Stories

Right now I'm watching One Tree Hill, mainly with the idea of understanding my students better by watching one of their favorite shows. From what I can tell, it's a WB teenage soap opera, about as far away from reality as daytime soap operas are from real adult lives. No one on the show is a virgin unless they are either extremely awkward or puritanical. They all look perfect, from clothes to hair to makeup, and I suppose it is no coincidence that they all look twenty-five instead of sixteen/seventeen. Everything is just so, so heavy.

Okay, so this is the only episode I've watched. And I know that all teenage kids have their problems, even those from wealthy families, even those who are popular and blessed with beauty. I'm just wondering what the appeal is for my high school students. Is it the problems they are experiencing? Is it how the show deals with the confusion about love and lust and emotion and commitment? Is it about the hope that everything that is missing in their lives can be found in that one special person and the disappointment that happens when they find that is not true?

It's startling to think that this show might actually be a reflection of the reality of which I am blissfully and naively unaware. However, for the most part, I don't think that is true. I think the kids enjoy the show because it is not reality. Going to high school with beautiful people, not so much to deal with classes, but to experience the glamorous drama of it all is appealing to kids. It's appealing to adults. However, I wish those shows didn't have the ratings that they do; I hope kids don't think they're missing out on something because they don't look twenty-five, aren't wealthy, and haven't had sex. Wanting your life to be like a television show is no way to live; anyone who knows an adult who lives that way would say the same thing.

Maybe this is all a part of a bigger question of the purpose of stories in our lives. For what purpose do we watch television, rent movies, enjoy narrative songs, and read fiction and biographical books? Why do we tell stories from the past? I remember a friend of mine from college would often say he would rather live his life than watch it in a movie. I agree with him, but think entertainment, especially entertainment in the form of stories, has a purpose. The telling of stories is an essential, life-enriching part of all cultures and life-styles. The thing is, I think we would be happier if we sought and told stories as a way to enrich our lives instead of escape from them. If the show or the movie does not enrich my life, but rather takes me away from my life, I probably shouldn't watch it. Maybe that's where the line should be drawn.