SOUL SEARCHING III
OK. Prozac Nation is the story of a young girl (played by Christina Ricci) given the opportunity to pursue her dream of studying to be a journalist at Harvard University. She's had a rather f---ed up childhood, a victim/child of two equally f---ed up parents hell-bent on punishing each other. For what, I'm not sure. At any rate, the parents were too busy to give their daughter the love and attention she desperately craved. She grew up rebellious and self-destructive. When the time came for her to actually prove that she had what it took to be a successful journalist, all hell broke loose and she developed a severe case of writer's block that lasted for months. I don't want to say anymore because some of you have expressed the desire to see the movie.
Had I not spent so much time physically trying to get past a strong dislike for all but one character, I may have had nicer things to say aboot the movie. The only character I liked was the girl's roommate, Ruby. She spent the first half of their friendship trying to get her friend (Christina Ricci) laid, and the second half trying to help her be normal and happy. Good pal, huh?
Now to what I took away from the movie. It made me realize something I already knew aboot our society. Meaning, we Americans. I knew we spend too much time chasing stupid shit and that we are an over-medicated population. We take pills to make us sleep, pills to wake us up, pills to curb our appetite, pills to make our pee pees work, pills to get babies, pills to not have babies, pills to make us poop, pills so we don't pee our pants, pills to slow us down and perk us up. WTF??? What the hell did everybody do before the freakin' pills? I dunno, but they sure as shit weren't all dropping dead from heart attacks and cancer caused by clogged arteries and chemicals like we are. Sure, to a degree but. They say we are living longer now. I read statistics the other day that say this generation is already living longer than the one after us ever will. Am I starting to sound like "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Mr. Billy Joel?
So this all got me thinking that I need to just slow down and concentrate on what's real and what makes me happy and forget all the other stuff. People are too wrapped up in what color their hair should be, how much collagen and Botox they can stuff in their faces, how much fat they can have sliced and/or vacuumed out of their thighs, how big their butts and breasts are or aren't. Like that's any kind of measurement of a person's character... People who aren't obsessed with their appearance are pre-occupied with accumulating things. Things like cars... and gadgets... and things!!!
I'm not saying it's wrong to care aboot one's appearance. Or to have nice things. What I'm getting at is that if we are this preoccupied with stupid little shit on top of all the real crap we have to worry aboot, no wonder we can't face reality without a prescription or ten.
How many times a day do you catch yourself clenching your teeth? Holding your breath? Rubbing the back of your neck? We're tense. And we're afraid we can't keep up. I'm not a competetive-type person, even. I'm not trying to keep up with anyone except myself. And that's taking a toll. But now I know why I'm feeling so cornered and overwhelmed. Time to smell the roses, I guess. It amazes me that I found myself so far off base. I'm usually not one to lose sight of my shoreline like this. (Must be time to wrap this up, I'm making references to sports; baseball and sailing???)
I need to tell you all how much you've touched me with your comments and suggestions. I could never explain to a non-blogger what it feels like to be part of a circle of friendly "strangers" (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) who can make me laugh, smile, cry and shake my head in awe on an almost daily basis. In my way, I love you all. You make me wanna be a better person...
... and I'm going to keep working on that. Feel free to give me a kick in the ass or a slap on the wrist if you see me slipping. I know some of you will just be waiting for the opportunity... but that's ok. That's what friends are for.
******************************************
OK. Prozac Nation is the story of a young girl (played by Christina Ricci) given the opportunity to pursue her dream of studying to be a journalist at Harvard University. She's had a rather f---ed up childhood, a victim/child of two equally f---ed up parents hell-bent on punishing each other. For what, I'm not sure. At any rate, the parents were too busy to give their daughter the love and attention she desperately craved. She grew up rebellious and self-destructive. When the time came for her to actually prove that she had what it took to be a successful journalist, all hell broke loose and she developed a severe case of writer's block that lasted for months. I don't want to say anymore because some of you have expressed the desire to see the movie.
Had I not spent so much time physically trying to get past a strong dislike for all but one character, I may have had nicer things to say aboot the movie. The only character I liked was the girl's roommate, Ruby. She spent the first half of their friendship trying to get her friend (Christina Ricci) laid, and the second half trying to help her be normal and happy. Good pal, huh?
Now to what I took away from the movie. It made me realize something I already knew aboot our society. Meaning, we Americans. I knew we spend too much time chasing stupid shit and that we are an over-medicated population. We take pills to make us sleep, pills to wake us up, pills to curb our appetite, pills to make our pee pees work, pills to get babies, pills to not have babies, pills to make us poop, pills so we don't pee our pants, pills to slow us down and perk us up. WTF??? What the hell did everybody do before the freakin' pills? I dunno, but they sure as shit weren't all dropping dead from heart attacks and cancer caused by clogged arteries and chemicals like we are. Sure, to a degree but. They say we are living longer now. I read statistics the other day that say this generation is already living longer than the one after us ever will. Am I starting to sound like "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Mr. Billy Joel?
So this all got me thinking that I need to just slow down and concentrate on what's real and what makes me happy and forget all the other stuff. People are too wrapped up in what color their hair should be, how much collagen and Botox they can stuff in their faces, how much fat they can have sliced and/or vacuumed out of their thighs, how big their butts and breasts are or aren't. Like that's any kind of measurement of a person's character... People who aren't obsessed with their appearance are pre-occupied with accumulating things. Things like cars... and gadgets... and things!!!
