DMB Digest: Streaming Visual Media...
I bite my thumb at thee!
The boob tube. The idiot box.
Television has developed some less than flattering nicknames over the decades. And you’ll get no argument from me in defense of visual/pictorial media over more typographic forms. But I will say, beyond simply lumping all visual media consumers into a single group of mindless zombies who passively suckle on a constant stream of memes and info-tainment, I believe people should be lumped (at the very least) into groups based on their foundational shows.
I’m making a case for a sort of television-based taxonomy of humanity. If you were to describe yourself using a single television show or program, what would it be? Perhaps you relate to the teacher/drug dealer of Breaking Bad? Are you a Trekker? Friends? Seinfeld? Gilmore Girls maybe? Or perhaps you go all the way back to 21 Jump Street, or even further to Hogan’s Heroes or Bonanza, or Dragnet.
Is there a show you own entirely on DVD? Or heaven forfend you are old enough to have fond memories of staying up late to watch reruns of your favorite show. I guess I’m asking about the nature of the stories or the content that has formed you.
Personally, (and many of you know this about me) I’m a Simpsons guy. Hands down. I’ve seen every episode of the first twenty seasons multiple times. From the age of thirteen to my fortieth year I watched on average an episode a day, everyday. I even watched an episode a day throughout my four years of college.
Is The Simpsons the best thing to ever happen to humanity? Probably not. I mean, maybe, but doubtful. (Okay, it might be third right behind Jesus and BBQ.) But has it left me less tragically deformed than watching the equivalent amount of Game of Thrones? Unequivocally, the answer is yes. The Simpsons have performed a Cliff’s Notes version of every classic known to Man. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? Check. A Street Car Named Desire? Check. Homer as Odysseus? Bart as Hamlet? Check and check. The Raven, The Telltale Heart, The Heart of Darkness, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Johnny Tremain, A Christmas Carol, Moby Dick, Dante’s Inferno, and of course many stories lifted from the Holy Bible.
The Simpsons are literally chocked full of literary references. (I’m including plays in this list as being literary because many of us were forced to read them in school.) So while still viewed on the Idiot Box, at least these episodes of television have reinforced something deeper and sturdier in me ole noggin. And for that, I’m grateful. As our society veers further and further into the ditch of non-narrative streaming content, I’m increasing grateful for whatever grounding I received in narrative storytelling as a young chap.
The ability to connect ideas together in a logical sequence and therefore construct some sort of story has been deeply ingrained in me. And this ability is increasingly rare. If you also have this ability, do not take it for granted. Utilize it. Keep it sharp. Pass it on to the younger, wandering generations who occupy the recesses of the world wide web like so many mindless zombies allowing sordid streams of digital giblets to flow freely through their formless minds.
Stay grounded! Stay anchored my fellow heroes of scaffolding! We are all that remains of order and reason and beauty! The wild and waste calls out to our untethered kinsmen. Tohu va-Vohu! Tohu va-Vohu! But words, thoughts, and ideas are not to be strung together randomly. They are to be constructed according to a pattern. They are to recount stories. They are to communicate memories and history. We must maintain the ability to weave these stories. The share them and receive them. RESIST THE VISUAL CHAOS! (Okay, I’m done.)
If You Wish to Start Reading The Green Ones…
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Thanks so much for taking the time to read these scenes of Boundaries, Season 2 of The Green Ones. I’ll be publishing FREE daily scenes from The Green Ones until…I die…or something terrible happens. Seriously, I’ve got over 100 scenes written so far, and I’ll be writing more until the story reaches its natural ending. You are totally welcome to read the entire story for FREE! If at any point you decide you would rather finish the story in ebook or print format, just click the buttons below and you can do that as well. If you enjoy reading the serial releases, BUT you would also like to support me as a writer (my kids need wine!) please subscribe to my premium content for bonus scenes, exclusives, and insider access to my process. And of course, I’d be grateful if you would share this post with any of your reader friends who you think would enjoy The Green Ones. Happy reading!