Blind dates with T.V. shows

I'm privileged and grateful to say that I have sufficient internet bandwidth to support, pretty much, my entire life. Which goes without saying that I am stoked to have a Netflix account (which, by the way, is not mine). The viewing plans being too exclusive for only a particular economic class in society, we opted for the 'Standard' monthly plan, which is good enough for me - as long as I can watch something worthwhile to spend a prolonged quarantine period.

It seems that almost all we do nowadays is just sit back, put our feet up on the table and watch sitcoms, dramas and films. And by watching, I mean hogging the screen for at least forty-eight hours straight. We've all been guilty of it, especially me (courtesy of my spree of obsessing over Walt and Jesse). Honestly, Netflix and Amazon Prime have really proved to be givers of life during the pandemic. This is mostly because web series produce a simulated reality which appears to be more exaggerated, glamorous and dangerous simultaneously, so much so that OTT platforms are the new kings. We now even romanticise the notion of having adventure in our daily lives, which is now close to impossible (for better or worse). Besides, all of us have enough surprises popping up in our lives already - a sudden illness, a sudden heartbreak.

I'm not beating around the bush anymore: I am still a novice at binge-watching. The only shows I can really be sure of actually bingeing are Friends, Breaking Bad, Sex Education, Attack on Titan and Squid Game. Speaking for myself, I don't get hooked to shows easily. I need to spend a few minutes into the pilot episode before I can actually determine whether or not I want to invest my sanity in it. Sort of like a blind date.

Call this unhealthy or not, I have even begun to take television shows for granted to somewhat cure the pangs of an apparent "depression". We throw that word around so freely, don't we? Some of us haven't even experienced the semantics of depression and we say, "I am so depressed that Todoroki will never be real." For some, watching T.V. is truly an effective medication to distract oneself from the petty troubles of mundane living. But, I guess the key lies in not taking this medication to extreme dosages - like orchestrating the expectations we bear towards our lives based on those particular shows.

Like in all blind dates, responsibility lies with the mutual acquaintance of both the concerned people to ensure a good match so that their dinner at that fancy restaurant doesn't fall flat. Similarly, recommendations for watching the new series must always be genuinely valid and need not always be followed. A close friend of mine pesters me eternally to immediately watch Korean romance dramas, and I'm thinking, "But I like maid cafes and cat-girls much more."

All in all, let us not compromise our likings over what is manufactured popularity. Everyday can be likened to Audrey Hepburn's bubbly happiness if we choose it to make it so!

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