Opinion: When fictional tragedies elicit real emotions
It’s that time of year again. I’m not referring to elections or increasing homework or even the change of season. Fall television premieres are just around the corner and it’s something I keep on thinking about. When I am not doing homework or reading hundreds of pages a night, I am thinking about my favorite television dramas. The creators of these shows have successfully done their job. I sometimes obsess or think about them as if their characters and storylines existed. The lives of the characters are important to me. I feel their successes and I mourn their failures. With all the dramas out there, you kind of have to pick your poison. For me, it’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” I hate medicine and sickness and whatnot, but I love this show. I don’t want to seem like a cheesy fan girl, but I have fallen in love with the characters and their humanity and it is what keeps me coming back.
However, the most tragic part about this is becoming so invested in these characters. Because I have done this, I am setting myself up for heartbreak, time and time again. And people may think it is weird for me or anyone else to become so invested. I am commonly faced with the exclamation, “It’s just a TV show!” But I think that it is not just a TV show; I sometimes spend my afternoons or weekends watching old “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes. Sometimes storylines are so relatable that it hurts and watching the show acts as a sort of catharsis. For me, my television dramas are a way to get in a good cry. I am not a person who cries often and when I do, it’s usually privately. The way I see it, everyone, men and women, need a good cry. And let me tell you, with the emotional shows I watch, it’s guaranteed. I wrap myself up in a blanket, and just let it all out. The love lives of my favorite characters are a dominant factor in these occasional breakdowns.
They really always get me thinking. With my bountiful tears running down my face, I have to deal with the trauma of characters dying, losing the love of their life. And all the while, sad music is being played so I feel even more depressed. For years I get to know these characters, their quirks and also lovely qualities. They find love! I am happy for them because we have to rely on television to give us the unrealistic and idealistic versions of love. I watch them fail, I watch them win, I stay tuned, week after week, keeping my faith in their love. My favorite couple in particular is Mark and Lexie. In an effort not to relay their epic love saga, I will just say that they were so in love, but differences forced them to part ways. But she was still in love with him and he didn’t know it. And then she died. “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes, did it again. She tore apart a couple that was meant to be together, making me feel depressed and empty inside. There are plenty more things I could probably be spending my time on. However, I spend some of my free time watching this show, because some important thoughts are provoked throughout the course of the series. It brings up serious moral questions and how different people react to them. And of course, the endless love stories that create the backbone of the show.
I think a lot of the appeal for television shows is the resolution. They usually provide a resolution that real life just cannot do. We find comfort in the successful love stories in shows, because they plant seeds of hope in our minds. I think we need that hope these days when the divorce rate is up to a striking 50 percent. Romantics want to believe that we will not become a member of that 50 percent. Watching these shows is supposed to give us a break from the cold reality, but now instead I feel like they have failed me. If my beloved fictional characters can’t live happily ever after, then what kind of chance do the rest of us really have?
