Gut-Level Academics

I'm watching a television series with my partner, in this case "SeaQuest," and their third episode involves the finding of the sunken Library of Alexandria. The Academic in me, the one who is an ancient historian with graduate level work in archaeology and folklore, is going nuts as the dive teams are touching, unrolling, and just poorly storing every bloody artifact they find. I'm watching and cringing, making horrified noises, and from time to time yelling at the characters.

Your wet and you take out a scroll, why would that possibly be a problem?

 Of course I know this is just a television show and nothing they are touching or "finding" is real but this is a great example of how difficult it can be to enjoy popular culture when you an "expert".

 I'm sure most of you reading this have training or education or experiences that cause similar reactions when you are watching a TV show, a movie, reading a book, or checking out a play or piece of music even. Usually I can control this gut-level academic reaction so I can enjoy things with my family and friends. 

Today I would like to walk you through the steps I take to try to I enjoy what I'm watching/reading/etc without over-reacting. Let me say that I have a a very different expectation for scholarly or science documentaries about the ancient world than the expectations I have for pop culture or entertainment media.

 I have zero tolerance for misrepresentations of facts for documentaries and educational material but entertainment should first and foremost entertain the target audience and secondarily get the facts right.

 Yes, pop cultural use of history should still be historical, fictionalized events should still be logical and rational, reflecting the best information and playing with the unknown or the data that is debated. I think most mass media historical recreations or forays into the science of archaeology and related fields could be just as entertaining with the correct facts as with pure imagination. You just have to have better writers, better directors, better actors, and higher production values.

If you are on the History Channel or a documentary that is claiming to be fact then you have zero excuse for messing things up.  If you can't do better than a freshman in one of my university classes, you have no business being involved in making this program or show.

 When I'm watching something that is going to have a trigger period or science for me I try to do a few things so I can enjoy it.

 1. Repeat to myself -- it's just TV/movie/book... this can get tiresome depending on how bad the show is.  I find my tolerance is also based on other things going on in my life.

2. Watch with someone who knows nothing -- as they enjoy I hope to get caught up in their feelings.

3. Focus on the actors, costumes, set, etc. -- this works particularly well if the actors are attractive to me or are one of my favorites.

4. Research the show so I am aware of any problems -- this might seem like it would only rile me up more but actually I'm one of those folks who doesn't mind knowing the plot or the ending because I'm more interested in the journey. I find that knowing what is wrong before I start watching/reading/listening helps me ignore it, sort of a "someone else all ready bashed this, I can enjoy it!" feeling. For example before seeing "Troy" starring Brad Pitt you might want to read this review.

5. Remember that I can always turn it off -- unless I need to watch it for a class or because I've been asked to write a review, I don't have to watch it.  In a theater?  I can still walk out.  Have it on DVD?  Return it; this works great with Netflix because I get unlimited rentals each month so who cares if this one sucks.

So there you have it.  Yup, I can enjoy the ancient world in all aspects and still feel like a historian... usually.

Please tell me what you do to enjoy entertainment and still keep your expertise satisfied while you are watching mass media.

Note: The image is from http://blackandgoldreview.com, borrowed simply because I do not have the skills to capture my own stills from something I'm watching.