Assignment 5 - Dani Fauzi

I do watch television, usually by way of Netflix, or the PBS website. Like most of my friends, I watch television to relax after doing homework or some other project--watching TV is a passive, easy way I can absorb new information, especially if it’s a documentary or historical fiction, two of my favored types of programming. I love Call the Midwife, set in post-war Great Britain, AMC’s Turn, set in the Revolutionary War, and the regularly-changed array of Ken Burns documentaries available on Netflix, as well as Art 21, a PBS show that introduces viewers to an exciting new contemporary arts scene in each episode. I also love the X-Files but haven’t seen an episode since March, after it was taken out of Netflix’s selection, since I’m an upstanding citizen and I choose to refrain from watching pirated media.

I dislike shows based on personal drama, but since many drama-based shows are still out there and thriving, it’s obvious that many people do think these shows are a good form of entertainment. Getting lost in drama can be entertaining--anticipating the twists in the story, gasping at an unforeseen breakup. But if dragged on or exaggerated drama series soon lose their luster as they recycling plot arcs or becoming too ridiculous to enjoy.

I don’t think it’s terrible that the winners of Emmys get more of the public’s attention than Nobel Prize winners. The Emmys are awards dealing with works made specifically to entertain the public. It should be expected that the Emmys get more public attention than the Nobel Prizes--the Nobel Prize Ceremony just isn’t made accessible to the public. How can we expect people to want to sift through scientific jargon and data tables, especially if they feel those scientific works are far-removed from their lives? Of course, some Nobel Prize winners are better known than others, usually those whose work has addressed very visible worldwide issues. Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai are two examples of very visible winners; their life’s work dealt with issues of societal inequality, tangible and inspiring to most. But the work of other winners, such as those in economics or physics, are too esoteric to expect our society to pay attention to.