Observations on Cable Television
by Kevin
Well, I am headed back to East Lansing for another week of classes at IPU’s Camp NARUC. I still haven’t ditched my sinus problems but I feel better than I did last week.
While I was sick and stuck in my room I watched a good bit of cable TV. I thought I would leave you with some of my observations:
- The Kobe Bryant case is aiming for OJ status. There was entirely too much coverage of this case on TV. CNN, all the networks, ESPN, local news, MTV, you name it – everybody was talking about it. Despite the fact that there was little new information or events to report on day-to-day. It was simply saturation coverage without any real news. It was incredibly boring if you ask me.
- Perhaps this shows my age but Rap music has taken over. There were half a dozen channels playing rap videos practically all day. It seemed like wherever I clicked there was rap music with its thumping base and bikini clad women. Don’t get me wrong I generally like bikini clad women but the whole thing gets old real fast. Try as I might I just can’t get excited about rap music.
- There are a lot of movies on cable TV but it is very hard to catch one at the beginning. I always seemed to stumble on a good movie like 45 minutes into it! I am not the kind of person who wants to skip the first 45 minutes of a movie so I would just keep clicking. I never really watched movies for this reason.
- This reality show and dating game genre is deeply disturbing to me. People have no shame and no morals. These shows are about nothing more than titillating the viewers with the sexual proclivities of strangers. We watch these smutty people prance about and we laugh at their lack of shame. Secretly, I think people watch these shows to make themselves feel better: hey at least I am not that bad! As I said, deeply disturbing.
All in all, it seems to me that despite the appearance of a great deal of viewable shows, cable is mostly hot air. I ended up clicking through the cycle of channels intrigued by a lot but never really settling on any one thing. This results in a lot of wasted time and very little real enjoyment. The only reason I get any cable at home is sports. With cable you can watch a lot of college football! Outside of sports I could care less for cable, or TV in general for that matter.
Care to point out where you are in Camp NARUC’s group picture?
I am towards the middle but a little to the left as you are facing the picture. I have short hair and I am wearing a light green golf shirt.
“The only reason I get any cable at home is sports. With cable you can watch a lot of college football! Outside of sports I could care less for cable, or TV in general for that matter.”
Amen to that.
I agree with your observations about the quality of the vast majority of the fare available on cable TV — especially in the realm of journalism, news, and “public affairs.” The format seems to alternate between endless hours of mind-numbing repetition, punctuated by frequent bouts of sensationalism. I’m afraid one quickly becomes very depressed about future prospects for any intelligent political discourse or discussion.
But I would also point out that there is one genuine bright spot on the cable dial — CSPAN’s “Book TV” weekend offering.