Friday, February 9, 2007

Hooray for #95!

I was on my way home last night when I heard about this, and while my first natural reaction was to think about the baby she just had and how she would grow up without a mother, my second thought was "Holly-freakin-luya, I CAN'T watch TV so I DON'T have to listen to this for the next two weeks non-stop!" Something in my mind tells me that her death is probably just as big, if not a bigger story, than any of her other wild and zany antics.

I will admit to having watched her show when it was on E!, and feeling terrible about myself every time I did so, whatever. She put herself out there for that one. The point I am trying to make, and I admit this will not be coming back around to knitting, is what we value as a society, what we are sold, is crap.

Ironically, I was reading John Irving's book, The Fourth Hand last night (look it up on the list!), and there is almost an entire chapter devoted to a journalist's response to the weekend JFK Jr.'s plane went down into the Atlantic. I don't want to give anything away about the book, but it seemed kind of fitting that the character was concerned about the same things I didn't want to have to see last night - the train wreck that the media makes of what should be private family grief. It was very interesting reading it from his perspective as a journalist and what he thought of the situation. (Good book, by the way.)

I'm just thinking this morning about what sells, and what information gets out there, what we are force-fed while watching TV and the messages that come across our eyes all the time. You may not always be paying attention, but the information is there just the same.

People are always surprised to find out that Fight Club is both my favorite movie, and my favorite book (yes, it was a book first!). They look at all five feet nothing of me, my knitting probably in my hand, a my little dog and my lap, and they say "You like Fight Club?" And I say "Um, yeah, I do." It isn't quite so much about fighting each other with your fists and beating the crap out of one another - that, I think is what our lives are about in general, figuratively speaking. What that story is saying, is I don't want to be a part of this crap-ass culture that puts values on such stupid stuff.

Granted, not everyone is enveloped in the "mass media culture," but enough people are that it makes it difficult not to be. All I know is that I was sad I missed Grey's Anatomy last night, but glad that the only information I had about Anna Nicole Smith dying was the one story I clicked on from MSNBC. I can only imagine the coverage this will get, and I have to ask "Why?" The answer, I think is because it sells, but what is it selling? That is the real question.

All I know is that not being able to turn on the TV has caused me to not want to turn on the TV, and I am super happy about that. It's almost like I have given myself a present, the gift of tuning out. So for that, I say thank you to myself, and invite you to join me in the fun - you probably need a break too. Pick up your knitting or your favorite book, and just spend a night being quiet, and see what you hear. It's kind of nice, trust me.

No comments: