When I was six years old, my older sister and I were watching our little black and white t.v. Sesame Street had just ended and Mr. Rogers came on. I disliked Mr. Rogers. I had discovered that if you pushed the reset button on the back of the tv while it was on, it would turn off. I snuck behind the tv and pushed the button. Sweet sis turned it back on. I turned it back off. She turned it back on. (This is getting predictable, no?) As I went to hit reset again, sis anticipated it and turn it back on at the same time. A few sparks and smoke came out and that was it for the tv. My mom seemed elated and threw it in the basement.
Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp.
When we moved to a new state some years later, we rented someone's furnished house for a year. They had a tv. So we watched some. When my parents decided to stay in that state, and required that we children stay in the state as well, we at some point bought a tv. Actually, I think we had an RGB color monitor that could double as a tv. We had serious restrictions (PBS only for a few years), but we got to watch. Other than a revolting moment when we were forced to watch a show about having babies, it was nice.
I should say the entertainment was nice. The guilt--not so much. I don't know what it is, but there's some complex in the family about tv-watching. I'm sure it has something to do with all the garbage and mindless drivel. And yet, there's decent stuff too. And everyone would watch tv, so it was kind of silly to me to hear all the little comments about how only stupid people watched tv and how it was the boob tube and a waste. But that's the way it was.
We have multiple tvs in our home today. Sometimes we watch tv, sometimes we don't. It can go months without seeing anything, then months with us watching a bit. I'm not sure why it's inconsistent like that, but it is. We watch more movies than tv, but I'm not sure that's any better (except we don't have to watch the commercials).
I still have a complex though. I still catch myself pretending that I don't watch as much tv as I do. It's hard to dodge the occasional comment too. One of our tvs is ridiculously big--it kind of fell into our laps. I like it, especially for those occasional Red Sox games (big sports is nice). Also for movies with good cinematography.
Anyhow, with that background and those confessions, let me list a few truisms, according to me, about the tv:
1. Most of what's on tv is not worth watching.
2. Watching too much worthwhile tv is not worthwhile.
3. Some tv is educational and stimulating.
4. Most tv is corrupting and stupid.
5. Watching tv for entertainment is ok, provided that: you don't lower your standards (no soap operas, no game shows, no sit coms, for example), you don't watch too much (entertainment can be the salt that makes life interesting, but too much is just plain gross), you put first things first (family! church! work! physical activity!), you don't get hooked on something, and you don't start using the tv for companionship.
6. Some of the times family members of mine have looked the silliest is when they make gratuitous comments about how they don't watch tv or don't like tv or blah blah.
7. While tv can be evil, it's not the only evil.
8. Acting like tv is the only evil is hypocritical.
9. You shouldn't watch much tv.
10. A tv is a tv.
Well, I hope that clarifies my position on the issue. I haven't watched tv in months (as far as I can remember). What that means is that I can start feeling self-righteous for a while. And when I get tired of that, I can start watching again. Then after a while, I'll forget to watch for a few months, which will enable me to feel self-righteous again. It's a beautiful cycle.
As I conclude, I must say that this is an open forum and I'd welcome comments back. No one need agree with me. It's interesting, but this complex that I've been living with for decades seems to be a bit trendy all of a sudden. Do you have a tv complex? If you do have a complex, why? What is it? If you don't, why not?
Can't wait to read what my four readers might think.
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9 comments:
I think it will come as no surpruse to anyone to say that there have been times I've been addicted to TV. I crave information, especially visually. I love little things, like set decor, hairstyles, music chosen, clothing.
We moved out here 15 months ago, and don't get TV.
At first I missed it. And I think that is wrong. Miss people, miss experiences, but please don't miss something that doesn't miss you back!
We visited "back home" and I took the opportunity to watch a few things. And, honestly? I was shocked at how much nastier commercials had become in just a few months.
So I stuck to the Food Network. Yum.
Long story just a tad shorter, I now have no desire to watch. I also have no desire for my kids to watch. I don't care about whether other people watch, really, but, I don't know, it's just an unwelcomed distraction at this point.
