Why Is TV So Mesmerizing?

Before I started taking the class Television Criticism I would watch TV seemingly like everyone else does—for the pure entertainment of it. I never stopped to think about the deeper meanings embedded within the plotline of every TV show in existence. Only being in this class for the last couple of weeks, I am in no way an expert on the subject, but I like to think that I could be a guide for you and your own television criticism experience. In my first post, I want to persuade you that my opinion is worth your consideration, but more importantly, influence you to make your own judgments about the wonderful world of television. I will be making clear what my goals for doing TV criticism are, establishing my view of television as an object of study, and determining how I intend to relate to you, my readers.

Being that I have lived in a sorority house for the majority of the last two years of my life, I can’t say that I’ve watched as much TV as I normally would. We don’t have cable in our bedrooms so I’ve been living off of TV on DVD for what seems like forever! I can’t even begin to express how jealous I am of those of you who can just walk in your room, plop on your bed, and turn the TV on to watch whatever you want. Aside from this, I have accumulated quite the collection of TV series on DVD. I must say I love a good episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Sex in the City before I hit the sheets. I became interested in TV criticism after realizing how much I took TV watching for granted. After moving into the sorority house and loosing my accessibility to cable galore, I appreciate the little TV I watch a lot more. My purpose in creating this TV criticism blog is not to moderate whether or not TV is good or bad but to determine what I like and why I like it. O’Donnell (2007) explains, that the advantages of performing television criticism is that “you will not only be able to make informed judgments about the television programs you watch, but also you will better understand your reaction and the reactions of others who share the experience of watching” (3). Sillars and Gronbeck (2001) explain that a critical analysis is broken down into three parts, “describing, interpreting, and evaluating human communication events” (7). It is through these ideas that I hope to not only gain a richer understanding of society but a greater understanding of myself as a viewer through the television I choose to watch. My criticism is not meant to particularly judge something in a negative way, but rather to engage others with my interpretation of what’s “really” going on in a television program.

As I mentioned above, my ability to watch “real” TV at home is nearly impossible, but it seems as though I can’t go anywhere without finding a TV close by to get my fix. In some way TV is an important part of our societies everyday life. Whether we’re watching it out of boredom, to get information about what’s happening in the world, or to catch the next episode of our favorite series, we are constantly being affected by it. With television being such an integral part of everything we do, how could we not study it? TV is a complicated medium however, and according to Corner (1999), “there has undoubtedly been anxiety about its influence” specifically about the “distortion of politics” and the “displacement of culture” (4). There are so many different programs being dispersed through television’s flow that there are bound to be “good” and “bad” programs, both, being watched by TV’s viewers and influencing their opinions. This is unavoidable. I don’t believe that everything on TV is corrupting society nor do I think it is all mind-expanding, but I do believe this is where the freedom of being a critic is very valuable. You and I have the opportunity to determine for ourselves what we believe to be true and false and to discover an understanding of why we choose it to be that way.

Every person brings their own unique perspective to the critics couch and that’s why I would like to invite you to write about what you think, along side me. What do you like to watch and why do you like to watch it? Are you like me and get can enough of the suspense looming throughout a CSI: Miami episode? Or do you prefer a good laugh with the gang of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? We all have our own ideas about what’s “good TV” and the advantage of thinking critically about it, is that we can better understand each other’s opinions. Perhaps through these posts we can settle on an idea for why TV is so important in our lives and how, at least for me, I can’t imagine living without it!

References

Corner, J. (1999). Critical Ideas in Television Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.

O’Donnell, V. (2007). Television Criticism. New York: Sage.

Sillars, M. O. and Gronbeck, B. E. (2001). Communication Criticism: Rhetoric, Social Codes, Cultural Studies. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.