TV Guidance
“You got a little further than most people who watch television or who enjoy television,” says Daniel Tilles, a producer who’s documenting the group for a program that’s broadcast to France, Switzerland, and Belgium.
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“I don’t think we took it further than anyone else,” says Amy Bugbee, Stocky’s sister. “We’re just willing to admit that television is God. It’s the center of everyone’s living rooms, their kitchens, their bedrooms, their children’s rooms. Most Americans have three televisions in their homes.”
Though many parents are concerned about letting children watch too much TV, televisionists assert that taking children away from TV can be damaging. “We’re not saying people shouldn’t do other things,” says Stocky, the mother of two girls. “Like you should still take your kids to the zoo or go to the woods to hang out. But if you try to keep children away from TV they’ll be outcasts, they won’t fit in.”
Still, the sisters admit television isn’t a perfect paradise. “Newscasters destroy our sanctuary by telling us all the bad news we don’t need to hear,” says Stocky. “Newscasters and talk-show hosts are the devil. The problem with them is they’re bringing us real life. Who wants that?”
