Since coming to college, my choice of relaxation has changed dramatically and I am not sure if it is for the better or the worse. I have always been narrative-driven, but for most of my life have preferred a written narrative rather than a visual or auditory one. My bookshelf is overflowing with books, many of which I may never read, but all of which I have more or less intended upon doing so. As I have grown older, i have grown more and more attached to movies, and recently to TV shows. Usually, I just prefer to watch cartoons, as they are self-contained, as opposed to dedicating a certain amount of time to a particular show each week.
I had certainly enjoyed movies in my youth, but more for their zany dialogue and crazy characters than any grandiose overarching themes. One does not have to look far into It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World or Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure to appreciate them for what they are: silly movies meant to entertain. Ironically, it was Toy Story 3, not exactly a cartoon but animated nonetheless, that was able to claim my first tears. I was in Italy at the time, as well, so while i have studied Italian for years, I made no real effort to translate it for myself, and just allowed myself to be whisked down the rivers of tears pouring from my eyes.
From then on, I have been much more emotionally invested in everything that I read and/or watch. I had a much more powerful emotional reaction to both iterations of John Green’s phenomenal work of fiction The Fault in Our Stars. Both the movie and book are tremendous achievements and both are in my respective libraries. I have had many a debate among friends as to the actual skill and prowess that was put into the novel, but to them I say it is just as much about the personal experience reading it as it has in terms of the author’s skill at portraying a compelling story.
On that note, I have grown quickly over time a bit of an animalistic obsession over certain Netflix shows. To name one in particular, The Walking Dead has pretty much taken over my life for the past few weeks. While zombies are not my favorite fictional creature, the character development and cinematography are both exquisite in their own rights. Not to mention the obnoxious plethora of jaw-dropping cliff hangers.
I say I have a love/hate relationship with Netflix for a very simple reason. Since everything is already online, it is easy to sit down and watch a few episodes of a show, like Family Guy, but at the same time, this can be a real burden, and the struggle to avoid hitting that “Next Episode” button is a bitter one. It only gets worse when the show has been well-made, as TWD is, because the desire to binge watch it becomes that much more intense. There has never been a show before this one that I have been so enraptured in and so dedicated to continue to watch. When characters die, I truly feel them die. Some of them have died in brutal, ghastly ways, and it has left me broken inside.
Needless to say, Netflix has brought me a great deal of joy and has helped to bridge the gap with literary and cinematographic narratives. I am more than happy to have them join together under one roof, as I greatly enjoy both within their own spheres of influence. It is simply a nod to Netflix that they are able to make their shows so compelling so as to make sure people keep coming back for more, day after day.
