It’s long been said that what separates us from the rest of the creatures on God’s green earth is the ability to reason. While that’s the common belief, I would argue that the ability to create is just as important as the ability to reason. Each and every day, without realizing it, we create. In our minds, we are constantly creating scenarios, thought processes, virtual realities and fantasies that may never leave the realms of our own consciousness. Some do leave, although that percentage is low, and some beyond that actually find a medium for other people to enjoy what they’ve created—even though that’s a lower percentage still. Regardless, the major mediums for this kind of creativity have grown over the past couple of decades, and with it opportunities for that small percentage have found more avenues to flourish. There are more doors to open now than ever before, and although you may have to sift through some junk to find some gold, it’s out there. The only problem is that sea of junk is piling higher, and one medium in particular has been flooded with it. That medium is television, and there’s so much junk, it’s become popular. Without anyone knowing it, we have settled for mediocrity while greatness gets overshadowed by reality television.
Let me be clear about one thing before I proceed: There is no such thing as reality television. Each individual human on this planet has some sort of expectation of privacy, and in most cases, that expectation occupies the vast majority of our lives. In our private moments, we’re free to do what we want, when we want to do it, however weird or unconventional that may be. And we do it for one very good reason: because nobody will ever find out. Nobody is watching. When you take that away with the knowledge that we will be on video for the world to eventually see—when you pull back the veil of obscurity—you find that people have to be “on” all the time. This, in turn, promotes behavior that is not normal for whomever is being filmed. Granted, there are several, if not many traits a taped individual will exhibit due to the fact that for the most part, you can’t hide who you are all the time, but in general my original statement holds true. There is no such thing as reality television.
Putting that notion aside for the moment, the public has accepted “reality” television for what it is. However, in typical, mainstream fashion, any new fad will get overdone. Start with something simple and mildly entertaining like Survivor, and end up with something garbled and frivolous like The Real Housewives of Atlanta (apparently, Orange County and New York simply weren’t enough). Television shows with creative goals or mission statements have been disregarded for a set of cameramen to follow around C and D-list celebrities a few months and wait for them to do outlandish things. Then, take those snippets of outrageousness, wrap them into an over-the-top promo with music that costs more than the production, and presto! You have droves of mindless schlubs waiting to see if the Rock of Love Bus will take a left at Albuquerque or not. Entire stations that used to be dedicated to things like “music” have now reinvented themselves into this reality medium that has essentially shortened the attention spans of millions of people. It’s gotten so bad that they actually make the “making of” shows, and “after” shows, and “wrap” shows, and “online extras”…as if the hour or half-hour mind-gruel they just ingested wasn’t sufficient. And the best news—or worst, depending on how you look at it—is that you don’t even have to measure up to the C or D-list celebrity status to have one of these shows. You can have sextuplets, be a housewife, own a motorcycle garage, or be attractive enough to get dumped by a faded 80’s rock band nobody. It doesn’t matter. People want to see it.
I’ve long given up trying to answer the question of “why?”. As I said earlier, it doesn’t matter. People are fascinated with other people’s lives, no matter how trite or absurd they are. Just ask TMZ, who somehow fills 30 minutes a day with stuff that is so banal and humdrum, it’s a wonder we are still fascinated by a celebrity picking up their luggage at a terminal. That is what has replaced genuine creativity. The guy who played the dad in the movie Friday picking up his luggage and giving us his opinion on Michael Phelps smoking pot. Wow. Goodbye, Twin Peaks, hello uneducated drivel.
Where can one find solace in such a sea of monotonous misery? There is one medium left—possibly two since movies haven’t been quite so invaded yet—that still pander to those of us who actually spend time enjoying creativity rather than absorbing insipid nonsense. They’re called books, and there are a lot of good ones out there. But, ultimately, it is my hope that television is not dead. Unfortunately, for every good, creative show that comes out and inspires, tugs at the soul or dares us to dream, there are ten more that glorify over-privileged high school kids who whine about their “problems” from their parent’s multi-million dollar beach home in Malibu. Timeless classics like The Sopranos and The Shield have being replaced with Sunset Tan and Flavor of Love—maybe not directly, but when there’s so much nonsense out there, eventually it overwhelms the rest, and buries the diamonds in the rough.
Tonight, Battlestar Galactica gives us yet another curtain call, and while we are richer for having experienced it, we are also poorer for having lost it. The greats are dying off at an alarming rate, and even those left like Lost have the seeds of their own demise built in, as their creators have already named an end date. So, is television lost to the flood of banality? While the outlook may be grim when you see a demon like Kimora gracing your television set, the reality may be somewhat different. You see, while the majority of people may revel in the mediocrity of reality television, in a way, this only makes truly great shows shine brighter. And, most people will tell you that the writer’s strike opened the door to more reality shows than probably should have happened, which in turn created this mess, but slowly—very slowly—creativity is on the rebound. Shows like Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy look promising, and shows yet to come out may hold even more optimism for our future. I’m not willing to concede the television medium just yet.
So, tonight, after the world of Battlestar Galactica ends (and one can only hope it ends well), I’ll shut off my television and soak the moment in. Just how long that will be, I don’t know. But what I do know is after the moment has passed, I’ll walk over to my little book pile and pick up the new Dan Simmons novel. Because there’s another world in there. And it’s just waiting to be explored.
A Pleasant Conversation 