In Defense of Television

This morning I saw a brief feature in Relevant Magazine about a man who has lived without a tv since 1988 (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/man-hasnt-seen-tv-show-1988-claims-be-fine).  In and of itself, living nearly 25 years without a tv is not really that big of a deal.  It's unique, certainly, but hardly world-changing.  I have a lot of respect for this man, for the way he appears to have lived his life, for the choices he has made, and for the many worthwhile causes that he has undertaken with his spare time.  Yet, as I thought about this article, I began to wonder about the potential value in television.  I wouldn't dare say that a life without television is somehow incomplete, but I think (I think) that television can offer a great deal to a person who uses it responsibly.

Without a doubt, the vast majority of shows on tv are aimed at the lowest common denominator, and are very near the opposite of edifying.  Not long ago I accidentally saw about a minute of Chicagolicious.  Well, it wasn't entirely accidental.  You see, I enjoy watching shows about travel (since I can't afford to do as much of it as I'd like I get to experience other places, peoples, and cultures vicariously), and I enjoy watching shows about food creation (probably since I am a big fan of both making and eating various food creations), and I adore the city of Chicago.  I (wrongly!) assumed that this show would just be a documentary-style show about the people and foods which are unique to Chicago.  Nope.  As it turns out, those 60 seconds will forever be remembered as wasted time that I can never get back.

However, particularly in the past decade, I have begun to see more and more shows which refuse to pander to the lowest common denominator.  I have seen shows which have a meaningful message which they want to share, shows which have an artistic value on par with anything Hollywood has to offer, shows which are unique, creative, and witty.  Indeed, there are times (albeit a very small percentage) when a show's writing could rival that of Steinbeck,  Dostoyevsky, or Roth.  While I believe strongly in the importance of reading, I have seen on television moments which equal the importance of any book.  It is easy to place literature on a higher level than tv, but I'm not sure that doing so is warranted.  We have no problem looking back at great films, say Casablanca or On the Waterfront, and claiming them to be masterpieces, proclaiming them as pinnacles of artistic achievement.  Yet, we rarely recognize that achievement in television.  I wonder why.  Surely the preponderance of television shows about people who may or may not be able to sing or may or may not be able to dance, shows about people who are famous for being famous, and the E! Network haven't really helped.

However, even as "reality" tv has taken over the airwaves, there have been tv executives who have made an effort to do magic in 30-60 minutes once a week.  I have just recently been watching a new show from Aaron Sorkin called Newsroom.  From the first five minutes of the first episode I felt that there was something special.  When asked why America is the greatest country in the world, a character gave this impassioned speech:

I was struck by the passion of the moment.  Even if they demonstrated a certain historical revisionism (of course, which historical rendition does not?)  I was struck by the words.  But, most of all, this speech demonstrates to me what television can be, although rarely is.  While tv demands less imagination from its audience than a book, the emotional impact need not be lessened.

Newsroom is by no means the only great show on television.  AMC's Breaking Bad is another example of tv with an impact.  Breaking Bad explores the depths of human depravity, it illustrates the ease with which a person can fall- the snowball effect of little choices on a person's character.  Edgar Allen Poe could not have written a story more engaging and powerful.  Poe could not have more readily plumbed the depths of darkness, of the evils of society, of the brokenness of creation.  And, so as not to seem like a total snob, I should mention that fairly recently my life has been impacted in very meaningful ways by a network ratings giant, How I Met Your Mother.  Even in the silliness of such a show, truth can be found.

While I could make a list of other important moments in the history of scripted television, the point here is not to kick a dead pig (which incidentally I did do when I was much, much younger).  Television is very often much more of an enslaver of the masses than it is their saviour.  We would all (myself certainly included) do well to turn off the tv more often in order to spend an evening at the park, read a book, or tell our own stories to our families and friends.  Even so, as with (almost) any form of public expression, there is great meaningfulness that can be found within the world of television.  We may not always see it, and I'm afraid we often miss it until it is too late (looking at you Firefly), but still it lurks somewhere beneath the surface.