For years, I was adamant about the fact that television sucked. I sold my TV, canceled my cable service, and went on an angry crusade about how television was completely ruining society. I saw it as a devilish box created to glue people to their sofas as they munched on potato chips and turned into stereotypical fat Americans. I refused to speak about any shows, laughed at people when they gave me recommendations, and generally acted like a grandiose jerk to anybody who didn’t agree with me.
I’m still pretty steadfast with my opinion, but there has been a few things lately that have poked a few holes in it. Notably, two shows: Netflix’s House of Cards and HBO’s Newsroom.
WHY?
Let me explain. I like things that make consumers think. I read books obsessively because they make me think. The process is intensely self-gratifying -- by reading and engaging myself in a complex narrative, I can tell myself that I am intellectual and thereby feel smart. It’s an ego thing. By watching these two shows, I am able to do make a similar claim to myself.
House of Cards (first airing in February or this year) may or may not count as a television show. It airs on Netflix exclusively, which exempts it from any sort of regulation. This is awesome, as it allows the producers to do whatever they want (well, whatever Netflix wants them to do). The show is produced by Beau Willimon and it’s an adaptation of a previous BBC series by the same name. It dramaticizes American politics in all of their gritty glory (shame?). Through intensely suspenseful personal narratives, it sheds light on sides of American politics that may not be readily recognized by the average viewer. It breaks down the system of congress and makes people understand why Congressmen act the way they do. It sheds light on personal agendas and corporate interests that come do play in the process of drafting American law. Granted, because it’s television, it may be a bit overly dramatic, and the narratives may be extreme (suicide, murder, drug use, spousal issues). Nonetheless, it educates and raises awareness. And it stars Kevin Spacey.
Newsroom is an HBO series produced by Aaron Sorkin of The Social Network fame. It began airing in 2012. The show, aside from chronicling the drama caused by the overblown ego of prominent news anchor Will MacAvoy, deals with the way that our news is manufactured and produced. It alerts the viewer to how news can be biased or choose to omit certain stories. It also throws in tons of actual events and has its basis in journalistic reality. The end goal seems to be to educate viewers on current events (well, semi-current -- the setting is 2011-2012) they may have missed, and to alert them to be more attentive to the way they consume news.
To me, these two shows epitomize what television should be. They’re smart, they’re socially relevant, they educate, and they entertain. The writing is tight, witty, and intelligent. It’s not an easy to create shows like that, especially in a country that seems to run on reality TV garbage (16 & Pregnant anybody? Blargh.). I respect their producers and writers, and I cannot wait to see where both of them go.
I still hate TV with a passion that I cannot quite put into words. I may scream if somebody mentions Jersey Shore to me one more time. But, for now, I’m going to rescind my absolute condemnation of television and say, “There may be some good things out there.”
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| Exhibit A: Mindless TV viewer munching on potato chips. |
WHY?
Let me explain. I like things that make consumers think. I read books obsessively because they make me think. The process is intensely self-gratifying -- by reading and engaging myself in a complex narrative, I can tell myself that I am intellectual and thereby feel smart. It’s an ego thing. By watching these two shows, I am able to do make a similar claim to myself.
House of Cards (first airing in February or this year) may or may not count as a television show. It airs on Netflix exclusively, which exempts it from any sort of regulation. This is awesome, as it allows the producers to do whatever they want (well, whatever Netflix wants them to do). The show is produced by Beau Willimon and it’s an adaptation of a previous BBC series by the same name. It dramaticizes American politics in all of their gritty glory (shame?). Through intensely suspenseful personal narratives, it sheds light on sides of American politics that may not be readily recognized by the average viewer. It breaks down the system of congress and makes people understand why Congressmen act the way they do. It sheds light on personal agendas and corporate interests that come do play in the process of drafting American law. Granted, because it’s television, it may be a bit overly dramatic, and the narratives may be extreme (suicide, murder, drug use, spousal issues). Nonetheless, it educates and raises awareness. And it stars Kevin Spacey.
Newsroom is an HBO series produced by Aaron Sorkin of The Social Network fame. It began airing in 2012. The show, aside from chronicling the drama caused by the overblown ego of prominent news anchor Will MacAvoy, deals with the way that our news is manufactured and produced. It alerts the viewer to how news can be biased or choose to omit certain stories. It also throws in tons of actual events and has its basis in journalistic reality. The end goal seems to be to educate viewers on current events (well, semi-current -- the setting is 2011-2012) they may have missed, and to alert them to be more attentive to the way they consume news.
To me, these two shows epitomize what television should be. They’re smart, they’re socially relevant, they educate, and they entertain. The writing is tight, witty, and intelligent. It’s not an easy to create shows like that, especially in a country that seems to run on reality TV garbage (16 & Pregnant anybody? Blargh.). I respect their producers and writers, and I cannot wait to see where both of them go.
I still hate TV with a passion that I cannot quite put into words. I may scream if somebody mentions Jersey Shore to me one more time. But, for now, I’m going to rescind my absolute condemnation of television and say, “There may be some good things out there.”
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