I finished a tv show!

I just finished watching “Big Little Lies” on HBO. I watched the first episode when I was staying the night at someone’s house and didn’t know what else to watch. It seemed like it was going to be frivolous and probably trite. I watched that first episode and didn’t think I was going to watch the rest. I left it for several months.

A couple weeks ago, something told me to pick it back up and watch the 2nd, see if it got any more worthwhile than the gossipy rich housewives drama I initially pegged it as (I HATE reality tv and anything that resembles it. Like hate. Loathe. With a fiery passion. It’s demeaning, cheap, and I think it personifies the decline of civilization.)

I watched the 2nd episode and thought… ok… there is more to this.

I don’t watch tv very often – I just get twitchy if I sit for too long (my own neuroses at play) so when I see a show through, it usually has some significance to me.

I just finished the last episode and it really resonated with me. All throughout the show you get to know these generally highly privileged, educated, and white upper class women (with a couple exceptions) who are at their forefront greatly flawed. They were all very real. There was much conflict amongst the female characters in the show and personally, I could identify with every single one of them. They all made mistakes, but they all had intentions that I could identify with and understand. I still wasn’t sure where this was all headed but I was intrigued.

In the last moments of the finale, all of these women dropped their cattiness and defenses and came together in a moment – an instant of dire importance that reminded me what I adore about the human race and the female gender in particular. Women have high emotions and we tend to read into things more than we should – we get offended, we get hurt, and we get defensive. However. I challenge any of you to tell me that in the right circumstance – you wouldn’t throw that aside and help your worst nemesis if she was vulnerable and needed you. The capacity for heartfelt apology and and true selflessness is something I think every woman possesses if she looks deep enough.

I felt the same way about that commercial that was floating around a couple years ago – I don’t even remember what it was for!!!! But it was gorgeous. It focused on all opposing groups of mothers – those that bottle fed, breast fed, baby wearers, working mothers, etc etc. They all were feuding in their silly groups and then someone’s stroller started rolling down a hill – every.single.person. stopped what they were doing and chased it with every fibre of their being. Nobody gave a shit about differences – it was all about saving that child. That’s what humanity is at it’s core. We all have our own frame of references and we see things differently, perceive things differently, and have had very opposing experiences. But. mental health issues aside, we all at our core are trying our best to be good people for ourselves and those that we love deeply. We would all put everything aside in times of distress.

This is one of the things I love so much about studying history – the people. The people who go through unimaginable amounts of horror, and then get up and band together with their neighbor so they don’t have to as well. People are resilient, beautiful, vulnerable, and kind. We all are, we only have to take off the jaded shades and the chips on our shoulders and allow ourselves to be.