I have lost the ability to watch television. Sure, I occasionally flip or watch a specific show, like “South Park,” “The Simpsons” or “Family Guy,” but otherwise it is almost unbearable. I feel the same about most movies as well. Television did not use to bother me as much, but now it seems to become more pandering and deceitful every day.

The reason for the poor quality of our viewing entertainments is the overarching greed that runs the industries in question. Of course, everybody has to make a living, and the workers who are responsible for making visual entertainment are no exception. However, there are at least two major structural problems with the way TV and movies are made, both of which rely on the principle of selfishness to operate.

Firstly, there is a clear disconnect between the overall goals of aesthetic pleasure and producing profits. And secondly, there seems to be no reluctance at all on the part of writers or advertisers to do anything, including blatant lies to the consumer, in an effort to make money.

This sentiment was reinforced last week when I saw the season premiere of “South Park,” which made me feel better because it showed me that I am not alone in my feelings of estrangement from the entertainment industry.

Without giving anything away, they accused a couple of barons of the movie industry of disgustingly using one of our revered fictional movie icons to make yet another terrible sequel. The movie was still successful, because it preyed on the younger generation and included the requisite special effects. But its shameless disregard for plot and storyline marred the memory of a great fictional American hero.

Life is not just a marketing ploy. There is something wonderful inside every single one of us. To forget the intrinsic beauty of life is to leave our humanity behind. Our entertainment is letting us forget what is truly beautiful, and is numbing us to life. If we are not careful, we might end up marketing ourselves to death.