Published Oct. 22, 2006 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
By Aaron J. Brown
Throughout human history people have engaged in conversation. The topics of these conversations give us a pretty good idea about the world where people lived at that time.
Ancient Romans had plenty to talk about. “Hear about the latest glorious conquest?” “Did you see that new aquifer just outside town?” “Hey, that guy standing next to Caesar looks kind of ‘stabby.’”
During the Renaissance, folks chatted away about meaningful subjects. “Oh man, you wouldn’t believe what happened when I stopped drowning my poultry in the trough where I store my drinking water. My family didn’t die of the black death, that’s what.”
In colonial America, pressing matters weighed on good conversationalists. “Can you believe this taxation without representation?” “The British are coming!” “Boy howdy! I sure hope our vague, context-based wording of the First and Second Amendments doesn’t create any problems in the future!”
Today’s humans are no less chatty, but it seems TV dominates most of the conversations I stumble into. Media pundits like to use the term “water cooler chat” when talking about TV shows. Even the humanoid anchors on TV morning “news” shows have taken to expressing amazement, amusement or overly dramatic disdain at the actions of fictional characters from last night’s primetime shows.
IRON HAIR: Did you see “Grey’s Anatomy” last night?
PERKY HAIR: Of course. I sure wouldn’t want to be a patient at that hospital. Har-har! Can you believe that patient would actually have a disease causing them to strip their clothing and dance? I read that it’s based on a real disease.
IRON HAIR: You read?
PERKY HAIR: Er, it’s on the prompter.
This same banter continues when you arrive at work in the morning, often mimicking the sentiment, even the inflection, of the morning show hosts. Fans of certain shows form “tribes” that gather to gossip. Naturally, the “CSI” group is always a little different from the “Desperate Housewives” group, and no one quite knows how to take the “Extreme Home Makeover” group, but that’s just how it goes.
It even seems that television producers craft shows for the specific purpose of driving water cooler discussion. Old shows would follow fairly predictable patterns and tidy up all the plot lines by the time the credits rolled. Popular programs like the aforementioned “Grey’s Anatomy” and a big favorite around my house, “Lost” are appealing because of their unpredictability.
I won’t even try to explain “Lost” to those who don’t watch it. Sufficed to say, people stranded on a mysterious island face mysterious phenomena, including polar bears, flashbacks, strange scientific research stations and a rival band of people who kidnap the show’s stars. The show captured my interest because 90 percent of the time you have no idea what’s happening. You keep watching to collect the tiny shreds of evidence that might explain what’s going on.
That got me thinking about my 17-month-old son. Just recently, he’s started to notice even more about his surroundings, including what he sees in public and on television. I realized, for him, everything he sees is like an episode of “Lost.” What the heck is this? Who’s that guy? Is that the same guy as before? What’s going on? Where’s the food. Am I ever going to get out of this place?
I suppose the show captured and redistributed the sense of wonder most of us lost when they shipped us away to school.
If a fancy Hollywood TV show can revive our curiosity, perhaps we’ll start talking about weightier subjects around the hydro-drink containment devices of the future. After all, people have to talk about something.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.