As you strive to further your education, we are interested in knowing what matters most to you. How has an experience you have had, an interest you have pursued, or a person you have known shaped your thinking?
Television. TV. These words conjure feelings of excitement, passion, and hope in me. That which has had the greatest effect on me is not any specific person or event. It is that pervasive medium which brings to my eyes and ears the distilled visions of the people and events of the world. In my years of watching television, it has become my teacher and my mentor.
Television is often seen merely as something to pass time, but I feel you must see TV as, more than a diversion, an essential focus of the conscientious citizen's life. Instead of forcing one to go out and see the harsh, jagged and often all too "real" world, television brings the tempered world to your bedroom, allowing thoughtful, considered, and most of all, uninterrupted judgment (during the commercial breaks).
People say that art imitates life. While this judgment is open to interpretation, I believe firmly that life should imitate art television is that art. I have seen so much of the potential ideal world in television. Imagine a world where every problem, no matter the magnitude, could be solved in 22 minutes (plus commercials). Suppose conflict happened only an hour a week, regularly. Suppose that everyone wore makeup and attractive clothes. Suppose that everyone had summers off.
Though at first glance The O.C. may appear banal and vacuous, I see simplicity and elegance lacking in real life, as well. Can we really believe that at the end of the day, the people of The O.C are unhappy? Their concerns are minimal, ours overwhelming. Their joys are weekly, ours all too infrequent. I often stop whatever I am doing, no matter how important, because television can never wait.
I watch televisions effect everyday, in my real life. People speak, dress, and act TV. The sheer number of available channels reflects the incredible diversity of the people in our society. Some do not have houses or food; everyone has a television channel. When I turn off my television, I see my reflection on its dark surface. I realize that even is this simple way, everyone is on TV.
I see television as a force in our society, a medium used to bring sweeping change to millions of people. Though many criticize it as drivel, people must remember that behind every episode there are people trying to tell a story. In a way, television is another commentary on the human condition, the natural successor to the outmoded novel. Television brings me closer to others in a way that is profoundly unique.