Television

One thing I often struggle with is the television I watch. I really enjoy television and it has been with me my whole life. However, with this magical gift, comes a debate that I often have with my fellow activists and other well intended folks; can you watch shows that undermine your beliefs? I have met some feminists who can’t turn off their radar and others who can (and happily do). I’ve also met tons of Christians who really control what they watch (not in my household).
So what can you do? I do think some things are just not worth watching. However, other satires such as Family Guy or Always Sunny in Philadelphia can seem to actively work against my ideals when they’re actually supporting them. And when Family Guy decides that rape is funny and should get a ten minute segment, I turn it off (I don’t know if you heard but there’s really nothing funny about rape…okay, besides Bed Intruder).
I have a friend who really enjoys watching Twilight and at the same time understands how bullshit it is. I once had an instructor say that she loves to hate Rescue Me and let’s not even get started on the Buffy debate. I do think that we’re living in a world where we’re taught not to question what we’re watching and just chalk it up to mindless entertainment. Perhaps the way to combat this is not censorship but instead mindful watching. When we watch these things, we can have a dialogue about them with friends, classmates, children, etc.
Or, we can take a break and watch Law & Order SVU knowing it’s problematic and not caring for an hour out of our lives.