Television the Poor Man’s Entertainment

The old saying states that television is the poor man’s medium of entertainment and people who watch it regularly are generally not the brightest peas-in-a-pod.  In academia circles people proudly share not owning televisions...  For me, in my home many memories take place around a television set.  I grew up watching movies from the golden age of Mexican cinema.  Sundays we would gather in the living room to watch Cantinflas, Pedro Infante or Vicente Fernandez.  As we watched the movies, mom would share narratives that popped into her head, “Hey, Muchacho (term of endearment she calls dad) remember when we watched this one at the ten cent theatre?” Then we would hear a story about them young and in love.  If it was a comedy the room would be filled with their laughter and if it was during a song, silence, as we all listened to the heartbreak of the lyrics.  As I got older, my brothers started renting films - which meant every Steven Segeal film (to this day I really appreciate a good action flick).  We didn’t have money for vacations, but every Sunday we would travel in our imagination through film.

On Christmas Eve, I sat with my parents as we watched the 1971 “Jesús, El Niño Dios” it was playing on TV.  I remember when I was a kid my mom would constantly say, pay close attention to this part.  She repeated that phrase as toddler Jesus revived a dead bird, made a flower grow instantaneously or asked the palm tree to bend  down to provide nourishment.  I hadn’t seen the film since I was a little girl and just like back then mom asked me to play close attention at certain moments in the movie.  Dad on the other hand commented on how growing up he didn’t realize that Christmas was the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  He said that it wasn’t until I started catechizing them that he learned the real reason for the universal celebration.  Yep, usually when I watch television with them it’s interactive because they usually feel like sharing things that come to mind as we watch.  I especially like watching Cantinflas films with them because they are the best audience they always laugh so hard it makes me smile seeing them so happy.

In college, as an elective, I took a film appreciation class and I got to watch the classical Hollywood films as study.  But my love for film extends yet further- I love foreign films - a great movie even with subtitles is still a great movie.  I especially like British period pieces, especially remakes of classical literature.  On Christmas Day, I finally got to watch “Jackie,” a film based on Jackie Kennedy during the assassination of President Kennedy.  I’ve been fascinated with the conspiracy theories behind the death of our president ever since I had a teacher in high school who was the dullest man- until he taught about the events that transpired on November twenty-second nineteen-sixty-three.  During the couple weeks we learned about the assassination the teacher had my full undivided attention, his passion on the subject totally infected me.  I remember thinking and possibly starting a rumor that my teacher had been in the CIA and had inside information on what really happened that November day (smile).  “Jackie” was great even though it was more a drama about our first lady than it was about the assassination of Kennedy.  I was a bit disappointed because I was hoping to get her side of the story on what really happened that dreadful day, but the film didn’t provide as much detail as I would have liked on that subject.  It’s still a great watch I totally give it a thumbs up.

I’ve always have been fascinated with stories.  Stories are important even Jesus taught using great narratives.  While television still has that negative stigma, I grew up with it playing a central part in my family interaction and many fond memories take place around a television set that occasionally needed a smack for the picture to come up clearly.