My son tells me of fan sites and message boards for the programs we enjoy, or did enjoy before they were cancelled, of just how wrapped up in and dogmatic about the invention viewers become. Between FRINGE, current and earlier, and Hulu's access to the newest JUSTIFIED, I've been reminded why I generally lean toward fiction. Perhaps more so now as I find myself saying, "I don't know," twenty or more times a day in response to everything. Everything.
My states of unknowingness may likely remain that way; there aren't answers to questions I ask. Is Steven Hawking right and will mankind only survive by colonizing space and is the most remote possibility of that more than 100 years away? Will there ever be anything resembling harmony between our political parties again? Did Congress really pass a bill that allows the government to detain without charges or explanation - and in an undisclosed location - anyone who fits any profile of what may constitute a terrorist? When did a quart of brand-name ice cream start to cost more than $10.00? When did access to a computer begin to equate with the likelihood of becoming a best-selling author? Why are we being told relentlessly that we need coaches for everything from what to wear to, especially, how to promote ourselves and all the things we are supposed to be trying to sell?
In fiction, someone who knows their craft ties up the loose ends. Someone - or in the case of tv, a team of them - knows how things turn out. They reveal to us, an episode or a scene at a time, why or who.
It is not that I need answers to all my questions to feel comfortable. I believe that much of life is intended to be a mystery, but come on. I can tell the difference between an existential unknown and deliberate misdirection, intentional lies. For now, the unsettling FRINGE universes seem less baffling than my own.
14 comments:
"I don't know" is the best and most accurate answer anyone has ever come up with.
Without science and speculative fiction we would never imagine the unknown or unknowable.
I do know that the execs have a tendency to cancel good shows. Years later and I'm still grumbling about Firefly.
These are not the days to be dumb. Oh, perhaps I should take that back. These are certainly the days that dumb things seem to rule and I guess it is better to be dumb. Duh? Huh?
Antares - It is my most honest answer, and the one most frequently expressed. And we, too, are still grumbling about FIREFLY ("I'll be in my bunk."), among others. Apropos of almost nothing, we've finally begun to watch DR. WHO...years of catching up, oh, what a chore. :)
Rubye - It is because dumb things seem to rule - I hope it only seems that way - that dumb has stopped being a choice, if it ever was. Big difference between not knowing and not caring, don't you think? :)
I'd like to think that if we cared, we would try to know. But in reality there is so much nonsense about, such as coaches for how to dress, etc, that it makes it very difficult to pay attention. And then, with the things Congress is doing, it makes it rather scary to ask too many questions.
However, I love the questions you ask here.
Rubye - Thank you. We will never run out of questions. It is the unknowability (I assume that's a real word, and apologize if it isn't) of so many things that creates the void where knowledge once lived - where and how do we find out what's true about the most enormous issues? One asks, but the answers aren't to be found without devoting all our waking hours to the task. I am not a candidate for that assignment.
I'm overwhelmed by what is reported and promoted in the media. It makes me want to run away and hide. Not a very courageous reaction, but I'm tired of pointless fuming, letter-writing and lung-deep moans.
Kass - Overwhelmed, confused and disheartened. We have to choose the actions that keep us sane. xo
:)
Many great lines. They just don't write them like that anymore.
Dr. Who is variable. I quite enjoyed an episode called "blink".
Antares - I will have to pay attention to the titles. Yes, The Doctor is a bit silly a lot of the time, no real sense of peril. For writing that had us shrieking this week, 30 ROCK. So wonderful because it doesn't have to make any sense at all. :)
People are surprised to learn that Skeptics are big fans of the X-Files, Star Trek and other such imaginative fantasies.
Right now, though, my wife and I are Netflixing (is that a word?) "Mad Men". Kind of makes me long for the 1960's... [the good parts, not the bad parts].
Robert - We also Netflix a good amount and are MAD MEN fans. It does not surprise me that the Skeptics enjoy speculative fiction.
There is a love of FRINGE and JUSTIFIED in my household, too!
Kathleen - Glad to know of the shared fandom...I am such a fool for FRINGE and for Mr. Raylan Givens. But my money is always on John Noble...Walter Bishop may be the best character ever on tv. :)
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