a nuclear holocaust and from the ruinous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-most-sincerely-wish-that-the-world-in-which-we-live-be-free-from/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Here's the truth: the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons, and Iran doesn't have a single one. But when the world was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/here-s-the-truth-the-soviet-union-had-thousands-of-nuclear-weapons/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The risk of an all-out nuclear holocaust destroying all life on the planet has diminished, but the danger of actual nuclear weapons use has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cortright/the-risk-of-an-all-out-nuclear-holocaust-destroying-all-life-on-the/) [David Cortright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cortright/) > [Right at that moment it was as if we were the only two people left in the world. And I don't mean that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/right-at-that-moment-it-was-as-if-we-were-the-only-two-people-left-in/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [I have a little hope that the nuclear holocaust doesn't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-a-little-hope-that-the-nuclear-holocaust-doesn-t-happen/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Panky thinking: We had nuclear holocaust on our lips, Big Brother on our minds, 1984 was just around the corner and we were shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-masters/panky-thinking-we-had-nuclear-holocaust-on-our-lips-big-brother-on/) [Peter L Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-masters/) > [The explosion of a terrorist's single nuclear device in a major metropolitan center would trigger an unparalleled humanitarian and environmental disaster. An accidental military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cranston/the-explosion-of-a-terrorist-s-single-nuclear-device-in-a-major/) [Alan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cranston/) > [“In the middle of the swinging sixties people in England were apparently under some sort of obligation to have a good time and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/in-the-middle-of-the-swinging-sixties-people-in-england-were/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“I had a son in 1976. When I went to Europe, I met an Italian and we became friends. We would talk about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/i-had-a-son-in-1976-when-i-went-to-europe-i-met-an-italian-and-we/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Even with the best intentions, you can have a nuclear war, a nuclear holocaust, through miscalculation, through accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/even-with-the-best-intentions-you-can-have-a-nuclear-war-a-nuclear/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) ## More by Bill Hicks > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [not all drugs are good.. some of them are great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/not-all-drugs-are-good-some-of-them-are-great/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/if-you-don-t-think-drugs-have-done-good-things-for-us-then-take-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I don't do drugs anymore... than, say, the average touring funk band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-don-t-do-drugs-anymore-than-say-the-average-touring-funk-band/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [How many people disapprove of the job the Conservatives are doing? Seventy percent. Of those same people, how many will vote for them again?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/how-many-people-disapprove-of-the-job-the-conservatives-are-doing/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [BTW A 24 week old embryo is not a human being. You're not a human being until you're in my phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/btw-a-24-week-old-embryo-is-not-a-human-being-you-re-not-a-human/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Christianity has a built-in defense system: anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/christianity-has-a-built-in-defense-system-anything-that-questions-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I'm just trying to rid the world of all these fevered egos that are tainting our collective unconscious...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-m-just-trying-to-rid-the-world-of-all-these-fevered-egos-that-are/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I was told when I grew up I could be anything I wanted: a fireman, a policeman, a doctor – even President, it seemed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-was-told-when-i-grew-up-i-could-be-anything-i-wanted-a-fireman-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Good comedy helps people know they're not alone. Great comedy provides an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/good-comedy-helps-people-know-they-re-not-alone-great-comedy-provides/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [People ask me what I think about that woman priest thing. What, a woman priest? Women priests. Great, great. Now there's priests of both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/people-ask-me-what-i-think-about-that-woman-priest-thing-what-a-woman/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Oh sorry, I was taking life seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/oh-sorry-i-was-taking-life-seriously/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I'm not really a heavy smoker any more. I only get through two lighters a day now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-m-not-really-a-heavy-smoker-any-more-i-only-get-through-two/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [You watch the news these days? It's unbelievable. You think you just walk out your door, you're immediately gonna be raped by some crack-addicted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/you-watch-the-news-these-days-it-s-unbelievable-you-think-you-just/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [What's gonna happen to the arms industry when we realize we're all one. Ha ha ha ha ha! It's gonna fuck up the economy!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/what-s-gonna-happen-to-the-arms-industry-when-we-realize-we-re-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) [Explore all 317 Bill Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## More Holocaust quotes > [There are many more traits that the climate deniers share with the creationists and Holocaust deniers and others who distort the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-r-prothero/there-are-many-more-traits-that-the-climate-deniers-share-with-the/) [Donald R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-r-prothero/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [THE REAL PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS TO MAKE NATIONAL SOCIALISM AN ACCEPTABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE AGAIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-covington/the-real-purpose-of-holocaust-revisionism-is-to-make-national/) [Harold Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-covington/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Arab youth are taught to wonder, 'Since the Holocaust was a European affair, why are the Palestinians being forced to pay for the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/arab-youth-are-taught-to-wonder-since-the-holocaust-was-a-european/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [Miami Beach - that's where I grew up, in a middle-class Jewish family led by my maternal grandfather. Me, my great-grandmother - a Holocaust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-ratner/miami-beach-that-s-where-i-grew-up-in-a-middle-class-jewish-family/) [Brett Ratner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-ratner/) > [I remember learning about the Holocaust when I was in kindergarten and being terrified. I think we even watched a graphic video about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/i-remember-learning-about-the-holocaust-when-i-was-in-kindergarten/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [“Oskar is the fruit of those fantasies -- the idea that what needed to be saved was not just lives but hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simon/oskar-is-the-fruit-of-those-fantasies-the-idea-that-what-needed-to-be/) [Richard Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simon/) > [Every two, three years there is a movie about the Holocaust because they want you to remember and they want you to be reminded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/every-two-three-years-there-is-a-movie-about-the-holocaust-because/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [The Jew always lives from the blood of other peoples, he needs such murders and such sacrifices. The victory will be only entirely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-streicher/the-jew-always-lives-from-the-blood-of-other-peoples-he-needs-such/) [Julius Streicher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-streicher/) > [Looking at the numbers, the transatlantic slave trade matches the Holocaust in horror - maybe even without counting subsidiary effects like internal strife and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-martin-skibsted/looking-at-the-numbers-the-transatlantic-slave-trade-matches-the/) [Jens Martin Skibsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-martin-skibsted/) > [“The Ordinary is Extraordinary ..." my motto for life as a writer/Mom/woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-barr/the-ordinary-is-extraordinary-my-motto-for-life-as-a-writer-mom-woman/) [Lisa Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-barr/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Never to forget the Holocaust was not only against Jews. It was mostly against Jews but it was also against homosexuals, gypsies and, let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/never-to-forget-the-holocaust-was-not-only-against-jews-it-was-mostly/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) [Browse all 745 Holocaust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Hicks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minutes-without-praying-for-nuclear/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Holocaust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minutes-without-praying-for-nuclear/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/bill-hicks-970_holocaust_i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minute_108463.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.” — Bill Hicks", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Hicks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can't watch TV longer than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minutes-without-praying-for-nuclear/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minutes-without-praying-for-nuclear/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```