Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship
I consume TV completely differently to the way I consume chocolate.
This might be a product of living alone but when I rip into a block of chocolate or a bag of pastilles, I will continue eating until it is gone, as if it never existed in the first place. I try not to but my will power is awful. I’ll even leave the tasty snack in the fridge to deter me from eating so quickly but it turns out my feet are very good at walking me back to the scene of the crime. Once the snack is gone, I feel a mixture of relief that it is over and buzzed by the sugar rush that takes me late into the night.
When it comes to TV shows that I love, I treat it quite differently. I have no interest in binging a season of my favourite show because it’s a shallow experience for me. When people told me they watched a whole season of a TV show in one weekend, it says to me they were more interested in the achievement than the experience. It is more about crossing off another show from your checklist than engaging with the story that is unfolding before you.
I’m not judging you if that is your preferred mode of viewing. Well, that’s a lie. I’m judging you a little. I think it is an insane way to enjoy quality TV. Binging lesser shows makes more sense but even then, if I’m binging it, then why am I watching it when there is so much quality out there to engage with? I know I’m in the minority here, but when I love an episode of my favourite show, I want to think about it. I want to theorise where the story might go. I want to dig into the tale and find what made it tick. I want to sit with it and maybe watch it again just to see if another aspect of the narrative is unveiled to me.
I know most people are busy. It is easy for me to tell you that I spent a solid week thinking and reading about The Leftovers episode International Assassin when I don’t have a screaming child to deal with, a partner who would like some of my attention or a dog that needs to take a crap outside once in a while. I hear you and I get it. I’m on your side. I’m in a situation where I can engage at my own leisure and that is a luxury. Sure, I’ll die alone but until that day swings about, I have all the time in the world to dissect and ruminate on the stories I love. It’s who I am and I’m comfortable with that.
Take episode 2 of HBO’s new series Watchmen as a sweet example. I know some friends who have watched the beginning of the show and have complained that they don’t understand what is happening. On the one hand I find that to be a lazy criticism. I often don’t understand what is happening at the beginning of anything. I want a story to wash over me, to take me somewhere I wasn’t expecting, to give me layers that I have to discover. I enjoy being lost at the beginning of a story. Yet as I have already stated, most people don’t have time or an inclination to want to engage with entertainment that way. They have a short amount of time to forget about their world. I know a lot of really smart people who watch shows like Gogglebox or Married at First Sight. Really smart people. Really interesting people. They love these shows because sometimes they don’t want to think. Personally I’d rather set myself on fire and shoot myself into the sun, but to each their own.
What I’m trying to say is the new Watchmen series is in my wheelhouse and I totally understand if you don’t have time or the headspace to worry about raining squid, a Robert Redford presidency or why that amateur play revealed a naked man with a blue penis. For the rest of us though, this is manna from Heaven. Here are some links I’ve been inspired to look into by the second episode of Watchmen. If you’d like have a read, click on the links below.
German propaganda leaflets in World War One.
The real story behind Orson Welles’ radio play War of the Worlds.
Catlin’s painting is the image used for this blog, Comanche Feats of Martial Horsemanship. With the second episode of Watchmen inverting the title of this painting, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering just what that could mean. I love this stuff! If I’d been binging this show, I wouldn’t be thinking about these words. I wouldn’t have time to discover these historical moments that occurred so long ago. I probably wouldn’t even remember that I forgot to look any of this up in the first place. Watching TV play out week to week affords me that opportunity and in the process, I'm not only entertained but I’m learning as well. I know. Crazy.
I’ve been reading that Netflix is going to introduce an option to watch a movie or a TV show at variable speeds. Once again I can understand how many people would appreciate this option but it is not for me. I don’t consume TV shows to say I’ve watched them. I want the whole experience. I want to be entertained. I want to be inspired. I want to learn about the world. I want to learn something about myself. Art is the soul of the world. I’m not here to rush through that experience. I’m going to take my time on reaching the finishing line. I’m in this for the long haul.
Now where did I put that chocolate…?
Hammo
October 29, 2019
Sydney, Australia