A brief case for television and mediacorp dramas
I'm grateful the new arts central, Okto, has brought in some retro british comedies.
TV isn't a mere source of enjoyment for me. Nor is it a matter of fine appreciation where my senses indulge in well-structured plots and good acting. It is, instead, a type of lifestyle that I like to savour every now and then.
Television introduces a form of consistency in my life. It structures my evenings very nicely, so I know that on Mondays I would be occupied with Mind Your Language and 'Allo 'Allo from 11pm to 12 midnight and on Tuesday nights I would be occupied with The Noose from 10 to 1030pm.
This consistency is made all the more desirable by the fact that the activity of watching the television is a passive and hence disengaged activity. In other words, it is a relaxing activity. Not only that, it is such a disengaged activity that time doesn't seem to past by as surrealisticallyas the way it does when, say, one is engaged in computer games or a movie in the cinema. By its very passive nature, it allows a greater freedom of movement and thought. When I watch a television show I feel free to get myself some snacks and a glass of cold milk. I feel free to let my mind wander and think about the day's happenings or anything in the future. This sort of freedom is unheard of in other activities like reading.
The appeal of television lies in its passivity, and this passivity is given a better flavour when the programme itself is light. I believe the way to watch an arthouse film for the first time is in a cinema and that only, because the cinema constructs an environment which restricts freedom of thought and movement and hence compels you to engage with what is on the screen. Broadcast news is also generally lighter than print news, in terms of content and language. It is for this reason that I would say traditionally-conceived as lousy shows such as those dramas on channel 8 actually have their own appeal apart from and sometimes over finely made dramas like Prison Break.
Those 'idiotic' channel 8 dramas that many youths and young adults like to scoff are thus, I feel, sometimes underappreciated. When I watch mediacorp dramas - which I have been doing on and off since the age of 8 - I enjoy the simplicities of plot and and the poor acting, because those allow me to feel disengaged and relaxed, which is what I am pursuing for in watching television. Watching Prison Break doesn't make me feel relaxed; channel 8 dramas do. The context of Prison Break is a rollercoaster ride; the context of a channel 8 drama is me lying back on the sofa playing with my pillow and thinking about various things while being entertained by comical acting and straightforward plots. Sometimes I want the former; other times I want the latter. Both, however, sell a lifestyle that is relatively relaxing as compared to other activities. (Dramas like Prison Break less so than other dramas, though)
I enjoy the peacefulness of watching TV every night. Imported english dramas, Channel 8 dramas, documentaries (especially those nature ones), reality shows. It allows me to distance myself from both hard work and hard play, and creates a very stable and moderate lifestyle. A balanced lifestyle incorporates both hard work and hard play, but people very often overlook the way of relaxation. That way can be achieved through music, listening to the radio, practicing yoga, or watching tv.
Looking forwad to December, when the weather would be cool and when there would be a light, merry feel in the air. It's a time where people congregrate in groups and I enjoy myself watching them enjoy themselves.
TV isn't a mere source of enjoyment for me. Nor is it a matter of fine appreciation where my senses indulge in well-structured plots and good acting. It is, instead, a type of lifestyle that I like to savour every now and then.
Television introduces a form of consistency in my life. It structures my evenings very nicely, so I know that on Mondays I would be occupied with Mind Your Language and 'Allo 'Allo from 11pm to 12 midnight and on Tuesday nights I would be occupied with The Noose from 10 to 1030pm.
This consistency is made all the more desirable by the fact that the activity of watching the television is a passive and hence disengaged activity. In other words, it is a relaxing activity. Not only that, it is such a disengaged activity that time doesn't seem to past by as surrealisticallyas the way it does when, say, one is engaged in computer games or a movie in the cinema. By its very passive nature, it allows a greater freedom of movement and thought. When I watch a television show I feel free to get myself some snacks and a glass of cold milk. I feel free to let my mind wander and think about the day's happenings or anything in the future. This sort of freedom is unheard of in other activities like reading.
The appeal of television lies in its passivity, and this passivity is given a better flavour when the programme itself is light. I believe the way to watch an arthouse film for the first time is in a cinema and that only, because the cinema constructs an environment which restricts freedom of thought and movement and hence compels you to engage with what is on the screen. Broadcast news is also generally lighter than print news, in terms of content and language. It is for this reason that I would say traditionally-conceived as lousy shows such as those dramas on channel 8 actually have their own appeal apart from and sometimes over finely made dramas like Prison Break.
Those 'idiotic' channel 8 dramas that many youths and young adults like to scoff are thus, I feel, sometimes underappreciated. When I watch mediacorp dramas - which I have been doing on and off since the age of 8 - I enjoy the simplicities of plot and and the poor acting, because those allow me to feel disengaged and relaxed, which is what I am pursuing for in watching television. Watching Prison Break doesn't make me feel relaxed; channel 8 dramas do. The context of Prison Break is a rollercoaster ride; the context of a channel 8 drama is me lying back on the sofa playing with my pillow and thinking about various things while being entertained by comical acting and straightforward plots. Sometimes I want the former; other times I want the latter. Both, however, sell a lifestyle that is relatively relaxing as compared to other activities. (Dramas like Prison Break less so than other dramas, though)
I enjoy the peacefulness of watching TV every night. Imported english dramas, Channel 8 dramas, documentaries (especially those nature ones), reality shows. It allows me to distance myself from both hard work and hard play, and creates a very stable and moderate lifestyle. A balanced lifestyle incorporates both hard work and hard play, but people very often overlook the way of relaxation. That way can be achieved through music, listening to the radio, practicing yoga, or watching tv.
Looking forwad to December, when the weather would be cool and when there would be a light, merry feel in the air. It's a time where people congregrate in groups and I enjoy myself watching them enjoy themselves.
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