I'm not going to lie- I'm not a "TV watcher". I'm already batting out of my league. I have come to terms with this, and I've tried to think of specific reasons for my apparent distaste with watching television. Perhaps it is because I can barely sit still and devote a block of time to staring into the flashing box on the wall without doing something, anything, else... knitting? Doing a crossword? It's nearly impossible for me (and that I can manage to sit through a film at the cinema is beside the point!). Maybe it is because I've long had a love affair with music, and that I've attached myself in so close a way that demolished any chances television and I would have had. "Sorry, but I'm seeing someone else..."
In all actuality, it's probably because I play too much World of Warcraft. Oops!
Regardless, to be a true critic of the media is to be well-rounded, and requires attention on all fronts- music, books, games, and of course, television. I am hoping that this class will help me to build an appreciation for the art of the TV show, as well as the ability to distinguish the good from the bad in a meaningful way.
Alas! Where to begin but by stating what television I do occasionally watch.
Okay, so I watch this a lot... Grey's Anatomy, programming on the Discovery/other learning Channels, Project Runway, Family Guy, whatever is on the Adult Swim lineup
Guilty Pleasures... World's Strictest Parents, Dog the Bounty Hunter, America's Next Top Model, Real Housewives of (insert affluent city here)
Really? That's actually on TV? o_O... most everything MTV produces (The Hills, anyone?), Two and a Half Men, VH1's half-a**ed attempts at getting washed up stars their chance at "Love"
At home I'm forced to watch... HGTV/TLC decorating shows, Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, Food Network
I've been excluded from conversations for not watching these shows... 30 Rock (haha!), The Office, Breaking Bad, Weeds, Nip/Tuck, Heroes, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Mad Men, and every other show worth its salt produced in the last 10 years
Dear Television,
I solemnly swear that for the next 5 weeks I am yours to have and to hold, to sit by the light of your glowing face and rejoice in the wonder that is in your pixels, or your plasma, or what have you... after that I make no guarantees.
Love,
Sarah
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I enjoy your prose.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised to see you enjoy Grey's Anatomy and Adult Swim. Generally those crowds are as diverse as the contents of an oreo.
This is the most entertaining blog of them all so far. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteVerrrry interesting! And funny, too. You've put your finger on one of the qualities that makes TV viewing what it is in its essence: requiring only the glance, not the gaze, only partial participation rather than full immersion. Films and games are the opposite then, right? So that explains your aversion! Am I a doctor, or what. Actually, when I watch TV, I'm also doing needlework, so my eyes are not always on that prize plasma before me. It would be interesting to see when, exactly, I do look up. Which brings us to our next revelation: TV is at least as much an audio system, if not more than, a visual sign system.
ReplyDeleteThank you both! Grey's probably also falls under "guilty pleasures", and I guess I have extremely diverse interests when it comes to things I enjoy. I'm a chameleon! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Dr. J; I've never thought of TV watching as an "experience" in the same way I do going to the movie theater or playing a video game. Perhaps it is because I've been conditioned since childhood to consider TV something to pass the time, as opposed to going out of the way to "experience". My mom would typically turn on the TV while she was doing other things (chores, crafting, reading the newspaper), and Dad would turn on the news and do the same thing. A lot of the time it was merely background noise (bringing up the audio system idea).
Exactly. And now it's a matter of monitoring multiple screens, isn't it?: the TV, the laptop, the cell...
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