Why isn't reality more like tv?

[KittyWampus]

-shooting out tires is easy as flicking lint of your shirt (see any cop show)
-torture works (see 24 episodes)
-young 20-somethings living in cities have great apartments/clothing (see Friends)

this list is endless.

Feel free to add.

And I do think mass media, popular culture can influence our collective consciousness and our individual perceptions.

Sometimes in seemingly negative ways, sometimes in positive.

[CJCRANE]

1. You don't need to drive around looking for a parking space.

You just pull up outside the place you want to go. And there's no need to lock your car doors.

ETA: this is obviously an example of a movie trope that we know isn't true.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Everybody is middleclass, the rich are superheros that spend money to protect the little guy,

the poor are mean comedic clowns that just don't get the concept of "work ethic."

Anybody, simply by working hard, can get rich.

Mass Media has two jobs. The second is to sell an idealized version of the world. The first is to sell unnecessary products to the poor and middle class so that money can be reapportioned to the wealthy.

[oberliner]

3. Wasn't Jennifer Aniston's character supposed to be really wealthy?

I thought that was why her place was so nice.

[Egalitarian Thug]

4. TV is why reality is as bad as it is. America has chosen to pretend that a fantasy world

is preferable to reality. It's why we don't read, lack comprehension and language skills, and believe anything no matter how silly, stupid, or bizarre that comes out of the magic box.

[KittyWampus]

5. other countries have similar junk on their tv, don't they?