So I'm tired of entertainment getting a bad rep.
For some reason, society decided to be entertainment-centered and consider people who indulge in purely entertaining pursuits as dumb or lazy. How both of these things exist at the same time is interesting, but beside the point at hand.
Perhaps this entertainment stigma is only common to the circle I run in, which happens to be a group of very academic (and elitist, including myself) people. Nonetheless, it irks me.
I happen to enjoy television. For some reason, this evokes a neanderthal image, drooling at the moving pictures on the box. Perhaps this is what it equates to sometimes.
But not all of the time. I happen to think television is occasionally used in a productive and thought-provoking manner. For example, tonight I indulged in one of my favorite shows, House.
House is an excellent example of good tv writing, especially in the realm of character development. The show is strongly driven by House's character. Tonight's episode was even a prime example of the utilization of foil characters that would make my English teacher proud. The show brings up many philosophical issues that my family and I often discuss while watching and afterwards, and sometimes the next few days.
This runs counter to the argument that television eliminates conversation between families, and eliminates independent thought. It spurs both of these in my house. Are we simply a counterexample or is this a common occurrence? I do not know.
Yes, there are plenty of shows I watch for pure entertainment; I am not ashamed to watch them. It's not as if I never contemplate life, read classic novels, or anything considered more worthy pursuits by the academic elitists. I'm a strong believer in "all things in moderation." What's wrong with moderate television watching?
Don't get me wrong, however. I do not approve of such drivel like "The Hills." I see no value in watching this. But I also support the right of somebody who wants to watch it, if that's how they are entertained.
Many claim that tv is corrupting our youth and the future of the world and all sorts of things like that. I think there's a place in this world for tv and other "useless" entertainment. The key is learning moderation, and a lack of it is where our true troubles lie. I don't think I'm a lesser person for watching television and liking it, and I don't think anybody is a better person for foregoing it. If you genuinely like it, watch it. If you don't, don't. But don't assign morality to 90210.
I guess this is very preachy and possibly elitist as I try to combat elitism. Well, nobody's perfect. I guess all the tv has rotted my brain.
Television, while not inherently brain-rotting, is scapegoated for the typical reason: people don't like to admit they're the problem. It's not that TV shows lack sophisticated themes; it's not that they don't have the potential to stimulate one's intellect; it's that the average person can't pick up on those things in the amount of time television allots them. When someone reads a book, they can do so at the speed necessary for them to fully grasp all of the little nuances neatly tucked in between the covers. TV simply exposes the intelligence gap that was already there. The brains were already rotten. TV simply fanned the smell.
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