Man I hope not but maybe we can tell a lot about ourselves by our choice of television programming if we think about it. Why are we interested in the programming we like? Let’s take each of my family members…barring my oldest son because I really no longer know his viewing habits and I suspect they lean towards sports. They always did. ANY sport, as long as it was a sport. Football, baseball, soccer, Texas hold em…tiddly winks…as long as there is no human emotional factor, its competitive and there is a clear winner and a clear loser.
Now let’s take me. I’ll go first. I don’t understand me at all. First, let me say that my TV viewing is extremely limited and usually someone else is choosing what we watch and I just kind of sit down WHEN I sit down. That or I’m in the kitchen cleaning it or cooking and so since my TV is THE tv in that area of the house, it has to be on a kid friendly show because my son hangs out with me most of the time. I watch a lot of animated children’s programming now a days. Let’s say I choose though. Before I got this family, I used to watch biographies, or what I called crazy B@$& movies. A drama where a woman went crazy or a guy did, and how the good guy or gal prevailed. Sine I was widowed maybe at that time in my life I was looking for examples of people who overcame adversity? I got into John Edward for a while, speaking to spirits of those who have passed..that’s an obvious one. I mixed that with I’d call an obsession with law and order. All of the versions, any of the versions. Was I looking for justice? Wrongs being righted? I began to watch American idol. Someone rising from nothing and being discovered….hmmm. I meet my husband and the kids and introduced them to Idol and Law and order and they too got hooked. Then I landed on I Survived. Have you seen that? People who make it through horrible things. Again, interesting. I become a Step Mom and I start to become interested in Snapped. As I write this, now that’s funny! Men and women who just get to a point where they snap! Then I became interested n Millionaire match maker. Ok that’s random. Real Housewives of New York City and Jersey. Bs and thugs, I don’t know. I get onto Gene Simmons Family Jewels… I like him, i think she’s a saint in many ways, but she’s a mama who kept her family afloat in spite of his behaviors. Hmmmm. Then we move, go through stuff, have sales, de clutter and what’d I find? Hoarders! My late husband was one of those, bless him…so I get that. Also though, I am interested in what leads people to just give up,and give in. And they get better usually. We’re all into Criminal minds. The twisted human condition and the minds who unravel it all and put the bad guys away. We all like Big Bang. That’s a funny show, who doesn’t? And with my new life….my new husband, kids and my baby…now I like Storage wars. They go through a lot of junk, but come out with a prize. Again interesting. I like Dance Moms. Talented people and the family issues that get in their way. That’s my viewing history these last few years, in a nut shell. NOw who am I would you say?
My husband. Sports. Competition. College sports, loyalty. He likes storage wars now. Finding a prize in the course of the ordinary. Hmmmm. He likes CSI. Dead person, figure it out. Convict. I think he likes the figure it out part amd the linear simplicity. And they catch the bad guy, they always catch the bad guy. He likes old sit coms….Friends, Will and Grace, Frasier, and Cheers, Mash even…loves them, who doesn’t? I think he’s trying to lighten up maybe. He needs to. He likes the mentalist. A good guy, sort of misunderstood…who un ravels the mysteries of life, but again gets to the bottom of the problem and catches bad guys. He liked Lost…weird show. Action movies…any action movie. He is a guy after all.
Our youngest. Easy. Mickey, Octonauts, Ozo, Dr. McStuffins, Sophia The First, Paw Patrol and a host of animated movies, if it’s musical, about cars, robots, fairies, animals…he’s all about it. Lately its Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and anything Super Hero, Disney Disney Disney….When he was a baby, he’d fall down and he’d always pop up and say I’m ok! We always wondered why, then realized, Goofy says that every time he prat falls! My son is goofy! That fits! If you knew me.
The girls. Let’s see. First of all, they both still watch Disney channel ad naseum and they are 18 years old. I do wonder If Disney sends subliminal,messages but I can’t prove it. They got some hook those people. Absolute marketing genius. And staying power like no one’s business. I don’t know what Disney is about, all I know is it works. He should be extremely proud of his legacy. Good lord millions of children are educated and socialized through this machine. It’s amazing, Even I watch his animated stuff.Ok now, miss Harlequin romance. Watches love stories over and over and over and over and over…..also likes CSI and sports, but I think ,it’s to bond with Dad. Watches Dance moms. Mean girls. Been the victim I think. Loves to hate them. Likes idol. Sides with the underdog. Criminal minds. Why people do the things they do? And mush mush mush. Scary movies so she can cling to her man! She’s pretty easy to figure out,
Other daughter. Dallas cowboy cheerleaders, Pretty Little Liars, Dance moms, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Sponge Bob…doesn’t like most dramas, doesn’t like scientific, doesn’t like mysteries, doesn’t like educational, likes girly… toddlers and tiaras. All fluff, fantasy, cotton candy, pink, no cerebral what so ever. Hmm. Either who she really is or Dear Lord I hope, an escape from who she really is, let’s hope the later.
Lessons learned
So take a look at your own viewing habits and those of your family. Am I right? Is it where we are? What we identify with at the time? What we fear? What we don’t want to become? How we see the world around us? How we see each other? I don’t know.
Maybe we could understand each other better if we watched each others programs?
Is this the virtual us? Dang…
Come to think about it, maybe we just watch way too much tv, anyway….food for thought!
TV program choices,..what do they say about us?
Christy
Good StepMom
