My husband, who can be quite cynical, reckons that people watch television so they can have something to talk about the next day.
Since returning from Tonga I haven't really gotten back into watching TV (apparently DVDs of TV shows don't count!), and mostly that's fine. But yesterday I walked into a conversation about Masterchef, and it suddenly struck me that I did feel like there was something happening that I wasn't part of. I had nothing to add to the discussion on Masterchef, and so got what I'd come for and left.
And now I think about it, there is quite a lot of conversation that centres around "Did you see that show about...?" or "OMG, can you believe [insert name here] got through to the finals?!" It's kind of like talking about the weather. Which I do, quite seriously. My manager and I both ride our bikes to work, so our first conversation of the morning is inevitably about the weather - how cold or hot it was, what layers we did or didn't need. Then in the afternoons one or the other of us might check the radar to see if there's any rain threatening for the ride home, and discuss that. This might sound boring or trite, but when you're actually experiencing the weather - and, to a greater extent, if your livelihood depends on the weather, as does that of farmers - you tend to take it quite seriously, and it becomes more than just a conversation-filler.
I don't really mind the feeling that I live under a rock, which I occasionally get when people start talking about TV shows these days. Sure, there's the occasional Facebook status update I don't understand, and people talking about the people on whatever reality TV show as though they know them, but it's pretty trivial. Hopefully when it comes to more meaningful things we can still connect as people on a deeper level. You know, like when talking about the weather!
1 comment:
I havent watched "TV" (and selected documentaries on ABC iVIEW also doesnt count!) for over 3 years now and I have to honestly say that if and when any conversation turns to "Did you watch..." Im happy to insert "No, actually, I dont have a TV" and watch the confused looks the person gets whilst thinking to myself how I couldnt care less about whatever crap they are watching!! Im lucky that conversations at my work or with friends tend to focus around selected crazy, annoying, or oddballs that frequent whichever form of public transport (or work place) we happen to have used or worked with that day/week/month, or indeed(as at the moment) which part of the world we may be respectively going to work over the coming year etc. Plus I have also been blessed with collegues that think that proper day to day work chit chat goes more along the lines of "I had an awesome weekend bird banding on a remote island off the coast of Aus" or " hows the frog in your toilet going?" I recommend quietly enlightening your collegues to teh fact that there's more to life (and coversation topics) than shit TV shows! :) Skye
Post a Comment