One question is avoided, ignored, and disregarded by any and all means necessary, "What if..." We're programed that way, or at least we're encouraged by society to think this way. Live with no regrets! Don't question yourself! This is part of the legacy of the 60's and 70's still infiltrating modern thinking, is it not?
In the last few months I have had more time for watching TV and movies than in the previous 7 years combined! I wake up. I go to work. I return home. After enjoying some silence, on goes the Tele. A few shows I had heard of, but had never seen, have now become those I seek out in the guide list. I have questioned for some time why television is so popular in our daily lives, and I propose that I have finally discovered at least an aspect of the answer!
The reason we enjoy television, and stories in general, is because the question we've been taught to avoid is answered. The "what if" question is addressed in one way or another in every movie, TV series, book, and commercial. How, you ask? It's quite simple. Follow my thought process for a moment, and I'll provide a few examples.
Picture it! Ladies in their golden years all live in the same city, but because of budget constraints of being either widowed or divorced, they all share a home. What if these same ladies, who are all mothers and grandmothers, break the status quo for ladies of a certain age, and they really DO have a life consisting of something other than knitting, sitting demurely dreaming of their yesteryears, and steadily growing wiser? What if they did funny things, stayed up all night talking, had money issues, and (GASP) dated? EEK! What if someone wrote this story? What would it be? How would it look? Would anyone even care enough to pay attention?
My friends, it would be one of the most popular shows to ever air on TV from 1985-1992 known as The Golden Girls. Those four funny ladies showed that you can ask, and answer that plaguing what if question. Within each episode another what if question is asked and answered. Herein lies the basis of the entire dirty trick! They tell you not to ask the question, but then spend billions of dollars repeatedly throwing it in your face!
Since receiving this revelation of sorts, I've looked a bit differently at sitcoms, dramas, and the like. We love them because they dare to ask and address the dreams we avoid contemplating. What if I were a doctor? Watch Grey's Anatomy, ER, House. What if I could travel around the world? Watch the travel channel. What if I lived in the pioneer West? I won't even begin to address this potential list! Do you see my point yet? We're led to subconsciously ask ourselves a version of the what if question, and given the opportunity to dream for a minute. You slip from your world into the what if world.
Now as I watch TV, I can't help asking myself, "What is the what if question?" I've discovered that there are layers of this question asked and answered.
Next time you watch something, look for the what if question that is asked and answered. I dare you.
Now, time for a special request. I know some of you will read this, and not want to post comments. I'm going to ask that you indulge me and do so just this once. This is a bit of an experiment for me. I want to know how this question effected how you "saw" the show, movie, commercial, or whatever it is that you're watching. Just let me know. What if you did?
I see the what if's all the time in shows I watch. I think it's enlightening to see how that what if could be played out. For example, I have yet to see this week's Grey's Anatomy, however at the end of last week, Charlotte is shown to be thrown back into her office by a man (probably someone who will beat and do unthinkable things to her). I ask, what if she had just left her office 30 min. earlier or 30 min. later? What if that man had not been there when she left her office. There are so many what if's in life and we as humans think of all the what if's in our personal lives. I think that sometimes we can what if ourselves to death. So, what if you allow all your what if's to be on TV or in a movie or book only instead of what if-ing your life away? LOL
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