I watch television a lot but not for the reason you think. I'm not sitting there letting it drive my consciousness like some sort of sheep. Instead, I am studying it because I care about understanding my world and watching major league kickball.
I have been thinking about TV shows and what it is I am actually watching. I think that the point of some shows is to highlight actions, and others highlight characters. I watch doctor shows not to learn medicine or even to watch my heroes save the day, taking some crazy risk or pulling out some unexpected diagnosis, but to see what my hero is like in his downtime.
Is he hurting? Does he mess up? Does he have fears? That's what make people, people. I can more closely relate to this character because of his fallibility -- it validates my own. And does that character persevere? In some way, he continues to wake up and live a life and that gives me hope that I can do something similar, as I am saddled with more limited challenges. That heroic behavior inspires me to be heroic and continue to live.
The (super)hero often becomes super (in attitude, action or something else) because of a human trauma. Maybe MY tragedy can ME better!
When the superhero is a boy scout in his down time then I'm bored. Let me see him stub his toe, or get the wrong order from that Chinese place, or lose his phone. Or job.
TV is the story of the golden glue, not the vase.
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