Too Ciritical?

Television Criticism. Why is it whenever we hear the word ‘criticism’ it has a negative connotation attached? As a critic, I plan on breaking the away from this association and express my views towards television is a positive light. Similar to most people, I love television because it offers many viewers an escape to a new reality and a much needed break from the usual craziness of everyday life. No wonder people across the nation (and yes myself at times) are obsessed with this object. I plan to blog about my views towards various television programs. Hopefully my viewpoints will challenge and inspire a deeper appreciation for something that is often overlooked in the fast pace of day to day life. In this first post I will address my goals for doing TV criticism; explain how I understand television as an object that is an essential function of everyday life; and will finish asking you participate is a discussion with me so that we can form new interpretations of television together.

The purpose of this blog is not to hate on television or verbally destroy the programs you love. I too enjoy curling up on the couch after a long day to laugh at The Office or cheer for my favorite competitor on project runway (go Althea!). However, my reasons for watching these programs may differ from the common TV viewer. As O’Donnell (2007) states, the critical perception allows me, the critic, to move from casual enjoyment of a television program to a fuller and richer understanding (1). Basically, the goal of criticism is to go beyond the face value of the TV programs text and develop a deeper understanding of culture. Sillars and Gronbeck (2001) share a similar perspective pointing out that criticism describes, interprets, and evaluates. Sillars and Gronbeck further classify their perceptions into two categories, epistemological criticism and critical criticism. The Epistemological view regards criticism not as a process, but as a scientific experiment that produces a similar outcome (15). In other words, this viewpoint states that even bad criticism produces knowledge. This means as I blog critiques about various television programs, I am assisting in ways that people can judge and interpret society as a whole.

The critical/cultural view of criticism simply states that criticism itself is a cultural act. However, what specific perspectives of society are television programs focused on? Butler (2002) states that television programs are catered towards a single viewpoint. I do not agree with this and feel television is open to multiple interpretations by the viewer. For example, the popular HBO series Big Love follows modern polygamist Bill Hendrickson (Bill Paxton) and his three wives as they handle the many problems that arise within their three-house suburban home. From just reading over the summary of the show before actually tuning in, I had already developed an opinion towards the show which stated the core focus of the program went against the traditional nuclear family, therefore violating societal social norms. However, after watching a few episodes, my viewpoint had completely changed. The interactions and relationships between the characters made me feel like this unconventional family structure is acceptable. I’m curious though as to what reading the program’s text intended to portray and how that differed from the audience’s interpretation.

Even though I do not agree with the singular viewpoints many television scripts cater too, I still believe television is an influential and strong medium that is a large part of my life. This is exactly why I feel it’s important to study televison. Corner (1999) notes that a majority of early research on television was conducted out of anxiety and fear that television would have an overwhelming influence on the public. The position was formed that TV would allow politicians to easily warp to the public information and the constant exposure to TV would make people ‘dumber’. I do not agree with Corners viewpoints as I feel TV enhances knowledge and gives people more access to political activity such as publicizing political debates. However, I do agree with Corner and Gronbeck’s theory that television allows people to engage in a dialogue where everyone is constructing ideas together (11). This is why it is important for critics and audience members to analyze and discuss the text together to create a variety of interpretations. I do not want my opinions and critiques to come across as intimidating or arrogant as I consider both of our readings to be on the same level. Brunsdon would refer to this as a transparent relationship in that the critique and the viewer are on the same side collaborating ideas together.

I sincerely do want feedback (both positive and negative) from my post. I consider constructional criticism as a great learning tool in that it helps me grow as a critic and writer. I will try to blog about television programs from a vast array of genres (anywhere from documentaries concerning Cities of the Underworld on the History Channel to Gossip Girl to Fear Factor) in order to truly appeal to all viewers. I would like to hear what TV shows you enjoy watching and would like to discuss further. As you see from above, I’m open to a wide variety of TV programs so let me know what interests you-I want to know how TV influences you. I hope I can inspire you and together we can create a vigorous discussion in which we can both develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of this object that is so much intertwined in our daily lives.

References
Butler, J. (2002). Television: Critical Methods and Applications (2nd ed). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Corner, J. (1999). Critical Ideas in Television Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.
O’Donnell, V. (2007). Television Criticism. New York: Sage.
Sillars, M. O. and Gronbeck, B. E. (2001). Communication Criticism: Rhetoric, Social Codes, Cultural Studies. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.