I've heard the saying that "Television is called a medium,
because it is neither rare nor well done." While I'd have
to agree that television ain't rare, I'm not so sure that it's
not well done. I think this quote speaks largely of the confusion
over what television is. I mean, for some people, it delivers
the news. After a day's work, I've known many a low-level executive
or some other miscellaneous person at the low end of the great
corporate food chain to sit down to watch the news over their
microwave-prepared 'Lean Cuisine' meal. The TV news provides a
fairly effortless dissemination of important local and global
events. It also covers a myriad of both statistical information
and brazen conjecture about sports and entertainment illuminati.
It partially satisfies the human need to say, "Yes, I'm an
intelligent person, I know what's going on." And, even more
so than "Melrose Place", it gives office workers something
to talk about.
TV can also be used as a mild sedative and baby sitter for children.
Anything from purple dinosaurs to mutated turtles to choreographed
rangers in colorful tight fitting space-age clothing. There's
even the option of cartoons that have references only an adult
would understand. Perhaps this can keep the parent interested
and/or sedated as well. A purple dinosaur singing "I Love
You, I Love Me..." has proven to be as irritating as fingernails
scratching across a chalkboard to anyone above the mental age
of five. Believe me, the baby sitters need as much sedating as
the babysat.
Sometimes, TV can bring key issues to light in dramatic form.
In a supposed fictional format, we are likely to be less immediately
judgmental. Many fine TV movies have dealt with, amongst other
things, the issues concerning the acceptance of homosexuality
in our society. How does it affect military life? What about a
same sex couple raising children? Should a same sex marriage have
the same rights, by law, as a traditional male-female union?
Recently, with the addition of the specialty channels, you can
even pick up a historical and cultural education one night, use
clues to hunt down real-life criminals another night, and spend
a weekend afternoon trying to figure out if the latest music videos
actually say anything or whether they're just a long series of
disconnected marketing shots.
All this is yours just for a low monthly fee. And, with a decent
VCR and a bit of planning, you can watch what you want when you
want. I haven't even mentioned the more traditional use of TV.
Watching TV series. There's light TV where a bad situation gets
wrapped up in half an hour and everybody smiles and no one utters
a swear word. Then, there's dark TV where the government is run
by magic-using time-traveling aliens that are out to remove your
identity and obliterate the total record of your existence. Your
choice- do you want to relax by make believing that we live in
a pretty, neighborly society or do you want confirmations of your
suspicions that the world is full of twisted, mean people trying
to pervert your good intentions and preventing you from getting
that raise. Or are you in that minority that watches, with baited
breath, for that rare moment of great art that appears from time
to time, possibly somewhere between TV light and TV dark.
So, we have in one magical box, an educational tool, a baby sitter,
a trivia guide, a news device, a music machine, a stress reliever,
and possibly even a dispenser of original art to the home. It's
at the point where it's getting impossible to make broad general
statements about television. Television isn't so much a service
in itself as it is an all-purpose box that can function as an
alternative in a broad range of services. So the choice isn't
necessarily between whether to watch a corny sitcom, a sensitive
docudrama, or a featured basketball playoff game. Think of it
this way: You want to be sedated after a heavy day's work: Do
you a)drink heavily; b)watch a mind-numbing predictable comedy;
c)put on a relaxing music CD; or d) all or some of the above.
If you really wanted to be sedated and end up watching "America's
Most Wanted", it just won't work.
In conclusion, use your TV wisely and it won't let you down.
Once again, Stay Happy and don't Take No Crap!
Yours truly,
Happy Lechuk.
