Being intellectual in front of the television

As a spring semester senior, I find that my study breaks with friends are increasingly less intellectual. Sure, we are mostly willing to talk about our own thesis and perhaps even listen half-interestedly to our best friend talk about hers. But after eight hours of thesis work, what a senior really needs is a study break of truly mind-numbing entertainment. In the grand tradition of American culture, this escape often comes in the form of television.

After two years of awful housing in Butler College, I was finally blessed as a senior at Princeton with a huge room in Laughlin Hall. This room, certainly larger than any tiny apartment I will find to live in next year, often hosts mind-numbing TV study breaks for worn-out seniors. Yet in the hours upon hours of seniors slouched on my couches in front of the TV, I've noticed something strange: even in our search for mind-numbing escape, our TV habits are in fact quite intellectual.

Take, for example, "Project Runway." Television is swamped with a host of awful reality TV shows, most of which require contestants to possess little or no intellectual ability. Yet the only reality TV show to have made it into the everyday Princeton discourse is this innovative show, which documents a competition between aspiring clothing designers. Every contestant on "Project Runway" is an extremely talented designer, and the audience is offered an intriguing glimpse into their creative processes. Instead of ranting about contestants' weight or sexual orientation, like the extremely entertaining Simon Cowell of "American Idol," judges like designer Michael Kors offer a much more intellectual stream of constructive comments.

Another TV show that has a large Princeton following is "Arrested Development." This show is not popular with most American audiences and was taken off of Fox network because of its low ratings. Yet, a quick search on facebook.com shows that 228 Princetonians list it as a favorite TV show. "Arrested Development" is probably the best written and most intelligent show in television; it has been around for less than three years and has already won 21 awards, including a Golden Globe and six Emmys. Students recently replayed entire scenes of dialogue from memory during dinner, and a friend of mine routinely describes her roommates as "so obsessed with 'Arrested Development' that they just can't seem to talk about anything else."

Quite a few other intelligent shows have a broad Princeton fan-base. "The West Wing," a longtime favorite for politics buffs and frustrated Democrats, boasts a large Princeton following with 121 students listing it as a favorite on Facebook. I once watched the show with my parents, both university professors, and they could barely follow the storyline because the dialogue was so filled with political jargon. "Desperate Housewives," an innovative Golden Globe winner that satires American suburban life, is listed as a favorite by 127 Princeton students, and there is even a Facebook group called "Desperate Housewives' is my 5th class."

Princeton students certainly watch a lot of bad TV too. "The OC" Fan Club boasts of 177 members, myself shamefully included. It is nonetheless remarkable that during our mind-numbing TV study breaks, we enthusiastically follow some of the most smart, innovative and best-written shows on television. Even in our least intellectual moments, we are a pretty intellectual campus. Karen Karniol-Tambour is a Wilson School major from Netanya, Israel. She can be reached at karenkt@princeton.edu.