And we decided, when we are back in civilization, we will still not use the TV (except for movies - we do watch those), and we will have dial-up internet only. It makes the conveniences less convenient. It makes the books and games and crafts and hikes and gardening more enticing.
So, maybe I sound like a snob about it. But you all know how much I loved it - and not just the "quality" stuff, either!
(sorry about the length!)
We prefer the movies too. I think part of it is that it's a smaller commitment and there's not the same enticement to make the tv into a person (I've seen that happen to some lonely people).
I rarely miss tv when away from it, which is why we can go a long time without watching any. But I don't see it as bad per se. I think it's the lack of moderation and judgment that trips people up.
In any case, I appreciate your comments. I didn't know you were ever addicted, but I did know you weren't shy about watching. My biggest weakness is probably sports, but that's mostly just playoffs. Even the Super Bowl Patriots have had to be relegated to a recording (though I admit it's painful for me to hold back on that).
Oh, well. I don't worry about it much these days. My recent prime time experience is with a certain singing talent show, and the commercials during that are simply outrageous. I may be naive.
I find it hard not to let the littlies watch a couple of shows during the day.
I have to be careful to make sure it's not the end of the day, though, or else the big kids get sucked into watching after school and I have a hard time getting the tv off.
The only TV the kids ever watch is PBS. And I gotta say I actually really enjoy letting them watch the Brady Bunch and Little House OTPrairie just because they are fun and wholesome and maybe I'm nostalgic from my childhood.
As for me, sometimes shows look interesting, but there are so many other evening activities to do that I always miss them. Which is why most of my TV watching now takes place on the computer or on DVDs for movie night.
And if I had my druthers (where did they go anyway?) I'd love to have the discovery channel and Animal Planet because they always have just incredible programming.
we watch the office every thursday night.
I'm not [too terribly] embarrased about it. Though it did take some soul-searching.
Our family is pretty wacked, eh? Getting all guilty about doing something that everybody else in the world thinks is as common as breathing.
But I still think that 99% of everything on TV is garbage. We had cable for part of last year for UofA basketball games and occasionally we'd try to find something nice on and almost always failed.
But we often liked what was on National Geographic and Discovery channels...
I like TV when Peter is gone at night because it keeps me distracted from a quiet empty feeling house. I've always liked books and movies better, but I do tend to get hooked onto certain shows, like The Office, which is absolutely hilarious! (You can watch it instantly on Netflix, but don't blame me if you don't like it!)
I think the magic to some television (very different from movies) is the serialization--setting, characters, storyline that are constant. So I don't think fiction tv is very conducive to flipping through the channels and watching something. I think tv works more as a regular thing. So if you like whatever program and catch it consistently, it can be nice and diverting.
I think I'm hearing that everyone so far has the complex a bit--no one is entirely free of the head-issues going on. I'm ecstatic--misery loves company!
So, I was just thinking...when you say "get hooked on something", what exactly do you mean? I'm pretty sure I'm hooked on the 1 TV show we watch, but I don't think it's a bad thing. Where do you draw the line? I'm thinking when it interferes with normal life, but you mentioned that just before, as a different part of the same number. Anyway...just something I was thinking.
What I meant when I wrote it was specifically where people become lonely because all their friends are fictional tv characters, but meant it more generally for all types of over-the-top usage of the medium or program. I think I've been quite generally hooked on a lot of things, both in a healthful (or at least health-neutral) and an unhealthful way. Some people have the propensity to become too involved and even obsessed with a tv show, a movie, a book, etc. So I meant something to a too-great degree.
Where to draw that line, I don't know. I think fiction is great. I think imagination is great and I think reading or otherwise experiencing fiction is merely taking a peak into someone else's imagination. I think it's a good thing, if used in moderation. Again, salt is great when used sparingly or in moderation, but not so great when it becomes the main ingredient. Entertainment is great as a salting on especially stressful or trying parts of life, but for it to become life--that's where I think the problem lies.
Where would you draw the line?
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