TV vs film: TV as social experience

Posted by Dan August 4th, 2008 at 11:35am In All Things TV

Watching television can be a social experience. I’m serious.

The couch potato stereotype involves pot bellies, Cheetos, bed sores and awkward social interactions. As a TV blogger (a two-fer of descriptors that carry negative connotations), I have to accept that some of these things may apply to me (I’ll leave it to you to guess which ones), but I’d also like to establish the fact that television has the capacity to serve as a social experience better than movies ever could.

Let’s start here: I’ve never understood the idea of going out to the movies in the company of people you haven’t seen for a while or on a first date (where you should spend the entire time asking each other how many siblings you have while you nervously sip latte). Seeing a movie on the big screen is pretty much a solitary experience and, counter to the popular notion, is probably best experienced when one is feeling antisocial. You’re in a dark room, not facing your friends and you’re teleported to a completely foreign setting with characters you don’t know. There’s no social interaction except for the moment where you leave the theater and discuss the movie before you go get burritos (or, well, at least that’s the way it goes with my friends).

There should be less shame associated with going to the movies solo.

(Before I get started praising the television, I’ll just put it out there that I’m not trying to say that watching television is the best way to interact with friends. However, television is more conducive to healthy socialization than a solitary movie experience. I’m not saying that people should watch more television in order to solve any social problems. I’m just saying that the tube has been given a bad reputation as a vortex for laziness, antisocial behavior and all things awful. All of these tendencies to exist, but it’s the people who watch it who are responsible for their own social lives.)

While people frequently watch television by themselves (of course), television shows are much more conducive to social interaction in a variety of ways. I’ll talk about what I think are the two biggies.

You watch television at home, within your comfort zone. It’s a pressure-free environment and, in a group, you can pay as much or little attention it as possible. Whereas movie theaters run trailers asking you to not talk during movies, in the comfort of your own home you can heckle the screen as much as you want, guffaw if you feel like it, or hit pause on the TiFaux so you can blend more margaritas.

It’s a quiet indignity that television suffers that people are more cavalier in talking over the action, but it does make the medium a bigger experience.

The second reason that television is a social experience is because there’s a higher likelihood that people will have at least some concept of the shows their peers and acquaintances keep up with, thus providing them with a basis for conversation. Movies come and go in the blink of an eye and, unless you’re talking about franchises, there’s no continuity. Since television shows last longer, there’s a stronger chance you’ve heard of them.

Keeping up with television shows is a way for unlike people to establish common ground. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve been stuck with and they only thing we’ve had to talk about is Project Runway (speaking of — how dreamy is Keith. Rowr.) With television, you’ve instantly got a common backstory.

I wouldn’t worry that talk of television is ‘dumbing down’ the discourse between strangers. If television went away, first dates wouldn’t be replaced by talk of Descartes and the human condition. Furthermore, television is less emotionally charged than politics or religion (although I can understand people having strong feelings about the Blayne “girlicious” issue)

To sum up — television may not get a lot of respect from a lot of folks, but it is a pretty decent (if counterintuitive) way for people to stay in touch with each other.

PS — And for the contingent who will inevitably shout “Why don’t you go outside! Meet people! Join a club!,” all I have to say is this: right now you are reading a blog about television. On the internet. Alone.

Physician, heal thyself.