Tuesday, May 09, 2006

When it keeps finding ways to get to your heart

Okay, I'm going to attempt to write the second half of this entry, which I wrote at least a week and a half ago. Uh, yeah. This was supposed to be the next day's post, but it didn't quite work that way.

(Oh yeah, if you haven't seen them yet, scroll down for wedding pictures.)

So, I was talking about how the internet and the age of global connectivity has changed the entertainment industry in so many ways (read the post again if you forgot what I said...), and as I was thinking about that, a second implication hit me.

A few weeks ago, at my small group, we were talking about worship; specifically, ways that we worship in day-to-day life, and ways that we feel close to God. Thinking about it, I realized that this connection with TV shows (particularly my dissection and analysis of Gilmore Girls, but just because that's the one I'm most invested in right now--not by virtue of the show itself versus any other show) is, in a way, worship.

I know that sounds like an odd, and perhaps even self-contradictory, concept, but let me explain. In the show, I've become intimately acquainted with the characters and the storylines, and I can extrapolate the characters' actions and motivations to any given time within the show, and even outside the show--I've come to know them so well that I feel like I really know them, and I feel like I'm interacting with friends as I talk, think, and write about them.

Within the world of writing fanfic, I go even deeper, and draw a lot on my acting training to dissect their motivations and what they're doing, thinking, or feeling at any given time--like I've said several times before, writing fic is so similar to developing a character for a show, and it's one of the main ways I'm keeping my creative muscles limber this year.

I look at creating a character as an act of worship--I'm taking what makes us human and exploring it. Whether it's the good, the bad, or the in between, I'm looking at the parts of God's image that we were created in and how we tend to use that for good or for bad. I think that there's incredible intimacy in understanding human nature, and how we reflect or deflect the God-prints on our lives, and I think that understanding that helps us to understand God and his love more deeply. As I explore and dig into these relationships, loves, hates, frustrations, and beauty, I'm constantly struck by all the choices that we have, and how easily we can make such a huge difference one way or the other, with just a few choices.

I remember talking to Kat about this several years ago--at some point when we were living together--and realizing that we watch shows and view characters in different ways. She was a counselling major; I was a theatre major, and she viewed them from a psych standpoint; I did it from an emotional and motivational perspective. We looked at very similar aspects of the characters, but we approached them from different angles. Still, we came to the same conclusions--that understanding fictional characters helps us understand ourselves and our own relationships better, and by analyzing the people onscreen, we can see our own weaknesses and strengths in a way that we don't necessarily see when we're in the situation.

It's an interesting juxtaposition--we hear so much about the evils of TV and the fact that they can be a distraction from "real life" and what's truly important, and I agree--that can often be the case. But sometimes, TV and the media can be a reflection of life and a chance to examine it in a different way than "real life" allows.

Just a thought...


posted by Alida at 10:57 AM
1 comments

1 Comments:
Blogger Mike Chase said...

I've been finding the same thing with music. I think it all depends on attitude. If I go play jazz or classical for my own amusement, to show off, or for other personal reasons, it's not really worship, but if I play recognizing that I'm using talents God has given me, and I want to play to please him most of all, then I'm worshiping, even though it's not worship music.

7:41 AM  

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