Recently, the ratings for
television showed that American Idol and The Bachelorette among the most-watched
shows. Interestingly,
interest in these programs parallels interest in
politics in our
society.
A viewer can turn on a "reality" show like The
Bachelorette and get
caught up pretty quickly as to what has happened on
recent episodes. The show's simple format appeals to many: one woman
chooses her husband
from among 25 men.
On the other hand, shows such as 24 demand
frequent viewing. In that
program, a man tries to stop a terrorist plot.
Different people come in and out of the camera's focus.
The plot takes unexpected turns. All the
while the clock ticks away in real time, much like a
time bomb.
How do these television shows relate to interest in
politics?
Consider the dispute between the United States and some
of its allies
about whether to use force to disarm Iraq. The
Bush Administration has
made many statements over the past year about a
"regime change" there.
A vote has been held at the United Nations Security
Council on the use
of force. Another vote has been held in the United
States Congress. More votes, speeches and debates and perhaps a war will
occur in the
coming months.
Someone tuning into the speech Secretary of State Colin
Powell made to
the United Nations Security Council might get lost
trying to understand
the claims he made about Iraq hiding weapons of mass
destruction. Like
a viewer watching a show like 24, one must know
about previous
episodes about inspectors, Iraqi scientists, sources of
information,
etc. to understand the current one.
The show 24 has received many critical acclaims,
including several
Screen Actors Guild nominations. But it has not
been as popular as
the "reality" shows.
President Bush, in his recent State of the Union
address, reached 62
million viewers in the United States. This number,
the highest rated political speech since President
Clinton's inaugural address, still paled in comparison
to the Super Bowl (a type of reality show), which
attracted 89 million viewers.
There is no "crash course" for the study of
current events. Each event
links to another and cannot be understood by itself.
But the better informed we become about the events
around us, the better we can understand its not only the
current "episode" but be prepared for what
will happen next.