Why does TV continue to be such a wasteland?

For several stretches in my life, I’ve gone without television. Then, after I returned to the Lower 48 from Alaska in the late 1980s, I decided to get TV after a year or two. I took a class at the local-access station, and I wanted to see the program I produced.

Now, I listen to public radio during the day and watch some cable TV in the evening. The offerings aren’t that great.

Like movies, TV is violence, violence, and more violence.

To write this article, I started watching a new show “Blindspot.” The ads for the show were so phony looking; a Jane Doe with no memory and tattoos all over her body sexily slithering out of a duffle bag in Times Square, one leg first then another. The tattoos are clues to crimes. The show goes on and on, violent episode after violent episode. I’ll be glad when it ends.

As for “Grimm,” I don’t understand why the networks and the Federal Communications Commission allowed the horrifying ads to be shown during hours when kids were watching. Seeing normal people turn into grizzly monsters before your eyes is terrifying. I watched several programs to write this article. They were awful. I also watched the finale to see if there were any redeeming qualities. Nope, none.

In addition, it's difficult to understand why cartoons for kids on TV are allowed to be so violent. Very young children immersed in pro-social and non-violent cartoons after six months are more sociable children, a study showed. The kids left to watch violent cartoons manifest more often early signs of aggression.

Also filled with violence are the popular CSI programs, the law and order programs, and “Castle” to name a few of the violent detective programs.

Reality TV? I don’t like any of the reality programs especially the housewife programs and the Kardashians. I did watch a few of the programs when Kim was married to her first husband to figure out why they got divorced too fast. You could see that they were a mismatch.

Programs I like are “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.,” “The Voice,” and “Chopped.” The baking contests and cake shows also are favorites.

On public TV, I loved “Downton Abby.” My English ancestors come from Yorkshire, the area where the program was filmed. “Victoria” is O.K. I’ve watched “Poldark,” but it got depressing because his cousin so consistently beat him down. I also enjoy “Call the Midwife.” I watch some of the mystery programs because I like to hear the English accents. However, it gets tiring since each program is about murder.

I also enjoy public television specials on the environment, historical programs, cooking shows, and other topics.

I certainly won’t be watching “Rosanne.” I only watched it occasionally when it was on in the past. Now that she’s a Trump supporter, “gag me with a spoon.”

Since I’m a night owl, I watch late-night talk shows. “The Late Night Show With Steve Colbert” is my favorite, and I usually watch “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

I used to watch the Food Channel a lot, but its programming is deteriorating. I liked “Restaurant Impossible,” which helped a lot of restaurant owners improve their businesses, but it isn’t shown anymore. I wasn’t that big of a fan of the Iron Chef programs, but I watched them occasionally. They aren’t offered anymore, either. I like the food truck and next to food network star contests when they run.

I intensely dislike Guy Ferri in “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” It makes a big to-do about vats and vats of unhealthy food all over America. I also don’t care that much for “Guy’s Grocery Games” either.

Then there’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” I got tired of that program quickly. “Throwdown! With Bobby Flay” also became old fast.

I’m not a fan of “Modern Family” or “The Big Bang Theory.” I guess what’s considered a comedy show these days isn’t for me.

I liked “This Is Us” in the beginning, but when they had Kevin get into drugs I thought, “Here’s another series where they take turns torturing each of the characters.”

I watched a few episodes of “Mom,” but got discouraged when an older rerun was shown.

I tried watching “Blue Bloods” and “Psych,” but after a few weeks, they began repeating over and over and over.

But then, how about Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, and others? my daughter asked when I told her I was going to write this article.

I don’t subscribe to any of them because I don’t want to pay more for bad TV. I listen to the stars as they come on the late night programs to talk about the latest series such as how great it is to play a vampire and other violent, junky programs.

"Game of Thrones," one of the most popular program on TV, is extremely violent. My daughter had the books and I read the first one. Then, I scanned a couple more. They were so violent, I just quit.

Other popular programs? "The Walking Dead," “The Vampire Diaries,” and “Prison Break.” I don’t think so.

On a recent awards show, I heard a woman refer to this being the “Golden Age of Television.” Really? If she meant women are now producing and starring in more programs, I don’t think it’s making a difference in terms of better quality or less violent TV programming. “Good Girls,” where three suburban moms rob banks to solve their financial problems, is supposed to be about women’s empowerment. However, it’s about use of violence to get what you want. That’s a terrible message.

It’s worrisome to see my teenage grandchildren watching violent TV programs. One showed a female teenage rapper who was hit in the jaw by her boyfriend and another showed a black teen who had his head shaved because he said he killed someone so he could become a gang member.

It's discouraging, and I don't see any changes in sight.

As early as the 1960s, studies reported that watching violence can make children more aggressive.

The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and National Institute of Mental Health have all linked violent TV and movies with aggressive behavior in some young people.

Watching violence can also leave children fearful or make them less sensitive to real violence and its consequences. It’s estimated that young people see about 10,000 violent acts on television each year, reports the University of Pittsburgh’s “TV and Movie Violence – Why Watching It Is Harmful to Children.”

Comments

[Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond]

I'm finding in increasingly difficult to find anything of value on Television. I agree the level of violence and disrespect seems to know no bounds. My daughter is very careful about how long the TV is on each day and monitors what her son watches.

[Rita]

Hi Sue,

I'm glad that your daughter monitors what her son watches on TV.

I was surprised to read that a pediatrician said parents and the media have given up on trying to do anything about the violent, harmful images that children are continually exposed to. I reviewed the research and the studies overwhelmingly document the harmful effects of violent images have. I'm going to write about this again.

Rita