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(sorry about this, but this is the only place I blog and I had to vent)
Man, nothing bores me more than someone blathering on and on about how television is vapid and pointless, rots your brain etc. Sure, most of it is garbage, but have you looked at the pop charts lately? The top-grossing movies? The hottest tickets on Broadway? The deeply-mediocre choices of reparatory that most symphonies make? Television is hardly alone when it comes to lax quality control. I watch TV and like it. Some of it I love. But when I say this, I frequently get quizzical looks. Like "Really?! You seem so smart" kinda looks. Sigh.
If instead I said something like "oh, I belong to Boston Symphony Orchesta," I doubt that the response would be "Jesus, enough with the Beethoven and Schubert, already. And did they really kick off the season with some premier by John Williams? What was it, outtakes from his Phantom Menace soundtrack?" If I said I went to NYC five or six times a year to see Broadway shows, I doubt I'd get "C'mon, did you really pay to see the Lion King?" or "Really, what's your favorite Andrew Lloyd Weber joint - the Phantom of the Opera or Chess?" If I said I went to Bonnaroo every year, would anyone say "Is Dave Matthew's voice as grating and stupid in person?"
I would happily trade any of the above-mentioned death marches in favor of a weekend watching a season of Mad Men. Or the Sopranos. Or Law & Order (depending on the season.) All of these are significantly better art than any of the above cultural experiences. Matt Groening's Simpsons has produced more quality art than a Times Squareful of Spamalots. And, it's worth mentioning that if I hate Airwolf or Matlock, at least the people watching it aren't paying $100 for the privilege like their fellow lunkheads are who are sitting thru Jersey Boys. Ripping on television is as ludicrous as dismissing painting because Thomas Kinkaide does it. Work harder people - and don't let people tell you what art to like. Except me, of course.
