TV has for long been a favorite object of criticism among the "educated" circles. Regrettably, it has been called the "idiot box," besides other unspeakable phrases. TV watchers have been disparagingly referred to as couch potatoes. It is time that TV is recognized for what it is--a true social catalyst, something that brings together people like nothing else.
Personally, I find the TV room to be the most social place in the house. The kitchen does come a close second; but it is more often than not a place where people hurriedly prepare their meals before rushing to the TV room to catch the latest words of Bill O'Reilly or yet another Bears loss.
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to R: Anand Ranganathan, India Moussa Kone, Côte d'Ivoire Felix Autenrieth, Germany |
Lately, there has been a spike in the activity seen around the grand piano with one willing resident teaching large sections of the public to play an anonymous tune. However, such sporadic surges in activity in other rooms are still negligible compared to the heavy continuous activity around the TV.
The Cosmo TV is one of the most overworked devices in the house--it gives viewing pleasure ranging from the early morning Today Show and Fox News to early afternoon Ally McBeal and MASH to late afternoon SpongeBob Squarepants and Jeopardy to early evening Simpsons and King Of The Hill to primetime ER and CSI to the early night Blind Date and 5th Wheel to the late night Jay Leno and assorted movies.
There is something about TV. Nothing binds a group of guys tighter than watching a few shows of Elimidate or Shipmates together. Nothing binds people tighter than a common loathing of the partisanship and poor reporting of Fox News. Nothing forces people to talk to each more than having to fight for their favorite channel.
In fact, when the TV conked out once, in the midst of a football game, everybody was close to depression. The only thing that saved the day was the fact that one of the residents mentioned that she had a small spare TV in her room. I'm sure that never in the long and rich history of the Cosmo Club have so many people owed so much to so few (three cheers to the girl with the spare TV).
The TV continues to endure and fascinate. And there are many hidden treasures buried under the morass of the brain-dead standard programming fare. Does the general public know that Channel 7 is a great source of foreign language programming? A nice way to keep in touch with your French, as one resident will readily attest. Does the general public know that Channel 9 frequently plays some good classical music symphonies and operas with some rather vivid and captivating imagery. A great way to lose yourself in the middle of the afternoon.
Now, with the advent of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the importance and attraction of the TV can only grow. I'm looking forward to many more hours of lounging around in the couches in front of the TV losing myself in many more clichéd programs interspersed with the odd brilliant one.
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| Resident Hannah Lee in the Cosmo TV room |