Tv not always evil

By Drew Lazor
Collegian Editor
April 12, 2006

It’s disingenuous to call yourself a cynic, so I’ll just say that I’m not easily duped: in terms of sappy media offerings, that is. I hold back snickers when I watch Maury Povich fake sympathy towards terminally ill children. Ty Pennington, the host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, is the reason the Lazor family will never, ever go to Sears again. The Notebook made me want to throw down with Ryan Gosling. Half naked. In the rain. But I digress.

Primetime television features more appeal-to-emotion tap dancing than a battered woman’s book club. With our typical channel surfing sessions now tainted with a deluge of misty moments, it’s a wonder TV Guide doesn’t come packaged with tissues.

Although shows claim their intentions are pure, it’s exceedingly clear that it’s all about the ratings. Evidence of this trend recently surfaced on the Internet: several websites got a hold of an internal memo from Extreme Makeover that instructed casting directors to seek out more subjects with physical and mental disabilities. The more pitiful, the better, right?

Despite my absolute disgust for this sort of thing, I must admit that, sometimes, the stuff can really get the best of me. One of my most recent teary transgressions came thanks to a program that isn’t known for cheeseification: SportsCenter. Once in awhile, the patently manly highlight show features human interest pieces that touch upon the emotional aspects of athletic competition.

A few weeks ago, I caught a feature on a nonprofit organization called Surfers Healing. The program, which runs free surf camps for autistic children, was founded by professional surfer Israel Paskowitz, who has an autistic son named Izzy.

Initially, Paskowitz struggled to connect with Izzy, since it’s extremely difficult for autistic kids to express emotion and communicate. After experiencing a breakthrough in the waves, Paskowitz recognized the formative powers of his sport, and the positive change he saw in his son. Now, he helps hundreds of families who struggle with autism.

The SportsCenter feature started by showing children kicking and screaming on the beach, frightened by the enormity of the ocean. Once instructors took them out on the boards, however, the change was immediately recognizable. Kids smiled, laughed and cheered with joy. Many parents watching from the sand cried, and said it was the first they had ever seen their children smile.

I’m not going to lie: about three minutes in, I freaking lost it. My eyes welled up like Lori Loughlin in a Lifetime movie. I’m not sure what it was. Maybe it was the selflessness of Paskowitz. Maybe it was the sheer happiness of the parents when they realized that something so simple can have such an incredible influence over a damning disorder. Maybe I was just feeling kinda wistful that day.

Regardless, it renewed my faith in the fact that once in awhile, TV can be sincere. For every forced hug and crocodile tear, there’s a guy like Paskowitz, whose dedication is genuinely inspiring.

Even though jerks like Pennington and Povich will continue to martyr themselves by exploiting the personal tragedies of the less fortunate, rest assured that true heroes are out there. You just have to know where to look.

lazora1@lasalle.edu