2003-04-22 - 6:50 p.m.
In defense of crap
I had a conversation last night with someone who pissed me off. He didn’t even say anything all that bad, it was just condescending, and condescension pisses me off. But anyway. He basically made fun of people who watch reality TV, specifically completely trashy reality TV—shows like Mr. Personality, which started the whole discussion in the first place.
Whatever, dude. Don’t deny me my trash. I even said that to him. Yes, I watch crappy television. Am I proud of this?
Should I be? Should any kind of TV-watching being a source of pride? “Oh, yeah, I’m so fabulous because I watch ever episode of Buffy eight times a day”? Hell, no. But I watch it. And I like it. And who the hell was this guy to judge me or anyone else? You think reality TV is shit? Fine. Your opinion. But don’t ruin my good time by pretending I’m a lesser being simply because I like it.
I like to remind people that I have higher motivations for watching as much TV as I do; after all, that’s what I’m going to school for. I plan to make the study of television my life. TV is a reflection of our culture in so many different ways, and I think it should be considered a legitimate academic subject. Blah, blah, blah—I won’t bore you all with that here. But my point is, I plan to study TV. I don’t ever plan to get on a high horse about it. I dislike soap operas, but I’ve met people who study soaps and work on them, and that’s valid too. Variety is the spice of life, dontcha know.
When I was signing my rental agreement for my apartment in Syracuse, the landlord said something about how the current renter brought an extra television, and he said something about TV being a scourge or something. That didn’t offend me, because I’ve gotten used to it. I responded by asking about PBS and Mr. Rogers, he conceded a little, and I did the short version of why I’ll be studying television history. This kind of conversation, provided it’s with someone intelligent, can be very satisfying for me. I get a little validation from making people realize that it ain’t all bad and that my brain isn’t rotted and all that.
I’m a bit surprised my brain hasn’t rotted. I’ve been watching TV for YEARS. I became an addict at a very young age, when I first tuned into The Muppet Show and The Jeffersons. The thing is always on. I used to write papers while watching Ricki Lake or Judge Judy. Ain’t no shame in this game, y’all. If I had a stereo, I’m sure that would be on a lot more than the TV, but this is what I do now for background noise. On a weekday off from work, I have a whole schedule of shows I watch. It’s fun. It’s relaxing. It’s a chance to escape and laugh at stupid people on TV.
That’s another reason I watch it. I’m amazed at some of the crap that people do. I like reality shows because, seriously, they do show the odd pathos of humanity, of how people react to each other. And yeah, I like to laugh and snark at people.
Is this really so wrong???
I certainly don’t think so. I enjoy it. Last night, I spent all of Mr. Personality on chat, snarking. It was awesome. It helps me get my critical side out. I’m more judgmental and critical than I like to admit anyway, so this is a nice, safe, sanctioned release. Of course it’s OK to laugh at this crap—what else is it there for?
So whoever doesn’t like it can back the fuck up. I’m not holding a gun to your head and making you watch the Blind Date marathon on TNN or the E! True Hollywood Story about Lisa Marie Presley! Come on. And am I laughing and pointing at you when you play hugely long games of Dungeons and Dragons? No, of course not, that’s your thing.
So shut up and change the freakin’ channel.
