Boob Tube

May 09, 2022

In Jamey Abersold's free "Jazz Handbook", there is a section at the end with random bits of advice. The fourth point on the list is

TV kills imagination

I remember how hard this hit me. I was 12 or 13 at the time. Maybe it was the context of being in a book about how to improvise. It must really hinder people's ability to improvise, I thought.

TV leaves you with this apathetic feeling after watching a ton of it. You don't want to get up from the couch. You kinda just want to go to sleep. It's hyponotic in a way. Not to mention the ads, which have a way of leaving me warm and fuzzy inside. After they repeat 10 or so times in the course of watching a basketball game, they grow on you, become a part of you.

I don't plan on purchasing a television set anytime in my life. When I die, I don't want my life to flash before my eyes and have most of it be me sitting on a couch. TV is sneaky in how much time can pass before you realize its gone.

In my parent's generation, they only had a few channels. When a big event or show was on, there was no recording it and watching it later. Everyone watched it at the same time. Imagine rows of suburban houses, all watching the same shows at the same time. It must have been surreal.

I've definitley had certain movies make an impact on my life. I think there is room for them in my life. But they are rare. And if I want the full experience, I would rather have it in a theater.

As far as watching TV as a way to spend time together with other people, I feel like it's scraping the bottom of the barrel. Sure, you have a shared experience, like watching live music or a play, but the latter two activties at least involve humans on the other side, not a screen. You don't really get to know a person that much better after watching a show or movie, unless you sit down and discuss after, which probably doesn't happen much if watching TV is a habit.

Are we collectively scared that we don't know what to do with our time? I get that after a long day, it feels so good to sit down and have the screen blare. But I know we have more in us, we have the ability to fill those moments with meaningful activities.

Call me uncultured, but I will die on this hill. I know my life is better with less TV.