Trash TV

I’m not one to associate myself with intellectual shows nor do I discriminate other people’s hard work, but we all know that there is a definite classification between television content that pursue financial success through flash and cliche, and those that actually attempt to stimulate its audiences. Out of all the people I know, I’d say that my taste in TV is varied, being one who aches for the next season of House of Cards, whilst binging on the latest season of Gossip Girl–and yes guys watch that too, or at least I do. The popular saying goes “TV rots your brains,” and it is often preferable by coffee-sipping hipsters to read books and ditch the television. But television addiction it is a vital part of my existence as an aspiring TV producer to acquaint myself with the latest trends and story structures. Especially now with the worldwide dominance of the Internet and the influence of networks like Netflix, the spectrum of content available literally at your fingertips makes it harder to tear myself away from my computer and into my yellowing copy of Of Mice and Men. I acknowledge this because I truly think that television and films has definitely dampened by literary skills, as well as decreased my attention to detail versus distraction. The question I pose, and this is definitely open-ended as nobody will respond to this, is how does one find balance between these two mediums of the written and the audiovisual? After all, they both appeal to different sides of my amusement, taking me on adventures that my physicality could not even begin to ponder. More succinctly, how does one stop themselves from choosing the easier path of watching TV and films over the creative benefits of reading?