Chewing Gum for the Mind: Dr. Larry Burriss on Why We Should Bring Back Mindless Entertainment

OLD ENTERTAINMENT
07/27/2026

Publishers Note: Dr. Larry Burriss was one of my favorite MTSU professors. His course Free Expression is the class that inspired me to complete a second degree in media communications.

At Middle Tennessee State University, the study of Free Expression focuses on the constitutional, legal, and ethical foundations of open discourse. Courses examine the First Amendment’s five core freedoms—speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition—alongside landmark court cases, defining the boundaries between protected expression and unprotected speech in modern media.

Having personally experienced and witnessed fake news, false narratives, and agenda setting at work in today’s mainstream media, I’ve learned I’m not alone—all too often, major outlets prioritize profit and sensationalism to push clickbait and chase views, behaving much like today’s social influencers. This study of free expression is crucial because First Amendment rights rely on each generation to understand and defend them. By exploring the “marketplace of ideas,” students learn how open debate holds power accountable, restores integrity to the watchdog role of the press, and secures the basic freedoms necessary for true self-governance.

It was extremely ironic when I did a radio show live form the Tennessee State Capitol south porch. The topic was about today’s mainstream media, ‘fake news’ and ‘agenda setting theory’ when it strangely manifested itself live on the show. The ‘spin’ by the Tennessean and NPR was so blatant it became laughable. I will try to add the WGNS clip so you can hear it for yourself.
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By Dr. Larry Burriss

It’s time for a little stroll down amnesia, or perhaps that should be “nostalgia” lane.
I was watching an old episode of “The Man from Uncle” the other day with my granddaughters, and they were almost rolling on the floor laughing so hard about the unreality of the plot, characters and dialog.
In one particular scene, the hero had been captured and put on a small, two-engine plane in England. In the next scene, the plane was flying over the Amazon basin, having made the flight from Europe non-stop.

Now, I can remember watching “The Man from Uncle” when I was just a kid, and I don’t remember ever dissecting the program to analyze the reality, or unreality, of what was going on.
But you know, I think perhaps we’ve lost something in our super-sophisticated, computer-generated, special effected television programs and movies.
Just for fun, I watched the movie “Rodan” a few weeks ago. And that flying reptile really did look like a paper-mache pterodactyl. And I had to chuckle as I watched him sweep away a formation of what were obviously model tanks.

But back when I first saw “Rodan,” I knew it looked fake, but I, and my friends, didn’t care. We were watching the movie for fun, not for social commentary, political awareness or interpersonal growth. It was simply mindless entertainment. Chewing gum for the mind. And it was great.

About a year after the first “Star Wars” movie came out, I was in a bookstore, and there was a rack full of books proving “Star Wars” promoted Christian values. And right beside it was a rack full of books proving “Star Wars” was satanic. Personally I thought “Star Wars,” which by that time I had seen in theaters some 30 times, was simply a movie that provided a good story and great special effects.

Sometimes I think we take ourselves, and out entertainment, too seriously. So lighten up. Don’t worry about how Doc Savage manages to dodge all those bullets, just enjoy the movie. And maybe we can recapture some of the magic of simpler times and places.
I’m Larry Burriss