Thursday, June 19, 2008
Following the Rabbit Trails in my Brain...Top Chef Edition
Embarrassingly enough, one of the things my older kids and I love to do together is follow Bravo TV's reality competitions ("Top Chef" and "Project Runway"). Yes, the language has been the pits this season--it's given us some interesting opportunities to talk about how what we speak says about who we are. Moving on.
This season of TC had a definite villainess, one that probably generated more hate mail than any other season. Now, I'm guessing that this person doesn't have the most amiable personality as a rule, but let's face it, nasty characters make for good entertainment. Where would the fun be in rooting for the hero(ine) in everything from a Disney flick to a Jane Austin novel if we didn't have someone to boo as well?
Anyway, all of this got the kids and I talking. Yes, this person appeared at her absolute worst in the pressure cooker environment of the show. She yelled, she cursed, she scowled, postured, and spoke well before she thought. No wonder (according to her own reunion show testimony) people are glaring at her on the street! However, we really don't know this person. We haven't spent time with her. We just get the perspective of some editor whose job it is to maximize the entertainment drama of the show. (Note to Bravo producers: We really like the show without all the drama. Just focus on the creative process and the food, people. Seriously.)
Yes, I am getting somewhere in all of this.
First, I'm so glad that I'm not on reality TV. I have absolutely not a doubt that my worst moments could be edited together to make one heck of a villian.
Secondly, I need to live my life, or self-edit (turn that filter on!) so that I what I leave behind doesn't' need editing. As one pithy t-shirt I glanced at the Mouse House this week states: "Live your live so that the preacher doesn't have to lie at your funeral"!
Finally, it makes me sad that so many people see God through a heavily edited lens. We love to focus in on the character qualities that either please or displease us...wrath, justice, mercy, love,what have you. Just a reminder that to know God, I have to spend time with him--not just take what I hear (in sermons or in the context of popular culture) or see at face value.
This season of TC had a definite villainess, one that probably generated more hate mail than any other season. Now, I'm guessing that this person doesn't have the most amiable personality as a rule, but let's face it, nasty characters make for good entertainment. Where would the fun be in rooting for the hero(ine) in everything from a Disney flick to a Jane Austin novel if we didn't have someone to boo as well?
Anyway, all of this got the kids and I talking. Yes, this person appeared at her absolute worst in the pressure cooker environment of the show. She yelled, she cursed, she scowled, postured, and spoke well before she thought. No wonder (according to her own reunion show testimony) people are glaring at her on the street! However, we really don't know this person. We haven't spent time with her. We just get the perspective of some editor whose job it is to maximize the entertainment drama of the show. (Note to Bravo producers: We really like the show without all the drama. Just focus on the creative process and the food, people. Seriously.)
Yes, I am getting somewhere in all of this.
First, I'm so glad that I'm not on reality TV. I have absolutely not a doubt that my worst moments could be edited together to make one heck of a villian.
Secondly, I need to live my life, or self-edit (turn that filter on!) so that I what I leave behind doesn't' need editing. As one pithy t-shirt I glanced at the Mouse House this week states: "Live your live so that the preacher doesn't have to lie at your funeral"!
Finally, it makes me sad that so many people see God through a heavily edited lens. We love to focus in on the character qualities that either please or displease us...wrath, justice, mercy, love,what have you. Just a reminder that to know God, I have to spend time with him--not just take what I hear (in sermons or in the context of popular culture) or see at face value.
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2 Comments:
I could be edited into one doozy of a villain, too. Ugh. Great reminder to THINK about what I'm saying and doing and how I'm saying it! Excellent point about looking at God through an edited lens, too. I want to really know Him, not just what others say about Him.
Unfortunately, we all tend to see what we want to see and ignore or disbelieve the rest.
May we all learn to be better self-editors so the preacher doesn't have to lie and so we don't embarass our Lord.
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