The Purpose of Drama in Television

While this may seem a shallow topic, it is one of immense interest to me. I stumbled across an article published in Salon.com entitled: "I Like to Watch: The unrelenting darkness of "Breaking Bad" makes the homicide detective show "Castle" look like a fairy tale by comparison." The writer, Heather Havrilesky, ponders the reasoning behind two very different kinds of television dramas, AMC's 'Breaking Bad' and ABC's 'Castle'.

Havrilesky argues that, though 'Breaking"' is a gritty serial about drug-kingpins and the negative economy, it is more purposeful than the sugar-coated 'Castle'. She writes that "America has always had a knack for beating back the darkness with a collective, willful suspension of disbelief" and that we as a nation should lessen the veil of overwhelming sweetness and allow the reality to come through. While I see her point, I beg to differ. The American public, though still requiring a reality reminder, deserves - and, I think, is healthy to include - a location of relaxation and escape through the venue of the television. We as humans can cope with a lot, but the break of a sitcom or a fairytale is not something that I think needs to be removed; rather, we should be responsible in utilizing the resources with which we are provided to produce entertainment that will sooth, excite, amuse and edify. We are a diverse people, and are programming should remain as such.

Thank you.

Article link:
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2009/03/08/breaking_bad/index.html