Years
back, my daughter’s mother had to work late, so she asked me to relieve the
baby sitter, put our daughter to bed, and wait until she got home from
work. When I arrived, my 5-year-old
daughter had a sassy, sarcastic, yet lovable attitude. (I have noticed more of this personality
blossoming over the last few weeks.) I
started getting her ready for bed when she asked, “Dad, can I watch ‘Raven?’”
“Who?” I said. “That’s So Raven. Mommy let’s me watch it.” I thought to myself,
“In mom’s house, it is mom’s rules.” I asked “Are you sure Mom lets you?” She said, “Yeah, can I please?” “Okay,” I said. “But just for a little while
because you need to take a bath.” As we
watched the show, I could not help thinking about the cooks in the kitchen as
they came up with this dish to serve.
Let
me try to flashback to when this dish was cooked up. In this case, the chefs
decided they needed a new dish on the children’s menu. Now, if the chef or the writer is really
creative, he or she will share ideas about a “new” dish. But, usually, someone
in the meeting will dig up some old recipe.
The executive will think, “The old recipe worked on some level before,
especially on the financial level.” Then they will turn to the writer to add a
different spin or twist to the old recipe.
This is usually the point where the “likes” will start to chime into the
kitchen. “What about something like this?” “What about something like that?”
Maybe the main character could be like a teenage girl that is like sassy,
sarcastic, yet lovable. Soon, they will
settle and decide what the flavor of the main ingredient will be. The staff gets to work preparing, seasoning,
and cooking, while the director cooks it up. The editor arranges it on a plate
and makes it look appetizing. Eventually,
the owners will give it a taste and comment on what they think should be
changed. A few more spices are added, and then the dish goes on the menu. And before you know, your kid will be on a
regular diet of sass, sarcasm, and lovable attitudes. Your daughter will speak, and you might ask
yourself, “Is that my daughter acting so sassy, sarcastic, and lovable?” And the answer to your question is: “That is
not my daughter… That’s So Raven.”
…
So, anyway, I watched the rest of the
show with my daughter and could hear the dialogue both her and Raven shared
over the last few weeks. I then gave her
a bath, read to her, told her a few of my own stories, and put her to bed. As I waited for her mother to come home, I
thought to myself of a time when I saw the same kind of thing happen but to
adults. What I’m talking about is when
people sound like a TV show they watch regularly, whether it is in their
vocabulary, phrasing, delivery, mannerisms, or tone of voice. In mid to late
nineties, the show Seinfeld was very popular.
I cannot tell you how many times or how many people I talked with that
made me feel like I was talking to someone on that TV show. Years later, I would talk to women and could
see which character in Sex and the City they admired and related to most. They sounded just like if I had turned on the
TV. Sure, at times, it was entertaining,
but that was the intention of the show. We seem to be putting too much pressure
on ourselves to always be entertaining and full of drama. Sometimes, it was disappointing knowing we
are created so unique and different, but so many of us are sounding the same
and may not even realize our individual blessings.
…
Later
that evening, my daughter’s mother came home, and I asked her, “I’m told its
okay for her to watch That’s So Raven. Is this true?" “Yeah,” she said. “I started letting her
watch it a few weeks ago. You just have to parent it.” I did not care to venture and ask what the phrase
“parent it” meant, but it felt like I was talking to the TV again.
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