You Are What You Eat / Read / Ingest / Where Was I Going With This?

I'd love to have the audacity to sit here and type out a blog post where I could denounce garbage television, crappy movies, bad books and the overall sea of inane banality that we are all currently treading water through on a daily basis.  I'd be happy to rant and rave against it all and unabashedly rail at the corporate whoremongering that allows all that tripe to sneak through our televisions, computer screens and whatever particular way you take your print media these days.  (Just as a side note, when did it become necessary to have more than one electronic reader?  I overheard someone actually bragging to a friend in Starbucks the other day about having a new Kindle Fire for her magazines, a Nook for her books and some off brand piece of junk she bought just to use at her beach house.  Is this really necessary?  Wait, hold on, I know what that is... *cough* DOUCHEBAG *cough*... )  I'd even be proud to state that as a writer I'm focusing on developing and delivering the great American novel, something that critics and scholars alike will fall in love with and school children will debate for a hundred years after I'm dead and gone.

The fact, ladies and gentlemen, is that I can't do or say any of those things.  I can't denounce any of it really, well, except for the douchebaguette (feminine of douchebag, anyone?) from Starbucks the other day.  To be completely honest, I'm probably going to end up contributing to it in the long run.  The third page of the novel I'm completing features a man waking up naked and hung over at his kitchen table while his wife's cat licks the exposed head of his penis.  Trust me on this one kids, F.  Scott Fitzgerald I just ain't.

So why bother?  What's our purpose here today?  Well, I heard something on the radio this morning that got me thinking and I thought a little dialogue might be in order.  I was listening to Bob and the Showgram on G105 in Raleigh (yes, a little plug and shout out for Bob, Mike, Erica, and Peanut Butter) and there was a discussion about faith, religion, good versus evil and all the other good stuff that Bob and Company pull out of the closet on occasion to really rankle up the masses first thing in the morning.  (You have always been and forever will be da man Bob and please keep right on doin' what you're doin' sir!)  During the discussion it was mentioned that in an informal survey it was noted that more people were interested in seeing The Devil Inside than were interested in more traditional religious fare such as The Passion of the Christ.  In parlance, I believe the direct quote was more along the lines of 'would rather see a devil movie than a God movie.'

And that's where my little brain starting turning...

If the old sayings regarding you are what you eat are true, a.k.a. eat a lot of fat greasy food and become a fat greasy dude, I wonder if the same goes for your grey matter as well?  Well, we hear constantly about the dangers of desensitizing children through exposure to adult material at too early of an age.  Does the same apply to us as adults?  If we continually expose ourselves to horrific images and depictions of brutal and sadistic violence on a repetitive basis, will we also not become so used to it that it no longer seems quite so horrible.  If we continually focus on the misery of others and make the sociopathically disturbed machinations of criminals a form of entertainment (yes you Discovery ID), will we not start to accept that as quasi-normal albeit fringe behavior?  If we are forced to watch one more episode of Wonder Pets for any reason whatsoever will anyone really blame us if we go ape shit in the middle of a parking lot somewhere and begin to re-enact Charlton Heston’s ‘you maniacs’ speech?  Oh no wait, that’s just me...

I guess what it gets down to in the long run is that you moderate what you consume for entertainment.  Look, I’ll be very honest.  This is all coming from a man who’s nearly forty years old, loves heavy metal and thinks Serenity and The Expendables are two of the best movies made in the last two decades.  I’m no critic or, based on that last statement, probably even a really good judge of quality entertainment.  My thought is simply this:  spread it out a little.  Try new things.  Actually buy a book and read it.  Not just the e-book mind you, but the real honest to God book. (That’s another rant for another day, trust me.)  Or better yet, just cut off the television, Xbox, Playstation, Wii, DVR, iPad, or whatever other means by which you forcibly rape your own brain with quality stimulation and just go the hell outside for a bit.  Trust me, your brain will appreciate it.  It gets a little sore on occasion.

And with all that being said, it’s time to run for now.  I’ve got two episodes each of Bones and Castle to catch up on.