Last week’s column touched base on quite a few different topics, but one primary thesis was that it’s important to have causes you genuinely find worthwhile. Well, this week I’m here to tell you: Sometimes you make mistakes. Sometimes a cause you think is great turns out to be a turd. Then you just have to swallow your pride and admit that it – whatever it may be – was a big mistake. But what’s even worse than that is the potential that you really enjoyed your cause, but now you’re embarrassed about it, because a: it seems so trivial now, or b: it is a cause of ridicule and scrunched-up noses.
It’s not easy having a guilty pleasure: That’s why you feel guilty. Causes are one thing, and as I said, at least you cared about something. But there is also a part of your life where ridicule and guilt simply override logic, pride and comfort. Of course I mean your pop-culture preferences. I bet you’re a little embarrassed you still like Good Charlotte, huh? Were you the only person on the planet that thought “Spider Man 3” was the best in the series? Or worse yet: Do you watch “Lost”?
Yes, it is true. I love “Lost.” There is a whole new level of guilt I feel with this show than probably ever imagined when referencing a television show. First, a quick rundown of my “Lost” history: I missed the first season because I thought the concept was dumb, but out of love for my best friend, I decided to watch a few episodes when the first season came to DVD. Needless to say, I thought it was so stupid. But then, by episode five, I was fully hooked, and I didn’t know why. The rest – as they say – is history.
Since those first five fateful episodes, I have become a “Lost” nerd, who sought theories and codes and hints and other nerdical tactics in an effort to know the island better. And you know what? After all the extracurricular time I’ve wasted on “Lost” I am no closer to the answer of the island than someone who hasn’t even seen the show. Lost has become an intertwined web of non-realities, and for whatever reason, I’m drawn to that. But we don’t need to go into the show’s plot, and J.J. Abrahm’s apparent marketing genius. What matters most is everyone who watches “Lost” regularly is obsessed with a show in a cultish manner. By the time this is published and read, I will have already watched the two-hour season premiere last night, discussed and re-discussed theories, and journeyed through a sea of emotions ranging from jubilance and intrigue to guilt and shame.
The reason I feel so strongly toward the obsessive crowd that follows “Lost” so blindly and passionately is that the writers’ strike is still going on in Hollywood, which means viewers will only get about eight to 10 episodes before it goes off the air again, leaving its psychotic fans in shambles, most definitely after revealing an apparently huge piece of the puzzle. Then, viewers are just going to go crazy until the writers’ strike ends.
Which brings me to my next point: Fans of “Lost,” “Heroes,” “Entourage” and other high-end shows are the ones who will bring the writers back to work. “Lost” fans will tear people apart if the show just ends with an abrupt, unintended finale because we have simply invested too much time and energy into this show. I’ve spent three years of my life sucked into that stupid island, and I want some answers, damn it!
I am not a supporter of the “Kill Your T.V.” bumper sticker because the television is a great and fantastic invention. However, I will not sit here and literally watch shows go down the drain because some execs don’t want to cough up the change that writers deserve. As we can plainly see, writers are what make television watchable, and now more than ever we are seeing more “reality” television, or as I like to reference it: the lowest form of communicative infotainment possible.
The point is, writers are getting screwed in Hollywood – and elsewhere – and the result is an unsatisfied pool of viewers who might live, breathe and sweat “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Entourage,” “Weeds” – whose writers just went back to work, by the way – or whatever show you may find yourself uncontrollably attached to. Not every show has a guilty label attached to it, but the ones that do – like “Lost” – are the ones that people will freak out about the most when they’re gone.
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