Anti-TV Overview

Answer to a question on Reddit "What is your reasons for not liking television?"  Lightly edited.

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Film and television are mass media and expensive to make. As such, they first have to create as large of markets as possible, which in the beginning was done by creating for the pre-existing lowest common denominator and then by forging an even larger market by disrupting communities and families down to atomized, narcissistic individuals. Secondly, it is used to normalize hierarchy and violence, called mean world syndrome. People who watch a lot of TV think the world is more violent than it statistically is, and thus were the reliable supporters for "tough on crime" policies. I'm actually not saying TV makes people more violent. I am saying it normalizes the structures that use violence (and financial debt) that keep people in place. It also makes us more distrustful and lacking in social cohesion (which social media has picked up on and run with). Lastly, TV normalizes a level of greed far beyond what the planet can support and makes people feel inadequate when they are not living up to what they see on the screen -- even though those images are absurdly unrepresentative and made precisely to make you want what you don't have.

If you want to go further down the rabbit hole, here are some links -- I most recommend the article RIP, Kill Your TV; the other links build off it. Also, you could explore our problem with the narcissism that grew out hallowing out the soul and spending our time living up to images.

The main reason the internet can provide something different is the cost of production is so much lower. But even then most people have been trained to want their fear, distrust and greed, so much of the internet (and virtually all of social media) obliges.

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Related, in a correspondence with Nat, he asked me if I liked Rick and Morty.  Lightly edited.

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As for Rick and Morty, Beth and I have seen every episode.  I think that its best episodes are some of the best-written stuff in the history of television.  I must mention reservations with the ideology of the show: it is the greatest glorification of "facts don't care about your feelings" cruelty on TV.  The creators are better people than Rick, at least in terms of public policies they signal wanting to see, but they have bought into the Mean World Syndrome of the American media landscape fully.  This also shows in co-creator Justin Roiland's project on Hulu Solar Opposites (recommended, but totally biting into the same caveat . .. but really, the idea that the world is mean so we need mean badasses to counter that is worked into every prestige show I can think of in our so-called Golden Age of Television).  

Here are two enjoyable YouTube videos on the flaw in Rick and Morty (and, yes, Beth and I will still watch the show).  

https://youtu.be/X-8ICfWsUVw  

https://youtu.be/8vI2j-8To34