Morgan Marcotte
Matt Stanley

Watching TV Makes You Smarter

Although watching television can be undeniably enjoyable, it can also have intellectual benefits for people who tune in daily. Johnson claims that television in the twenty-first century has become complex through popular demand and watching television develops the mind in various ways. He describes what he calls the “Sleeper Curve,” which comes from viewers wanting more and more complicated plotlines in the shows they watch. In Dana Stevens’ article, Thinking Outside the Idiot Box, she claims that shows such as 24 have complicated plotlines whose purpose is not to get the reader involved but to make them come back next week, and that no intellectual value is involved. Johnson, however, would claim that these complicated plotlines are actually beneficial. They involve the viewer to “work” for the answer to questions throughout the plot; when they figure out a complicated situation in a show such as 24, they in turn feel clever and intelligent.
Johnson also points out that shows and movies can convey a subliminal message to the viewer. For example, the movie The Day After Tomorrow shows that society today is making headway towards another ice age, and basically gives a warning to the viewer. Johnson might agree with Douglas Rushkoff when he says that shows such as the Simpsons are helpful because they make complicated moral dilemmas more simplified so that the average person can understand them better.
Television overall enlightens the general public by providing entertainment through which they are able to learn more about the world and also able to improve cognitive abilities.