A Love Letter to TV

What TV programs do you remember best from your childhood? I never forgot a crime drama (M-SQUAD) that featured a murderer chasing a little girl in a school. I loved SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE because she got to ride an elephant, have chimp friends, and save people and STAR TREK because it was about exploring the mysteries of space as a team of diverse friends. I remember the Disney movies and how my whole family laughed in delight at nature documentaries. I wondered why SNOW WHITE, in hiding, would be dumb enough to eat an apple from a stranger. I grew up wanting to know the answers to ALL the ultimate questions—not just someone’s opinion, but the facts as they gradually reveal themselves. I loved learning about plate tectonics although my mother said the theory didn’t make sense. Without a natural talent for learning science, I still want to know more.

Television pulled back curtains for me even as it indoctrinated me with male-centric ideas. I resented the programs that tried to convince me that women were there to be exploited. I vaguely remember the lyrics from a Disney song that reminded us that men need a “…woman to cook and wash…and things.” What happened to empowerment and respect? That guy didn’t deserve a smart wife. As TV programming shifted like flotsam on tides between lots of medical shows to cowboy shows to crime shows and back to medical shows, I grew weary of the same plots being recirculated. Murdered women and blood and revenge eventually become ho-hum. I welcomed MASH, THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS, and ALL IN THE FAMILY. I was hungry for programs that could make me think, programs in which the characters weren’t as dumb as Snow White.

With a current love affair with ignorance spreading like evil darkness across the country, I fear for the programs that dare to expect the audience to be thoughtful and diverse. Programs and made-for-TV films are spread out so most people don’t have full access as they once did when there were only three networks. People are coddled and assured that they don’t need too much information, only the perspectives that have been designed for them within news that isn’t necessarily fair. I depend on PBS when I’m not choosing independent movies on Amazon Prime. To begin, the photography on PBS is frequently fabulous, giving the viewer glimpses into corners of life that aren’t easily seen. We’re treated to art, music and theatre that will never come to our towns. I want to squeeze my eyes shut against the controversial programs that reveal the darker sides of humanity exposed by honest history, but I don’t…and afterward I’m always glad I chose to witness the entire spectrum of human behavior—all genders, races, cultures. We can’t grow if we don’t recognize the anti-intellectual quicksand bubbling around us so we can avoid it.

But PBS offers more. Recently my husband and I watched a documentary about how a bridge can be destroyed by a container ship. It reminds us to nudge our officials to make our infrastructure not only convenient and attractive but also safe. We want to be warned about the next pandemic in time to react as wisely as possible. Not everyone wants to know how archeology tells tales of the past, but many of us do. The programs on PBS flatter me that I can understand astronomy and physics—so they explain in terms I can generally follow and include images that challenge my mind to expand. Can I discuss all the concepts intelligently? No, but I haven’t been excluded from them, either. Carl Sagan opened the door to the universe for those who didn’t have scientific backgrounds.

Why would anyone want to destroy PBS or libraries without propaganda agendas where the needs of all ages and walks of life are addressed? Is knowing about global concerns such as rising seas, wars, or horrific droughts so dangerous to those who would create illusions of their own grandeur? Is kindness so threatening? We know the answer. I’ll admit I feel a little disappointed in myself. How can I be this old and know so little? I’m hungry to learn all that wasn’t included in my major studies and I won’t be denied. If PBS disappears, I guarantee I’ll be seeking and sharing information from other outlets. If books disappear in this country, there are other countries. Many fascinating series on PBS come from other countries already. Americans shouldn’t accept being less-than the citizens of other countries. And we won’t.