Shut Up And Listen 232

A while back, I did a column on why I'm a snob and was promptly told that no, I'm not (although, many people who know me don't agree, but whatever). During that discussion, some points were raised in jest, but I've heard many times before in all seriousness. They revolved around the concept that TV is a worthless medium for idiots or that the mainstream in music and movies sucks, shit like that. I've never understood stuff like that.

With regards to TV, I know several people who own TVs, but only to watch movies or play video games, but never watch it otherwise, claiming it's a waste of money, there's nothing good on, it rots your brain, and a shitload of other negative things. You know what? There is a lot of shitty TV. It's obvious. Why do you think I'm writing this while listening to a CD instead of with the TV on? Because all that's on is shit I don't want to watch. But that doesn't mean I never watch TV. There are also a lot of fucking fantastic things on TV, as my DVD collection of TV shows can attest to. That's the funniest thing about people who bash TV: they always own a bunch of sets of TV shows on DVD. You know why that is (besides the obvious hypocrisy at play)? Because there's nothing wrong with TV as medium!

That's all TV is! It's another medium in which to create art, and like every other medium, it's full of shit. How many movies out right now look good? How many books published this week are any good? Every medium is ninety percent total crap with maybe ten percent actually good. Is TV any different? No. It's just easier to see all of the crap because you can get hundreds of channels at once.

Why do people make distinctions between mediums like that? Why are books more respected than TV shows? Don't give me that bullshit where one is more intellectually challenging, because I've been in bookstores and just because you have to be "active" in reading means nothing if the content is fluffy dribble. You have to be active with quality TV shows too. Besides, why does the amount of active energy you expend make one better than the other? Maybe all I have to do to enjoy the new episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm is watch, but does that make it any less skilfully constructed than the average novel? Of course not!

The same thing applies to comic books. I am so fucking sick and tired of hearing people ask the question "Why do you still read comics?" I'm not talking about the average person asking me, I'm talking about people who read comics trying to justify to themselves that they're not total fucking losers. Why do I read comics? For the same reason I listen to music, watch TV and movies, and read books. I don't give a fuck what medium the artist chooses to use, I just care if it's good. Because, each medium has different strengths and weaknesses. Some things work in one and fall apart in another. Writing off any medium just means you're limiting yourself to the number of quality pieces of entertainment or art or whatever you want to call what you pay attention to in your spare time, and that just shows your to be, well, stupid.