I appreciate this might not seem like the correct thread however I feel it is as it demonstrates quite how fantastic the combination of television, passion, and dedication can be in comparison to the cheap, nasty, churned out, manipulation that is the X-Factor and many many show like it.
I am not sure if serendipity is the right word for it but tonight I,as someone who watches very little television, stumbled upon the first episode of David Attenborough's latest nature program (called 'Life'). Apparently it took three years to make and that dedication, that determination to present something stunning, that love for what you can discover over what you can earn was evident in every second of the show.
That is what television can deliver given the right people but, more importantly, given a society that is brought up to be interested rather than brought up to simply get by.
I appreciate this sounds a tad melodramatic but, for me, there is a root cause why shows like the X-Factor, Celebrity Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity, blah blah blah blah (you know all the ones) put bums on seats in such repulsive numbers. Capitalism is such a norm now that it is no longer considered an option, we live entirely to satisfy our own needs and we care so little for what exists all around us that everything around us has dumbed down to the extent that we are being told,and largely accept, what we should enjoy on television.
Every media form demonstrates it. X-Factor gets millions tuned in. Dan Brown sells 10 times the number of books as an author of genuine ability. A Hollywood blockbuster rakes in hundreds of millions because it has guns, tits and a few smart arse lines of a quality that I think we surpass on here on a daily basis.
So why do we accept the quick fix? I don't believe for a second that anyone thinks Dan Brown is a great author or Vin Diesel makes films that will stay with us for years to come - have our lives become so vacant that we seek short blunt fixes to escape from it for just an evening before we return to where we came?