The proliferation of cable TV channels has exalted the myths of TV to a new level. It is impossible to watch almost any channel without seeing pure nonsense in the form of commercials and entertainment. Without conscious effort the viewer is indoctrinated by this constant stream of concepts that have no anchor to reality. First, it is important to understand that I grew up with TV. I watched hours and hours a week, often until end of the Tonight Show. When I was younger, I was outraged by the suggestion made, in the context of a Church meeting, that TV viewing on Sunday was inappropriate. Now in my dotage, I have finally begun to understand the message of the media and I find it wanting.
Myth #1
That life consists of a series of crisis that can all be solved.
Life does not ever resolve. It goes on and on with no real satisfying ending. Although the cast of characters in real life changes slowly over time, the themes, the plots and the stories never end. There are no easy solutions to life's challenges, unlike the TV episodes that would have you believe people never have to shop regularly for food, work all day for a living, ride buses, drive for hours in cars to get anywhere, go through airport security, take regular baths and perform other such bodily maintenance activities and so forth. Even if people die, the rest of us have to go on with our daily routines. TV fails to show this well or at all. No one would really want to watch a real reality show, it would only remind us how real reality really is.
Myth #2
The majority of people look like movie stars.
I started to watch some mindless movie about a huge earthquake in New York. That should have been the giveaway, there has never been a huge earthquake in New York, but I stopped watching when it turned out that all the refugees from the disaster were beautiful people. Now I have been to New York, and the people there look remarkably just like the people anywhere else in the United States and I didn't see one person that looked like a movie star. You know the type, perfect hair, perfect smile, no skin blemishes, no fat, not one paunch in the lot. When TV does show real people they cut away fast so they can get back to the beautiful ones. I believe the number of beautiful people is roughly similar to the percentage of basketball players that make it into the NBA.
Myth #3
All cars are luxuriously manufactured to go fast and smash through things.
If you watch car commercials, the cheapest Ford or GM models are filled with luxury and drive like they could win the gran prix. Every car is shown charging down the empty highway or dashing through traffic at speeds that would usually get the attention of the local police or photo radar. Despite the commercials, all cars made in the world are about the same. The more expensive fast cars are just that, more expensive and fast, not really any better. Cars vary in their size and weight. The only real innovation in automotive design is a figment of the imagination of the ad agencies. If car manufacturers really cared about gas mileage and innovation then more cars would look like and get the gas mileage of a Toyota Prius. Cars are not a luxury, they do not make us happy or rich or popular. They are a huge expense and have a monumental impact on our culture, our environment and our society and that is not all good.
Myth #4
People are not accountable for their actions and any life style is acceptable.
Not only does TV show only beautiful people, they do whatever they want to do without any consequences. Just as in the old movies, all of the people smoked and no one ever got lung cancer, today, nearly all of the TV shows depict people doing immoral, dishonest and wicked things without any consequences. Wickedness never was happiness and depicting evil as good is not acceptable. Everyone will be held accountable for their actions, either in this life or the next. There is no free lunch, every action has a consequence.
Myth #5
No physical possession can make us happy.
TV would have you believe that happiness comes from using the right products or owning the right possessions. None of this is true. Happiness does not come from owning anything. You will not be any happier with a 64 inch flat screen TV than you are today without one. Some of the most unhappy people have the most physical possessions.
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