Anti-Reality

This morning, Tucker watched the big floats and balloons on TV despite the awful song and dance numbers that the TV people thought viewers might like. He liked seeing the big balloons careen through the steel and glass canyons of NYC. The entire display reminded him of a dream he had once where he could fly and then save puppies who cried out for help.

Following this show, however, the TV wanted to show Tucker something that made his head hurt and tummy ache. He could not understand why TV would care to show him the intimate details of boring people. Someone had put the channel on the show where people fought with each other to be good cooks, then they fought with each other to stay on an island, then to stay in a house, and then there were shows that made no sense at all. Some shows people just fought, shopped, then made up and rode around in expensive cars. These people were not particularly pretty or smart or interesting or even worth watching. But zippy music and off-screen shouts made the shows seem dynamic. This gave the illusion of purpose and intellect leading to an imagined sense of discovery. Tucker was not fooled. He thought the people in these shows, the people who make them, and the people who watch them need to spend more time doing real things. Interesting things. Like running through a pile of leaves. Or play a good game of "catch the stick out my mouth when I run by you" with their siblings until they are all winded and the parents call them inside to rest. Or Ninja Squirrel chasers.

Tucker thinks these shows not only lack imagination, but work to deaden the imagination and creativity of those who watch them. And this makes Tucker sad. He thinks that if people want something about real reality, then they should watch something like this that document how awful some kids have it and why people should open their homes and hearts more.