Wednesday, March 6, 2013

television is for winners

I often have conversations about television or movies. And i often run into folks who don't really have time for them or care to "rot their brains".  And that's fine, i guess.  But i just don't agree.

So often i long for a television show to be new, or to be on, or to be created. I love to laugh, gasp, jump, tense up, cry--pretend i'm not crying--, feel anger, sorrow, joy, all the possible human emotions i possibly can.

I love the movies.

I love TV.

And I'm not afraid to say it. In fact, i feel sorry for you suckers who think you're too good for it.  Truly.  Theres so much you are missing.

Theres something so very beautiful about becoming engulfed in a plot.  To be so invested that you don't even realize-- until the main character finally breaks--that you are breaking right along side of them.

How can you not love it?

Honestly, i dare someone to say one thing they do that is better than TV. (and you can't say "read the Bible"--that doesn't count ;) )

And be careful, your answer is going to come under lots of criticism from my TV loving friends.(well, probably not. But i might fight you on it.)

I heard an interview from Judd Apatow (very popular and famous writer and director of some inappropriate movies--funny--but often vulgar.)

I have really enjoyed what i have heard about him.  How he wasn't the coolest kid. How he tried to be a stand up comedian, but found he was better at writing the stuff than actually preforming it.

He talked about how when he was a kid, no matter how bad his day was, when he came home he'd get a tv dinner, warm it up, put it on a tv tray in front of the television and turn on a particular show--and no matter how bad his day, he could always escape and find humor, laughter, joy in that episode. It was an escape from reality. A break from the pressures, the unmet expectations, and the stress.

That stuck with me.

In fact, i agree completely with it.  What a gift it is to be able to watch television.  To escape for just a brief moment. To just be.

Movies. Television.

How i love thee.

Just think about the few times that a movie moved you. That it stuck with you. That it changed you. That it broke you. That it lifted you up. That it reminded you that life isn't as bad as it may seem some days.  That no matter what happens in real life, a moment away, can sometimes calm a storm, can turn the tide, can redirect your priorities--your purpose.

Lets reminisce, shall we?

Remember when:

Ferris jumped on that trampoline and flew over the yard? How the music played and the motion went slow. We rooted for him to beat Mr. Rooney to his door. We waited, our breath held, as he nearly escaped the principal.

or when Allie finally turned to Noah and recognized that it was he, her one and only true love- in 'The Notebook'? Remember how it just hit you int he gut. Guhh, we cried like babies. Babies i tell you!!?  (Oh, don't even pretend you didn't)

When Doc holiday, Wyatt Erp and his brothers walked into that back alley for a gun fight. Remember when the camera panned to each character as they nervously waited, triggers ready, sweaty brow, and nervousness in the air? And then it stopped on Doc and all he had to do was wink--that mischievous little wink--to set the guns a blazin.

Or when Denzel Washington hears the words "Kresey bear" over the phone--in Man on fire. My breath caught in my throat.

Or how about when stinkin Orlando Bloom landed an arrow directly in Brad Pitts Achilles tendon--stopping him in his tracks just as he finally returned to his true love in the movie Troy. Didn't it make us all feel wounded.

When  Liam Neeson says "i have a particular set of skills..." across the phone to his daughters abductor, even we, suddenly, felt safe.

How could we forget when Rudy finally got into the game, its like we all succeeded.

Or when Maria twirled across the hills of Germany belting out  that the hills were alive, with the sound of music, we all smiled right along with her.

Or when Bruce Willis turned out to be the "dead people" that Haley Joel Osmond saw--come on, like, no one called that one.

Lets not forget when Forrest Gump finally gets to Jenny's house and after meeting Jenny's son- Forrest asks, with that Forrest naivety we had all come to love, "He's got a daddy named Forrest, too?"

How about when Johnny Castle told us that "nobody puts baby in a corner".  Every woman swooned and hoped that some day someone would say that to us.

Or when Kevin Bacon fought for the right to dance, we all fought along side him. We were invested. We didn't even know we cared--until they took it away! Suddenly we just had to dance.

What about when Billy Elliot felt so angry that he could do nothing but dance--and dance he did. Slowly we all felt better, just watching.

When Tom Curise told Nicole Kidman that "Joooseph loves Shaaannon and that's ohlll that really mattahs" in his Irish accent -I silently wished to be them in Far and Away.

Or when Ed Harris takes Radio under his wing, who didn't  root for the coach with quiet pride, hopeful that someday we, too, would do that to someone in need.

I don't think there is a single American who can hear Eye of the Tiger play--without envisioning one of the many-- famous-- Rocky training scenes.  "Adriannnnnn!"

Do any of you remember when that little girl from Crash ran to protect her Dad from a raging gun man? Remember how she jumped into his arms with her "magical cape" to protect him-- just as the bad guy pulled the trigger---my heart literally broke.

Come on, when "Frank the Tank" went streaking through the quad--we were all excited to join him.

Or when Ben Affleck calls up his girl after he makes his final heist in 'The Town', only to have to leave her. Guh. (fist in air) Whyyyyyyyy?

And lets not forget when Mel Gibson yells out "Freedom!!!" in Braveheart-- sometimes I think its me he's fighting for.

We all relate to different roles, different eras, different parts, different pasts, different problems, different situations, different joys and different pains.

Its that escape from reality--if only for a brief moment-- that makes it all worth it.

To be totally immersed in a character and to put so much hope into an outcome. It can be consuming. Its can be exhausting. It can catch you by surprise.

And it is so beautiful.

We root for the underdog, whether its the strength of a young colt, the perseverance of an athlete, the leadership of a Gladiator, the strength of a warrior, the innocence of a child, the love of a mother, the heartache of a prisoner, the pain of the injured, the regret of the guilty, the power of a woman, the love of a man, or the bond of a family.

Movies move us. They take us away.

So to say that television is a waste? Or Movies are too long?

To that, i say " Good day sir." Oh, you didn't hear me? "I SAID GOOD DAY!"

So, Enjoy. Engage. Lose yourself. Invest. Be captivated. And just watch....

Because there's just something special there. There always is, sometimes we just have to find it....





                                       










1 comment:

  1. I don't watch much TV, never have. There wasn't much on to watch when I was a kid and I guess it just never caught on for me. That doesn't mean I think I'm better than people who love TV, I'm just different. I'd rather read or play a game. I live with a houseful of TV lovers, which is why I learned to knit. I can sit and be with them, and kind of watch what they are watching, yet have something to do that I enjoy. :-)

    Love your blog and your honesty. <3
    Heidi F

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