I’m not a big proponent of TV. I don’t own one. I believe that the majority of programming drains our energy, intelligence and soul. That being said, I am a huge fan of those few amazing movies and TV programs. One of my past beliefs was that movies constituted an unproductive use of time, recently though I have realized that, when viewed from a highly conscious state, they can be a powerful source of inspiration, motivation and ideas.

Last night I finished viewing the final episode of “The Shield.” For those not familiar with the show, it is an Emmy winning drama on FX f(an american network) revolving around a group of highly effective, immensely corrupt problem solving cops ( More plot information). In this article I’m going to break down some lessons I learnt watching the show over the years. The purpose of this article is not to convey some amazing life lessons learnt from the show, but rather to illustrate how one can enjoy their favourite shows while at the same time expanding the mind and taking some lessons away. Remember when you were younger, all the stories you read had a moral and a purpose.

I learnt how to deal with stress from Vic Mackey. The situations this guy would get himself into were incredible. You don’t know stress until you’ve watched this show. Being attacked from all angles (various street gangs, internal affairs and his own Captain) Vic would always go on the attack and find a solution. The lesson here is that there is always a way out if you step up and never back down.

Of course, never giving up was also Vic’s major downfall because he lived in an unjust, immoral framework revolving around his own survival. In other words he would murder, steal and lie to keep himself and his team going strong. The lesson here is that you must always live within a set of rules you can live with, otherwise it is a very slippery slope that never ends.

There are many other lessons to learn from the show, as I said my point here isn’t to write about the show or break down all the lessons but rather to illustrate the educational power of even TV when you watch it in a highly conscious state. Perhaps next time you’re watching Entourage take note of how Vince treats his friends or Ari does business and see what you can learn.

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Dan Johnston.