I love, love, love my TV. I had DVR installed as soon as it was available, and many of my regular shows are automatically set to record so I never miss a crucial moment. I will never feel lost in a plot line for having missed a crucial episode of Days of Our Lives or America’s Next Top Model. The Office will always be in my DVR if by chance I cannot find anything else to watch in the 300+ channels available to me. (And I do remember having 13 channels that went off-air at night!)
Even if I’m not watching anything in particular, I leave the TV on as background noise. When I stumble downstairs in the morning, I turn on the TV and coffee pot, in that order. No, I am not completely devoid of intelligent thought due to my love of the tube; I have an insatiable love of books, but I do often have the muted TV on while I read. I have always laughed at the theory that TV rots your brain. I grew up in the 80s, and so TV and pop culture have always had a huge influence on my generation.
I remember watching Beverly Hills, 90210. God, I loved that show. Brenda and her bitchiness, Donna and her purity. Adults were convinced that the show was trash that was poisoning our unsullied young minds. Last week, I caught an episode on Soap TV and I had to laugh at how corny the show really was. Here’s the scenario: Brenda gives some juicy info about her friends to a reporter, the reporter does an expose on the crew’s most scandalous secrets, and not surprisingly, Brenda’s friends are all pissed at her. Anticipating her impending plunge into sin, Brandon convinces her that her current crisis is not worth smoking a cigarette over, everybody makes up, and the gang is happy and tobacco free. Now that’s TV.
Exhibit B- The Real World. Every generation Xer should know the name Pedro Zamora. He was one of the roommates on The Real World San Francisco. The show used to stand for something. Pedro educated millions about a disease that needed exposure in a world that was afraid. When he died shortly after the show ended, everyone who had watched him on tv could say that they knew someone who had died of AIDS. Has anyone seen The Real World as of late? The vileness is astounding. The show has basically spun out of control into a bitch-slapping, bar-hopping, drunken frat party. Let’s see if I can keep this straight. Trisha shoves Parisa out of nowhere-Parisa sends Trisha home-Ashli and Kelly Anne retaliate by repeatedly spitting hockers at the window of the room Parisa is sitting in. Now that is class. See it here. Although I warn you, your IQ will drop after watching this.
It occurred to me that maybe TV really is rotting my brain. The stupid box. I mean, if society has devolved into this, what am I gaining from watching it all unfold? Even if I tune in to something semi-educational, I am still bombarded with commercials during breaks.
So, can it be done? There is only one way to find out if going without TV will have any profound impact on my mood, my attitudes, my sleep patterns and anything else that may be affected by so much TV.
If anyone has “killed the TV,” I want to hear about it. I gave up my precious cigs years ago, certainly I can give up Tyra Banks and the corporate media, right?
