"Turn off the TV and read a book."

This sort of sentiment is a popular one among lovers of books. There is a lingering opinion in our contemporary world that classic literature, that stories written down on a page, are somehow more important, more academic, and more worthy of our attention. However, I disagree. I know this is probably shocking coming from a literature blog, but I’m sure you will understand my pedagogy sooner rather than later as IBIS is updated with even more posts.

Literature comes in many forms. I don’t believe that television should be brushed off as “lower culture.” What most people don’t seem to understand is that just as much work goes into writing a television script that goes into writing a novel. Script writers work hard. Show creators work even harder. The characters in a TV show have just as much history as the ones in your favourite book. The only difference is that they come alive before your very eyes. Sure, watching an episode of a primetime TV show doesn’t require as much imagination from the viewer/reader, but the content is original and the stories are important.

We worry about future generations, about how we can possibly instill good morals and values in the mindset of youth, when literacy rates are steadily decreasing and any interest towards reading a physical book is faltering. Please remember: We can learn from other mediums. Stories are stories no matter how they are told. We need to embrace the talents of others and appreciate the stories that they are willing to share – no matter how it is they decide to share them.

This rant is not meant to take away any value of physical books or “literature” in its classical understanding – I read books every day and I hope that you do as well. However, I do wish people would take television a little more seriously and start to appreciate the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. So little attention is given to the people that create popular culture.

When it comes down to it, a show like Dexter or Mad Men can tell just as intricate a story as Charles Dickens ever could. Some of the most recognizable fictional characters of our generation were given to us through television – and there’s a reason for this. Scripted television has reached a new level, establishing its own sort of canonical “classics,” and has set new levels that future stories, from any medium, will have to reach in order to tell as passionate of tales.