Are Our Eyes Watching TV or Our Minds?

Thinking and Writing

            Back in my high school days, I was convinced that I could learn more than my counterparts by watching more TV and movies than by reading books.  It made sense in my mind of how these forms of media could be more edifying, but I always failed to put these feelings into words to defend my so called, naïve, opinion.  Teachers would tell me that media corrupts us or dulls our understanding and vocabulary and cannot be good for the mind.  In part, I agreed, but there was still something inside that said films must be educational and uplifting in some way and not all bad.  Recently, while watching the TV phenomenon, Breaking Bad, I finally conceived my arguments for these teachers: Media that, at first glance, seems unpleasant can be a means of also teaching us great life lessons if we view the works actively and objectively.

            Last week, I engaged in a conversation with co-worker about TV shows that he likes to watch.  He told me that he also likes Breaking Bad (a progressive show about a man with cancer who begins making meth to have money to leave his family when he dies, the man eventually starts recovering from cancer but ends up getting sucked deeper into the meth world, eventually murdering many people and endangering his family in the process). 

“So why do you like such a violent, unpleasant show?” I prodded. 

“I just love seeing how I began cheering for the protagonist and now he has become the antagonist and I still cheer for him.  There is great action, and it is entertaining to see how hardcore this guy has become, swearing and blowing stuff up,” came the justification.  “so what about you, why do you like it, Brandon?”

“Well the action is entertaining but I love it for other reasons mostly.  I love seeing the family devotion that exists in all the characters whether they are in the Mexican drug cartel, have wayward children going to rehab that they refuse to give up on, or realize that you gain nothing to have all the money in the world but lose your family.  I like seeing how one bad choice leads to more bad choices and those choices always affect others.  I guess you can say it is an engaging learning experience for me.” I explained.

            So, why two varying opinions on the same piece of art?  Media that, at first glance, seems unpleasant can be a means of also teaching us great life lessons if we view the works actively and objectively.  The difference in our viewing mentality made all the difference.  My guess is that most Americans like to take my friends approach to TV and film and divert themselves in the aesthetics.  They view TV and films as a means to escape from the everyday and to be entertained by it.  I used to always watch TV and movies with this mindset and have only changed recently because I am a film major and my homework is watching movies so I have to be thinking and analyzing throughout. 

            Viewing TV or film in a more analyzing way helps us be aware of what might have the potential to manipulate us or just show us something we have never seen before.  Every single part of each shot is there for a reason, the dialogue, the props, the clothing, and the lighting; all there to help there be greater power in the story and in the lessons to be learned through the story.  Being objective and searching for good in seemingly unwholesome shows, we can find many nuggets of wisdom we can apply to our lives and learn from.  

Breaking Bad shows us the world of a drug dealer, a murderer, his personal life and his mind.  These are places that no parent would want their kid to go.  But if we were to go there with a prepared, analytic mind, we would see greater lessons like the need for honest communication with a spouse (living a secret life with drug dealers and secret meetings) or that temptations will come at you disguised in sheep’s clothing (starting to distribute illegal drugs to merely help family) or that money isn't happiness (has money now but not relationships with family).

Be wise in what you choose to view but when you do choose to view, choose to be objective and realize that good can come from bad stories.  If we could make this one change in our viewing experiences, and always have an active viewing experience, our knowledge and morals will grow and we will be able to walk into class and tell the teacher that more learning can come from watching TV and movies than reading a book at times.  Life is made up of stories.  Learn as much from them as you can.  What is getting rich from drug sales today can be the choice to spend more time with your child tomorrow.