Blue Eyes Designs

In one of those “a-HA” moments that often comes along with a liberal arts education, I had a revelation last night as to one reason why I don’t like watching TV. Earlier in the day I was reading an article for Senior Seminar that sought to define theatre/drama as an art form and gave much weight to the ’suspension of disbelief.’ Later that evening, as I was reading The High Price of Materialism and he mentioned television advertisements, it clicked into place.

I don’t like watching TV because of the ads. It’s more than just the fact that they’re loud and usually stupid. I want my viewing experiences (be it TV, movies, or theatre) to maintain my suspension of disbelief. Television advertisements not only break the flow of the programs containing them, but they often speak to the audience directly. Direct address of the audience makes them extremely-self aware (a fact that advertisers know well and theatre practitioners often forget.) It makes the audience uncomfortable and interferes with return to the imersion state.

I don’t like to be pulled in and out of a story. This is why I like TiVo-ed things. This is why I like movies, and “classical” presentation in theatre. I’m one of those people who works best with an idea when I deal with it first as something remote and unrelated to me. Only when its presentation to me is finished, am I ready to deal with it on a personal level. Now that I think about it, I’ve actually ‘felt’ this before, like a switch being thrown – that “woah” moment when it’s over and it hits me.

I guess this also explains why I sometimes get really bothered by people talking during movies and shows, and why it REALLY pisses me off when someone’s phone rings or something similar during a play or movie.

So I guess it’s not so much the advertisements themselves, so much as the nature of the advertisements. If they weren’t so blaring and direct, I could perhaps handle them a bit better. Similarly, this can explain why I prefer plot-driven, narritive, shows to documentaries, news programs, and their kin. My intention when watching TV is temporary escape and enrichment (if that makes any sense at all.) Let me be, damnit.

There are other reasons that I don’t like TV, that don’t have much to do with my watching it or lack there-of. Some of you may have heard me speil before, but they’re irrelavant here, so I’ll leave that for another time.

Maroon 5 – “Sunday Morning”

Sunday morning, rain is falling
Steal some covers, share some skin
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable
You twist to fit the mold that I am in

But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do
And I would gladly hit the road, get up and go if I knew
That someday it would lead me back to you
That someday it would lead me back to you

That may be all I need
In darkness she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving slow on Sunday morning
And I never want to leave

Fingers trace your every outline
Paint a picture with my hands
Back and forth we sway like branches in a storm
Change the weather, still together when it ends

That may be all I need
In darkness she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving slow on Sunday morning
And I never want to leave

But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do
Sunday morning, rain is falling and I’m calling out to you
Singing someday it’ll bring me back to you
Find a way to bring myself back home to you

And you may not know
That may be all I need
In darkness she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving slow on Sunday morning

This makes me so happy, I can barely contain myself. Spring!

As it’s been stuck in my head all day, I think this warrants “sotd” status as well as classification as a Rumination, as it relates to my changing perceptions and feelings.

Here (in excerpt) Maroon 5’s “The Sun”:

“But I cannot forget
Refuse to regret
So glad I met you
Take my breath away
Make everyday
Worth all of the pain that I have
Gone through
And mama I’ve been cryin’
Cause things ain’t how they used to be
She said the battle is almost won
And we’re only several miles from the sun”

I said it earlier today, and I really mean it: I think this album (Songs about Jane) is one of the best musical investments I’ve made in a while.

There’s a whole net community, self named “Godbloggers,” my only connection to which is through my good friend C. Today he posted a parable that really hits on the faith that I have, and resonates strongly in reflection on contemporary American society. It has more to do with the /works/ of a person than the /words/ of a person. It emphasizes intent. Read, think, respond if you like.