Day 51

Death. It's all around us. Not in the physical sense – notable exception granted to those who work in a funeral home, hospital, hospice or morgue - but the ever present portrayal of death in the media and entertainment. 

In the last few weeks, I've become hyperaware of the many forms death takes in what we watch, read, and  even listen to. The death of a character (major or minor) to advance the story; the death of a loved one or close friend or acquaintance as part of a character's back story; dialogue related to death or the act of dying - some of it serious, most of it not; songs lamenting the loss of someone;  the omnipresent news headlines about homicides, suicides, fatal accidents, and whatever else that "bleeds" and therefore "leads". And on. And on. And on...

Does it bother me? I think it does a little, yeah. For two reasons. 

1. Portrayals of death have become a bit of a trigger for me. Not all of them, but definitely some of them. The ones that have any similarity to Damian's circumstance are particularly tough to see, hear or read about. Anything involving the death of a child is also particularly hard on me. Unfortunately, our domestic TV rating system doesn't provide any warnings on this subject. There are codes for sex and violence, salty language and even suggestive language. But nothing to warn us that the content of a TV show (or movie) we are about to watch contains references to death "...that may be unsettling to some viewers". My hand is up. Count me in. I'd rather not go down this road right now. I want (need?) mostly happy and uplifting. Without death of any kind, for any reason.  

2. Because it is so pervasive, we've cheapened it to a degree. Gone is the gravitas that should surround it. As consumers, we have become inured to death because we are being inundated by it. So much so that when it becomes real, we don't really react the way we probably should. Case in point: nearly 1 million Americans died from COVID in the last 2 years. 1 MILLION people. And what did we do? Complain about having to wear masks and getting vaccinated. 

I realize that it's a big leap to suggest that TV shows and movies are to blame for our collective reaction to the pandemic. For the record, I don't think they are the ONLY reason, but I do think how death is portrayed in entertainment contributes to how we handle it when it's not right in our face, when it's easy to wave it away because there are too many degrees of separation. 

Death IS all around us. Every day. Not the fictional stuff I'm riffing about, but real death. And for those who can't waive it away because it's someone they care(d) about, it hurts. Sometimes very badly. This is not something to be taken lightly. 

Am I being a total hypocrite on this subject? 1000% yes. Would I have cared at all about this 7 weeks and 2 days ago? Nope, not one bit. So why go here? Because it hurts; I hurt because of it. And it bothers me, just a little, to see death played for laughs.