OK – I have a confession. As a general rule of thumb, I do not watch
any reality TV, as I have enough in my own life to focus on other than to watch
other people’s live through the sanitized presentation of a television station
looking to boost ratings. With taking on
the president’s role at my synagogue, my time commitments have obviously
changed. Keep in mind that I still have
a full time, outside interests, some semblance of a social life, and most
importantly, my family. Blocking off
time to do something as a family means exactly that – blocking off time; time
that leads to conversation and hopefully some shared memories. Over the last few months, that thing that was
shared time… - “Big Brother.” Yes, that
is right – a reality TV based game show that lasts 90+ days, requires watching
TV 3 times a week and following either feeds or reading others postings on the
going on within the “house.”
The thing that is interesting
to me is that there are two levels of game play – one competitive and one
social. The competitive aspect includes memory,
skills, strength and endurance. The social
game is on interaction, whereby friendships are formed, alliances are agreed
upon, decision influence occurs and romances can start. The ones who advance and the winner are
chosen by their peers, which depending on how you treated them in the game can affect
their vote.
Image that I did not start
with the first paragraph. You would not
know that I am referring to a television show. What if I had a single sentence
to open with “Sometime, it feels like my life is one big game.” I had done consulting work at a large,
multi-national tobacco company, that had interest in the food business and
owned a brewery. As a company, they did
not have to worry about revenue streams, so the internal employees were
constantly jockeying for positions, manipulating people, forming internal
alliances and attempting to “win.” There is the line in the Pink Floyd song “Dogs”
that captures what I saw: “You have to be trusted by the
people that you lie to so that when they turn their backs on you, you'll get
the chance to put the knife in.”
I could have been referring to
politics, where it can be an endurance test, alliances are definitely made and manipulation
occurs; elections can seem sometimes like our decisions are based on social game play as opposed to what candidates really stand for. This could refer to a High School experience,
where sports (endurance and strength) and being popular (friendships) formed
many of the cliques we were in or avoided.
Following people that have to spend 24/7 living in a petri dish is a
microcosm of life, how we live and how we survive. Not a new topic, as the literary example
would be “Lord of the Flies,” which if you have not read, this is a great
chance to do so. The slick television presentation
provides a filter for viewer share, while the behind the scenes you view the
emotions, the living aspects, raw (sometimes inappropriate) actions and
thinking that occurs.
While it was fun to watch, as
my daughters refer to this as a social experiment, I am looking forward to
going back to my own game of life…
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