Who Wants Some Drama?


by Karina Leigh - Date: 2007-01-27 - Word Count: 750 Share This!

I'm starting to pay attention to the things that are popular in our culture. I'm not referring to Southpark, the Sonoma diet or the resurgence of Roller Derby. These realizations are just slightly less disturbing than those dreadful skinny jeans that are attempting a comeback.

The success of almost anything can be based on how much "drama" it embodies. Remember when Drama was a movie genre? Not a word you use to describe all your friends, coworkers, relationships, your family, your weekend, your trip to Wal-Mart last night and your dog's annual checkup at the vet?

I used to hear people say how much they don't like drama. "Leave me out of it, I don't want to get involved with the drama" or "There was too much drama on that team". And then these same people rush home at night to catch The Apprentice, Temptation Island and Survivor so they can gasp "Oh no she didn't!" for an hour straight. These people can barely wait to get to work the next day so they can gather and passionately deconstruct each episode scene-by-scene in excruciating detail - something never demonstrated in their actual job.

We've all turned into moths flocking to the light bulb of Drama each night. Doesn't matter what it is, we'll cling onto anything. Desperate Housewives having affairs with the 16 year old gardener, the Bachelor with a secret criminal record, the Wife Swap episode where Donna donated Tobi's entire shoe collection to Goodwill*. We suck up celebrity gossip about Nick and Jessica's post-divorce run ins. We devour speculations about why no one has ever actually seen Tom and Katie's kid and why Mrs. Spelling cut Tori out of Aaron's will. We love the drama about who said what and what happened next. What did they do and what were they thinking when they did it? Then we spend half our workday feigning work while we tittle-tattle about PEOPLE WE DON'T EVEN KNOW, pretending to discuss Excel spreadsheets and Word documents so no one catches us "not working".

I get that drama is interesting. I won't deny that. I simply wish that drama wasn't so consuming. I suspect that some people are getting a little too high on drama, getting lost in it, forming addictions to something that really isn't all that interesting, important, or relevant to their own lives. Yeah, we get that you are interested in what's going on with other people (that you don't know), but what's going on with you? Is this all just a distraction to keep people from ever talking about anything interesting?

Here's the real issue that I have with drama. Drama is trumping things that I believe are much more worthy of our attention. Remember Humanitarianism? Good Samaritans? Altruism? The stories about our community efforts, the ways we have helped one another, the moments that touched our hearts, spirits and souls where lives were changed by the goodwill of a helping hand? Why isn't everyone watching Oprah and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? Why is this not as interesting as drama?

I became a bit troubled over this. The uplifting, touching story that gives me tingles and teary eyes is no match against the adrenaline kick that drama delivers. Everything we take in "feeds" us in some way. It might feed us spiritually or educationally, or it simply be entertainment. I know how the Humanitarianism in our world feeds me. Eventually I turned to drama and I had to ask: Does drama nurture me? Does it give me insight? What does it teach me about how to live and treat others? Is it inspiring me? Motivating me? Moving me forward in my life's purpose?

I could justify drama as being entertainment, but I don't know that I want to think of other people's personal business as my "entertainment". I don't find anything entertaining about people getting taken advantage of, conned, insulted, humiliated, cheated on, slandered, lied to, or physically/emotionally hurt.

To me, entertainment should leave me feeling good. I don't want to be one of those people who gets their jollies off of someone else's agony. I don't like seeing other people getting hurt or mistreated, and I don't need to watch reenactments of life's painful experiences. I don't need to be reminded of something I am trying to avoid everyday in my own life.

Life is hard enough - with or without all the drama. Find interest in something real and feed your soul something that will nourish your heart.

*Stop googling for the details on these episodes; I made them up!


Related Tags: entertainment, tv, movies, drama, desperate housewives, humanitarianism

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