:: Why Normally Intelligent People Like Laguna Beach
Wednesday night I sat down on my sad excuse for a couch and flipped the TV on. Score! Laguna Beach season finale…sweet!! The longer I sat there, soaking up every last bit of Laguna drama that I could before the very long hiatus before Season 4 would hit the air, the more like road kill the show became. I wanted nothing more than to look away but my eyes were transfixed on the drama that lay in front of them. But why exactly do I give a damn about it? About any of it. I mean, who cares if Rocky and Breanna are talking again and Tessa is sad about it? And who cares if Kyndra ever gets back with that loser ex of hers? I know Cami’s staying out of it. I mean, why do I find this obviously scripted life to be so fascinating?
I grew fairly concerned about my own mental well-being. How could I, a reasonably intelligent person, be so enamored with the lives of people who’s greatest concern is who is in their limo for Prom? I broached the subject with a few friends of mine and we seem to have come to a pretty reasonable conclusion. Plain and simple, we miss the drama.
We’re all growing up. We have classes and interviews and more important things to think about than why Tessa is out with Derek when she’s obviously not as cool as him. And yet, we miss that aspect of our own lives. We’ve left behind the drama of high school. Our friendships and relationships are all fairly straightforward at this point; there’s not backstabbing, no pettiness, nothing. And we miss it. That’s right, deep down, we miss that drama. We grew up with that drama, literally, and now we’re not sure just how to deal without it. We expect things to be complicated and now that they’ve stopped being so involved, we’re at a loss. Enter Laguna Beach.
We can’t really justify in our lives why we care so much about that couple just broke up in front of everyone at party. Oh sure, we can observe it with a passing amusement, but we can’t stare and gawk like we would have in high school. We’re “too adult” for that. Ah, but wait, when Alex and Rocky break up at the bonfire in front of everyone, we’re allowed to be entertained by that. It’s on TV after all, and what purpose does TV have if not to entertain? Exactly, it’s our duty, as a television audience, to watch and to be entertained. And that’s nothing to feel guilty about.
Wednesday night I sat down on my sad excuse for a couch and flipped the TV on. Score! Laguna Beach season finale…sweet!! The longer I sat there, soaking up every last bit of Laguna drama that I could before the very long hiatus before Season 4 would hit the air, the more like road kill the show became. I wanted nothing more than to look away but my eyes were transfixed on the drama that lay in front of them. But why exactly do I give a damn about it? About any of it. I mean, who cares if Rocky and Breanna are talking again and Tessa is sad about it? And who cares if Kyndra ever gets back with that loser ex of hers? I know Cami’s staying out of it. I mean, why do I find this obviously scripted life to be so fascinating?
