Television certainly has an undeserved reputation for being the tool of the masses. Not only is it elitist and snobby to proclaim, “Oh I don’t watch television,” when asked about a favorite show at a party, it’s simply a lie. The ratings aren’t fake, so it’s impossible that when millions upon millions of people tune in to watch a season finale, there isn’t a smart one in the bunch.

But even more than that, most people who act like their high definition television is more of a decoration than a part of daily life can easily be prodded to admit that they like whatever the latest accepted cerebral programming is. Whether it’s the sleeper hit of the HBO season or something like “Mad Men,” there’s always something on that snobbier people begrudgingly admit to liking.

It doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a whole world of television for smart people, and it’s possible to spend an afternoon with satellite TV and not see a single show that would slow your mind down. The old reputation that TV is merely the boob tube is truly a thing of the past, and even programmers are reaching out to attempt to placate those viewers who keep television as their dirty secret.

For starters, channels like History and Discovery have grown by leaps and bounds, with numbers of offshoot channels devoted to single topics like science or World War II. It’s possible to watch extensive, multi-part documentaries based on best-selling non-fiction books that deal with theories about how societies grew. It might not be the same as a law degree, but a great deal of the programming on The History Channel looks at famous court cases and presents them in a way that part of your homework at law school might actually be to watch something on television and also read a book.

So the days of pretending that there’s nothing important or worth merit on satellite TV are long gone, and it’s just up to people to admit it. But even more than simple television programming, there’s an entire world of obscure cinema out there that’s only accessible through your HD TV. For example, a number of the independent film channels, like Sundance and IFC, offer one-time-only showings of up-and-coming director’s films, that would be impossible to see anywhere else. It’s possible to live in the middle of nowhere now and have a high cultural IQ only because of satellite TV and the internet.

No one is doing more for television and film than HBO, who has crews at all of the major and minor film festivals alike, scouting for great works that aren’t going to make it to big distribution. HBO then collects them and showcases them as part of its documentary series. Whether it’s a footnote in the programming or not, it’s one of the only ways for people who aren’t on the film festival circuit to see some of the best documentaries of today/

So the next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone huffs or sneers when television is brought up, just start talking about an incredible documentary you saw. Watch their eyes light up and draw them into the conversation. When you finally conclude your description and they eagerly ask, “Where’s that playing?” then you can happily tell them the truth: on their satellite TV, of course.

By: John R Harrison

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