I'm not saying it's wrong to care aboot one's appearance. Or to have nice things. What I'm getting at is that if we are this preoccupied with stupid little shit on top of all the real crap we have to worry aboot, no wonder we can't face reality without a prescription or ten.
How many times a day do you catch yourself clenching your teeth? Holding your breath? Rubbing the back of your neck? We're tense. And we're afraid we can't keep up. I'm not a competetive-type person, even. I'm not trying to keep up with anyone except myself. And that's taking a toll. But now I know why I'm feeling so cornered and overwhelmed. Time to smell the roses, I guess. It amazes me that I found myself so far off base. I'm usually not one to lose sight of my shoreline like this. (Must be time to wrap this up, I'm making references to sports; baseball and sailing???)
I need to tell you all how much you've touched me with your comments and suggestions. I could never explain to a non-blogger what it feels like to be part of a circle of friendly "strangers" (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) who can make me laugh, smile, cry and shake my head in awe on an almost daily basis. In my way, I love you all. You make me wanna be a better person...
... and I'm going to keep working on that. Feel free to give me a kick in the ass or a slap on the wrist if you see me slipping. I know some of you will just be waiting for the opportunity... but that's ok. That's what friends are for.
******************************************
posted by One Wink at a Time at 8:14 PM
10 Comments:
I got your point of which I mostly agree with. But I started singing when I was reading the pills part.
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
I agree with you that the strive for the material things and personal vanity are corrupting our future. I also think that these pressures to have these material objects are the original source of the abnormal stress that Americans face. The heart diseases you eluded to, I think can be traced back to the "pursuit of the material variable."
Burn Stuff
TC
There's no doubt that we are an over-medicated, over-stressed society. I fight like crazy to keep from taking drugs...be it aspirin or an allergy pill. I keep them for the last resort. Every kid these days has ADHD and needs riddlin or some comparable drug. It's a slippery slope. On the other hand, there are people for whom these drugs works wonders. My brother really seemed to benefit from riddlin when he was in high school and was able to throw away that crutch as he got older. A success story. But it's tough to find that balance. We've got drug companies advertising their product with commercials that don't really tell you what problem the drug treats. "If you want to be as happy as these folks...you should ask your doctor if this pill will make your life better."
I heard on the radio a study they did about the number of choices we have these days and how the insane amount of small choices we have to make each day adds up. 10,000 kinds of TVs...which is the best? 25 variations of baked beans...which is the best deal/best for you? I thought it was an odd point until I gave up meat. I had never realized that I actually got stressed when making a selection at a restaurant. As if this choice would really affect the rest of my life. But now that most menus only give me an option of two or three items that I can eat...I must admit that I suddenly noticed the lack of stress...and I enjoyed the simplicity.
Sorry...I'm rambling. But I could go on for pages on this topic. But I won't.
Hang in there, Linda. We love ya.
That's a bummer! I was going to ask you if I should dye my hair blonde and how much fat to get sucked out of my butt?! Just kidding! I luv ya! I'm glad you seem to be having some realizations that are helping you get out of your slump!
PS Was your squirrel hunting successful?
Natalie
you know, back in the 60s or earlier, they were giving pills to mothers w/ no thoughts about it. i think it was speed, but i'm not sure. maybe it was stronger.. i'm having a hard time remembering right now.
anyway, i totally agree w/ your post. one good thing about bahrain is that life is a lot slower here. you have a chance to look at life, slow down and relax, and it's a nice way to live life.
TC: White Rabbit! Yeah, why do we do this to ourselves, though? I'm not a guilty as most, by a long shot but it seems to be the rule more than the exception. I think the government started this whole way of thinking so we would be less inclined and less focused to pay attention to the issues that we really should be concerned with.
I like your sentiment "Burn Stuff." It's a viable solution for cutting down on material overload.
Si: Will anxiously await your commentary. In the meantime, I'm putting extra padding on my nether-regions.
Mokker: Don't get me started on Ritalin. I agree that some cases are meritted, and that's fine and dandy. But a great percentage of these kids only need attention, discipline and a few dietary changes. Pisses me off that we medicate kids and push them off to the side instead of culturing their creativity and individualism. This is too big an issue to address here but I'm very glad that it helped your brother.
You're 100% right on with the choices thing. I am easily overwhelmed and too many choices make me edgy and can totally incapacitate me to the point where I cannot make a choice. This gets me into trouble when I'm buying music for example. If I cannot choose between, say 3 cds, I buy all three. That's a small thing, but nonetheless. I don't like that we're overwhelming our kids with too many toys, etc. I am an adult and if I'm not equipped to make choices, how must it affect a child??? When I get too overwhelmed, I just shut down. Not a good thing.
Nat: Leave it to you to make me laugh when I'm all tense and confused. :-) This is hard for me, it will take me awhile to sift through all my thoughts and feelings and it ain't gonna happen overnight. Thanks for thinking of me. I'm trying extra hard to keep my sense of humor...
Yesterday when I came home, (you'll appreciate this-) PD had the curtains open, the blinds up and the storm window open in the spare bedroom which looks out over the garage where Big Red has taken up residence. He also had his .22 out. I didn't ask any questions... Turns out, BR tore up one of those huge pink rolls of insulation that we had in the garage and made himself a pretty pink nest with it. Needless to say, PD = PISSED.
TC: Oh yeah, please e'splain "material variable"...
And then there are those of us who are not medicated enough. They really need to shut me up before I get myself into more trouble!
See, I suffer from foot in mouth disease. Sure everyone says they do but I am the one who makes snide comments that invariably come back to haunt me!
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