Over at The New Statesman, David Koepsell makes one good point about popular culture in a piece on television and the Internet. “I regard it as a terrible mistake,” he writes, “to disdain or elevate some part of our current culture above another. There are gems at nearly every level, and sure, there’s lots of dregs.”

Mostly agreed. The lowbrow-highbrow divide is unhelpful and there are both gems and “dregs” at “nearly every level.” But some subgenres in certain media are inherently less valuable. Pornography is one example.

The rest of the piece—a defense of “binging” on popular culture—is full of that popular culture giddiness and slapdash philosophizing that was ubiquitous following the series finale of Breaking Bad.

“Can we become responsible consumers of popular culture, acknowledge its value, and benefit from this emerging new form of entertainment consumption: the binge,” Koespell asks. (His answer: “I believe we can.”) To which I respond: What is a “responsible consumer” and why should I care about being one? (And is binging a still “emerging new form of entertainment consumption”?)

But first, back to “the canon”:

It is likely, as in every age, that the vast majority of our popular culture, much of which now comes to us in our living rooms through television, will be forgotten. It will not become part of any canon for serious study in the future, nor will it affect broader culture in any lasting way. But there are surely exceptions. Some will. Some have…But Star Trek is now part of the canon. Spock and Kirk are as familiar as, or more so than, many historical heroes. Everyone everywhere now understands what you mean when you say “beam me up” or suggest moving at warp speed. And this is the most hopeful point. The pop-cultural canon is no longer “western”. Spock and Kirk are known in Asia, and Godzilla and Pokémon are known in Kirk’s home state of Iowa. Popular culture now moves effortlessly across borders, suffusing us with icons and vocabularies that are now common everywhere. This is a great thing. It is a New Canon.

I am starting to notice a pattern in these kinds of pieces. First, begin with a couple of universally accepted banalities (“the canon” is flexible and few cultural artifacts will prove to be of lasting value.)  Second, ignore those universally accepted banalities and assert your argument (Star Trek is part of the “New Canon”  because everyone knows what you mean when you say “beam me up”). Third, sprinkle in a few fancy sounding metaphors (“suffusing us with icons”) and a bit of jargon (moving “effortlessly across borders”).  And wrap it up with a bit of fashionable moralism: the “pop-cultural canon is no longer ‘western’” (except it is) and that is so “hopeful.” Crank up the music, cue the altar call:

The internet is the medium for our entertainment salvation. Looming as a spectre to the media empires of America’s left coast, it promises to break down the final barriers to the great liberator that popular culture can be, if we let it.

World peace and a united humanity via Arrested Development and Breaking Bad! You know life really is simpler when you watch a bunch of television.

What is the real effect of television and the Internet both on the quality of culture and human relations? It’s more of a mixed bag, I’d say. While the larger audience (and revenue) made possible by film and television have led to some pretty amazing shows over the years, there are ten Honey Boo Boos for every Breaking Bad or Foyle’s War.

Cable, satellite television and the Internet have also had a mostly negative effect on local cultures, replacing local traditions and making the need to experience the community of art directly (say, by going to a musical performance or even a film at the theatre) superfluous. Sure there is some community building via a shared television vocabulary with certain individuals. But while watching tons of television may mean that a person who travels from The Netherlands to Mexico regularly can, through a few T.V. references, create a superficial connection with his students, for most people watching more television simply means staying home more.

And that’s O.K. to an extent. No need to save the world to justify watching a few episodes of your favorite T.V. series over the holidays.