Too Much TV
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Walking home alone last night I had the vivid sensation that someone was following me in the dark through my quiet neighborhood. Phantom footsteps echoed on the sidewalks. Shadows reached for me from hedges and rose bushes along my path. I even imagined I heard an audience screaming at me, “Look out behind you!”
All of this resulted from watching similar scenes over and over again in movies and television shows.
Years ago a bank near where I worked was robbed and the only clue the FBI had led them straight to our store. I remember standing at the counter waiting to ring up the next customer. The next person in line was a gentleman in suit who got out his wallet and flipped it open showing me his FBI ID.
Something happened to my hearing as phatom bullets started flying and I worked out where I would take cover from the violence that would soon follow. My heartbeat sped up and my breathing altered slightly as my imagination put me through a shoot out in the space of a few seconds.
When the events finished playing out in my head (ending up with me wounded and of course selflessly administering first aid to another wounded customer) I came back to actual events and had to tell the agent that I couldn’t help him with his question and directed him to the assistant manager.
Again this was the result of too much TV.
Driving down the road alone at night, I can see the specter of a person running into the road in the rain and freezing in the headlights. A police car barrelling down the highway with lights on becomes involved in a car chase with a lot of explosions and cars crashing in its wake. Folks waiting in line at the bank have guns in their bags/pockets and are waiting for the opportunity to take hostages and rob the bank.
These are the things that run through my imagination as I go through life. All as a result of watching TV. That’s right. I blame my paranoia on TV.
What things do you imagine as a result of watching TV?
