What is good T V,r e a l l y ?
Written BY: Lillian Nadrowski
Television has often been referred to as “junk”. As something fun to watch after a long day. As something to play in the background as you finish your homework. As a way to rot your brain while laying in bed. But is that all it is? In our day and age the shift towards fastpaced digital media is stronger than ever. Consequently, many people have abandoned reading in favor of watching or scrolling. Parents and teachers alike have shaken their heads at this shift, writing off this form of media as pointless. However, I don’t think that TV is all bad. And if it isn’t, what is it that could possibly make TV good? It could be said that the central dogma of all TV is to entertain. A piece of television that doesn’t work to capture your attention is essentially worthless. This is especially true for a number of beloved sitcoms. Classics like The Office or Friends were created specifically with these ideas in mind. There’s not much highbrow literary merit to be deciphered in Michael Scott’s antics, and there is not much exposition required to understand that Monica can be Type-A or that Phoebe can be kind of odd. It could be argued that a good television show is one that teaches its audience something. So does TV really teach us anything? Admittedly, it is much easier to prove that TV can be insightful when the intentions of the writers are very clearly meant to do more than