The Myth of “Smart” Television Channels

by Carlos L. Diaz

I am surprised by the fact that some television channels are still considered to be generators of “smart” content. Some of the confusion stems from the history these networks have. Networks such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), and History had the noble idea of educating their viewers. It is hard to find any educational value in the programs these channels broadcast today. A few days ago, Discovery Channel had its biggest day of the year with the start of Shark Week. I have been fond of such week in the past. What I considered most worthy about the programs was how they dispelled myths about sharks, raised awareness about the creatures’ present challenges and the ramifications posed to the rest of the planet if they become extinct.

My dissatisfaction began last August after the programming of Shark Week when the network rebroadcast a documentary about mermaids. I don’t mind an explanation of the history and symbolism of mythological creatures, but I find claims about the existence of such creatures and the government’s efforts to suppress the evidence and eradicate these magical hybrid organisms intellectually offensive. This fake documentary, or mockumentary, lasted two hours and made extraordinary claims  about the existence of mermaids. I was equally disappointed when Discovery Channel decided to open this year’s Shark Week with a similarly outrageous mockumentary about the existence of megalodon sharks in today’s oceans. The megalodon was an aggressive prehistoric shark that measured up to 50 feet in length and became extinct about 2 million years ago. Anyone who watched Discovery Channel five years ago would know these basic facts and ignore this year’s premier. Discovery used to have an educational mission. Unfortunately, that mission ended when reality television escaped the walls of MTV and became the norm in American television.

Today, a viewer hungry for knowledge about other cultures might turn to the Travel Channel and find instead a group of people hunting imaginary beings in dark abandoned buildings (Ghost Adventures). The same can happen to someone who wants to learn about History but thinks that it might be easier to watch a one hour television show than read a five-hundred page book, this person can tune to a channel called History and be confronted by Ancient Aliens, a show based on conspiracy theories about the influence of aliens in our planet’s history. If you are interested in the pursuit of learning you might be wooed by The Learning Channel, after doing this you will wonder: “what did I learn from infant beauty queens in Toddlers and Tiaras?” A student who is interested in animals may watch Animal Planet to become enlightened in the subject, but the program she encounters could be about the secretive,violent beings whose actual existence has not scientific support (Finding Big Foot or Mermaids).

These shows are distasteful because they are thrown at a public that is already poorly educated. A fifth grade student who watches a documentary about megalodon sharks roaming the seas around South Africa today probably won’t go to the library the next day to learn more about the different living and extinct shark species. If pseudo-science keeps being mass-marketed as truth, the ones who will suffer most are young children who will grow up accepting these extremely crafted theories that are nothing more than fantasies aimed at the maximization of broadcaster profits.