Social Culture

 

It is interesting how much I don’t know. Since I stopped watching television I’m not exposed to social culture.

Television was my babysitter. Black and white fuzzy images with crackly sound kept me entertained for hours. I didn’t have to read and comprehend, I just sat back and it was thrown at me, melding my brain into cowboys, musketeers and religious movies. Then vinyl music came out and I could turn down the sound but still had to stare at familiar faces playing doctors or spacemen or cops while the new English covers of Delta blues battled for my identity.

My wife used to have the television on all day. Her regulars were the Today show, Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, General Hospital… I tried to get home to see the Evening News, then M.A.S.H. and whatever silly sitcom like Quincy ME or Friends. She would tell me stories of people and I would wonder which of the neighbors did these fantastic things. The television characters were her friends. They were the only ones she talked to, but they never talked back.

So now I see names and faces of people on Social Media and wonder who are these people? The ancient names of movie stars are gone and I don’t know the new lot. They are but the latest generation of celebrities with smiling faces, young bodies and good teeth until a certain age will make them invisible so a new batch can take their place.

Am I missing something?

Do I need to know how much some corporation is spending on a cutie to sing and shake her booty until she loses favor? How many cars does that movie star have until they are reprocessed? How many shoes does the latest hot talk show host wear?

I don’t recognize any of the birthday wishes to the stars. I don’t know (or care) who won an award for a film I’ll never see. Should I be wanton to watch another space movie or fast cars and explosions? Should I envy actors who perform as if they are royalty or even the faux royalty left over from another era?

Go for the golden ring and hang on. If you introduce yourself to me, I will most likely say, “Who are you?”