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• Cogito Homo: T.V. Gone Mad

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My little sister sent me a text last week complaining of my mom's recent comments to her. According to my sister, my mom had made a few harsh judgments regarding a Hispanic man in a nice car. Apparently, my mom immediately assumed that he was here illegally and got the car by saving up money, since there was no way that he, an illegal immigrant, had credit. Needless to say, my sister was really upset and asked me if our mom had always been this way. It was not until now that I realized that the answer I gave my little sister could probably apply to a lot of other judgmental individuals out there.

I told her that our mother is not an idiot nor is she a malicious person. She means well and will go out of her way to help those she loves. However, she, like many people in the world, has gotten to a point where she does not question the things she sees in the media. My mom watches more television than I recall her ever doing so in the past. Unfortunately, she mostly watches the Lifetime channel and the news. I say unfortunately because these two channels transform her slightly judgmental worldview into a completely judgmental. I am not saying that television is the root of all evil, nor am I implying that every audience member is a part of a brainless audience. I am, however, stating the obvious by saying that T.V. definitely reinforces stereotypes that many Americans already hold.

This whole situation reminds me of a comment that my Media Studies professor made this semester. According to the professor, any media portrayal is better than no portrayal. I am still on the fence as to whether I agree with that statement or not. People have historically been terrified by what they do not understand, so I can see how "normal people" might be terrified of queer people. That being said, I am not sure if the mainstream media's one-dimensional, laughable portrayals of queer people help create more understanding. I suppose they do a great job at remind people that we exist, but our media existence is so attached to humor that it makes us seem unemotional, therefore, leaving even more room to hate us.

For example, a "hilariously" flamboyant and extremely flirtatious gay man walks into a sitcom bar and delivers witty one-liners to those who seem angry about his sexuality. The End. The topic may never be brought up again. A person watching this might laugh at the character but never fully grasp the death threats that real gay people face. Perhaps I am expecting too much out of television as well as not giving it as much credit as it deserves. But my inability to "turn off" my brain long enough to sit back and enjoy a simple show is the exact reason why I don't watch television.