Do I Look Stupid?

Written by Georgia Tuesday, 17 November 2009 19:00

Do I look stupid to you? No, really. This is an honest question because I’m starting to think that American television executives think I am. They think I’m stupid and that I have the attention span of a gnat. This is the reason I can’t watch any of the CSI shows, among others. They treat me like I’m an imbecile, hammering me over the head with clues, impossible equipment, and ridiculous quick-flashes of people or things I just saw. “Hey, remember this guy? Don’t forget about him. He’s important!” Um, since the scene he was in was about a minute and a half ago, yeah, I remember him. I got it. I’m not an idiot.

Lately, I find myself scolding the TV when they do that. They’ll show me a quick-flash and I think, “Oh, thank god you showed me yet again where that gun is stashed, since I can’t seem remember where it was when you showed me the first three times. What a relief to not have to think for myself.”

Even some of my more favorite shows are starting to do this. I was watching Medium the other day, a show that I love mainly because of the terrific dialogue between Allison and Joe, easily the most realistic couple on television today. Allison came across a picture of a man who had appeared in her dream the night before and the show’s executives thought it necessary to shoot me a quick flash from that dream. Just in case I’d forgotten. Even though they showed me the dream about five minutes earlier. Because I probably don’t remember. I was so annoyed; I grumbled to the TV screen, “Don’t need that. I’m not an idiot. I saw him.”

The makers of CSI must think I’m a dolt. I can’t watch those shows because the “scientific” methods they use to uncover clues and catch bad guys really stretch my suspension of disbelief, and that takes a lot, trust me. I watched an episode of CSI:NY one day simply because it was on, I was bored, and Melina Kanakaredes is hot. They were trying to catch a murderer whose silhouette in profile had been caught on camera from across the East River. Let me say those words again: silhouette. In profile. From across the East River. They fed this far-away image into their amazing computer banks and ran it through one of their super-duper awesome programs that seems to have the face of every person in the world stored in it. Okay, that’s stretching it, but I am willing to cut them some slack and accept it for the sake of the story. What I can’t accept, though, is that the computer took the profiled silhouette and turned it so it was face-forward. What? A computer can’t do that. And then they matched it to some guy, just like that. Voila! Bad guy caught! Mind you, the silhouette was all dark with no detail at all, but apparently, computers can magically identify anybody in the world just from their darkened profile. I was disgusted that they expected me to swallow such bunk, that they think I’m so stupid that I wouldn’t question the realism. Dear TV Excutives: I am not an idiot. Stop treating me like one. Love, Georgia.

Don’t get me wrong. I get that this is TV, that it’s entertainment and sometimes entertainment stretches the limits of reality. I understand that. But if you want my viewership, if you want me to watch your show regularly so your ratings are high, then show some respect, stop being lazy writers, and don’t treat me like I’m a moron.

What about you guys? Does this stuff annoy the crap out of you, too, or am I alone in my irritation?

 

Comments (4)
  • |02-06-2010 13:58:28 Seahurst  - re: You don't look stupid, but a lot of us do
    Seahurst wrote:
    "...their just going to watch some non actor try to eat raw bulls' balls!"

    By the way...just finished reading Starting from Scratch...thank you.


    LOL I would make a mistake in the use of a word when making a comment to an author!! Their...should be they're.

    Sorry!
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  • |02-06-2010 13:55:07 Seahurst  - You don't look stupid, but a lot of us do
    I think that the repetitiveness and the "dumbing down" of TV viewers has to do with the fact that over the last ten years viewers have proven over and over again that they like being idiots! Reality TV has literally taken over the airwaves, constantly bringing in more viewers than scripted shows. I think what you are seeing is an industry that thinks, "why bother with originality, their just going to watch some non actor try to eat raw bulls' balls!"

    By the way...just finished reading Starting from Scratch...thank you.
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  • |12-02-2009 20:23:34 KT  - TV condescension
    I share your frustration. Answer: I pretty much have given up watching TV. I record programs and then ditch most of them after viewing a few minutes. I get most of my 'downtime' entertainment via the internet where you can self select for quality. This is a vicious circle of course- the fewer discerning viewers there are demanding quality of content, the less will be produced. Advertisers are all too aware of the 'flight' from TV.
    The positive outcome is there is more time to read good fiction. :)
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  • |11-20-2009 22:38:22 Aviva
    You know, Georgia, I totally get where you're coming from, and I've certainly felt extraordinarily annoyed for both reasons you mention: absurdly adept technologies (why have investigators if all we need are computers?) and the repetition of facts (especially on Medium, which I also ADORE, even though some weeks I'm yelling at the TV screen because Allison still hasn't figured out some crucial fact that I figured out twenty minutes ago...).

    All that said, I think television is catering more and more to distracted viewers. Producers and writers know that some people watch TV while simultaneously doing other things (if they're like me, they watch TV while also typing away on their laptops, which is absurd, I know). Sadly, as much as CSI repetitively shows the same people and pieces of evidence, sometimes I still have no idea what's going on because I'm not really watching. So perhaps that's a factor; they don't think you're dumb, just not necessarily paying attention. Then again, ...
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