Friday, July 4, 2008

TV series addict







We all know what it’s like to be a fan of TV series. “Wow, this one looks like an interesting series,” comes to mind the moment we watch its trailer on TV. For me, the hunger to watch more episodes and those one week time gaps make me want the days to go by faster. Question of the century: are we consumed by TV series? Consumption is one of the integral parts in our everyday life, assuming the needs for entertainment still exist. But there are some points where want becomes need. Wanting to watch TV series becomes the need to sit on the couch at the scheduled TV series time.

I have been watching series like, “24”, “Prison Break”, “Smallville”, “Supernatural”, and “Heroes” from the moment they aired on TV. Even though we have this new technology that could record every single thing from TV that is called “TIVO,” I admit that I will watch it (not prefer) when it originally airs. Now why does that type of thinking occur in my brain? Wouldn’t it be the same if I were to watch it some other time with my TIVO? The answer is simple. I have been consumed by the need to watch. It’s not about being a fan of the story, or the actor, but it was a necessity to watch because if I don’t, there comes that feeling of emptiness. The reason is probably similar to that of the bottled water we discussed in class: why most people prefer Smart Water rather than regular water that is cheaper, or why do we need bigger TV because technically, they are the same thing.

Furthermore, ‘It is noted that the average person spends about five hours a day sitting in front of the TV set’(“A Growing Problem,” 2002). This shows that television is one of the biggest consumptions. The sad part about this is that people are willing to sit and watch television for what is half of their leisure time, rather than doing something productive with their lives. Television has indeed transcended to a new level where it is not an entertainment, but a necessity.

1 comment:

Christopher Schaberg said...

You are developing a theme for your posts that would be very interesting to return to again and again...and you could add the question of how writing about television informs or inflect one's viewing.