Murder On Television

Do you ever find that there is a period of time when a certain feeling slowly builds up within you and it lingers there until you focus on it, at which point it flees out of the spotlight?

I was watching Bones, episodes 8, 9, then 10 of season 3, and what I have observed in the background is a certain uncertainty (oxymoron). I'm seeing bones and murders being solved on screen and I don't really know what my reaction should be. Yes, I know it's fiction, but television does a good job of fooling the unprepared minds into thinking it is reality. Still, it raises the idea of the murders actually happening in real life (since when was life not real?) and how I would feel about them. Let's run the list:

Bones, flesh, bloody chunks of people - disgusted, horrified at times, apathetic at others when I feel disconnected from the television.
Motives for the murders - scared, *roll eyes*, deranged.
Method of solving crime - looks fictional, fake, because things appear deliberate, but it does raise the question as to how real the methods that Booth, Brennan and the team use, could be.
Background stories of characters - bored at times because patterns appear, eg. lots will murder out of jealousy, lots will lie about the murder then be caught. Oh, am I expecting entertainment out of these cases being solved? It seems so. Murder is a serious thing and it doesn't appear quite so serious on television. Probably because on television it's not meant to be. Maybe television does not show an accurate portrayal of real events.

And there we have it, the conclusion that was drawn. I remember that my English teacher last year said that the purpose of television is advertising. I was taken aback when I heard that, not having thought until then about it. There's 20 minutes of commercials in every hour. 20 minutes of my time in which I would be told about amazing deals on wine at Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown, some new Dora the Explorer toy that can speak a few meager phrases in Spanish, Yellow chocolate (which incidentally I now want to try), a great mobile phone deal that indicates also at the bottom of the screen that I need to make a long commitment to the service provider, an incredible watch, a fantastic gold necklace that she'll love me for, a cup of soup to cure my three thirty-itis, SkyTV, MySkyHDI, TiVo and then an upcoming programme that I must watch on the same or the partner/sister/parent/insert other family member here channel at 9:30 on Tuesday. Bombardment? Entertainment? I should be entertained by the television programme so when they slip in an ad hook I can have a break from the entertainment and turn my eager shopper dial to the on position so I can be baited and caught like a colourful fish that just can't wait to swim in all the crap that is advertised. Attention? Television wants my attention... it's not a crime. But it's unconscious. I'm not aware of it. But in saying that, I am aware it happens now. The challenge is to be aware of what happens in the moment and let it be. A response can then come.

Oh it's 3:32. No three thirty-itis :)