School Stuff: Watching T.V. in the English Classroom

To all parents out there - what would you do if your child came home from school and said "I have to watch T.V. for my homework" ?

I could see some parents saying "quit joking around and get your homework done." I could also see parents getting upset because their child is watching T.V. for homework instead of reading Shakespeare or The Great Gatsby.

Why not let students watch T.V. for homework? You can analyze T.V. in the same way that you analyze novels, poetry, and other literary forms. They already watch countless hours of T.V. daily, so why shouldn't we show them how to turn a brain numbing segment of their life into an exercise in critical thinking? The world of T.V. and other media forms could be so different for them.

I'm getting pretty excited about learning how to add media into the English classroom; currently I'm developing a lesson plan where the students will watch Gilligan's Island and compare it to Lord of the Flies. For homework they will watch a T.V. show, and fill out a worksheet that asks them to contemplate things like setting and what it accomplishes or doesn't accomplish for plot, stock characters, character development, and how the T.V. show they watched relates to any literature they have read for any English class.