Monday, August 29, 2011

me vs. the tv

my parents were never big on tv. we had one in the house but it wasn't a big deal. when i moved out of home i didn't feel the need to get one, and have never owned one since. i don't really go to the cinema and don't download movies or tv series online. not as any kind of tv rebellion, i just don't really enjoy it. if there's a particular film or documentary that's recommended to me i can stream it online, but i just find tv in general to be, at best, a waste of time. at worst, fucking dangerous.
when cam brought his tv along to the garden i was a little uneasy with the idea of having one in the house. what's the point? is it really necessary? it's been sitting there alone in the corner all week. nice and quiet. off. fairly benign. maybe we can coexist.
last night i cooked up a huge vegetable soup and we invited some people over to help eat it. everything was going well. people were talking. and then it happened. "should we move the tv up here?". we had 6 bright, interesting people together, why bring tv into the mix? the subject changed and the tv was forgotten about. a near miss. then the movie quotes came out. one after another after another. conversation had been replaced with hollywood one-liners and hysterical giggles. maybe it's because i didn't "get" any of the references, but i actively changed the subject now. "miles! play us that song you wrote!" "grace! can you tell me more about that nasal fungus you're studying at uni?". i'd developed a ridiculous aversion to that ominous grey box in the corner. i felt like once it had been opened it would all be over. we ended up singing and playing and talking about nose fungus and maths and futurism and computers, but i felt like i was constantly trying to avoid that elephant in the room. maybe it was selfish of me, but the tv stayed off last night.
ash = 1, tv = 0

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