I was at a social function recently and when I returned to my seat, I accidentally kicked one of the table legs hidden by a cloth. A brief tumult of wobbling objects ensued. Before I could apologize, someone at the table joked, "who raised you?!"
I chuckled, but I thought of our big old 100-pound TV.
My aim is not to disparage my parents, (nor my teachers, some of whom I loved) but if you're a Gen Xer, you know. My childhood Gen X friend fully credits wolves with raising her, so the TV? Not so bad.
Anyway, in terms of rearing me, I credit TV with a solid 70%, plus 10% to reading fiction and my encyclopedias, and also a grateful 15% to my grandmother. If you're a math whiz, that leaves only 5% for my parents. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Since they were rarely home, my parents' influence on me might best be described as unintentional, trivial, fleeting. This isn't bellyaching; it is (was) what it is (was).
NO the TV did not buy my jeans, my running-shoes, my winter coats; nor did it pay the electricity bill or bake fresh bread—a nod to my parents for all those essentials. But the TV did indeed provide. Provide what? My worldview.
If you're thinking, I wouldn't admit that the TV is mostly responsible for the lens through which I interpret the world, what I know to be true, what I value, and how I consciously (and unconsciously) act on that viewpoint, well touché, but it's just facts.
So regarding worldview, what did the TV actually impart? Lots. If you're still reading this, perhaps this somewhat chronological list of my childhood favourites provides some insight?
- Mr. Dressup & Sesame Street
- The Flip Wilson Show
- Sonny & Cher
- Star-Trek
- Maude
- MASH*
- The Muppet Show
- SCTV
- The Jeffersons
- The 6 Million Dollar Man
Picture kid me: part artsy, part social activist, part student of comedy, part stuntman, all woke nerd. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ TV was my babysitter, my family, my most welcome escape, but (like my beloved Lego) it helped me assemble myself. When I think about what the miniseries Roots did to my psychology. Whoa. And I'm sure TV is why I remain foolishly optimistic that everything can be solved in about 30 minutes (minus commercials). If only, eh? Sigh.
But one of the biggest influences? Mork & Mindy. Mork (Robin Williams) was my favourite (fellow) outsider. Remember Mork's observation on loneliness? It still chokes me up. He was all comedy and all pathos, and also everything. Mork was a bit of a psychic catalyst. I already felt like a social alien, but Mork (and the way all the kids at school endorsed him) helped affirm my curious nature and taught me it might actually be okay to be different (but probably not, so keep that nervous system cranked, sigh).
Dear friends, were you also fortunate enough to "know" him? Or some other character you saw yourself in? Did TV inform your worldview? Or something else? (It seems to me that unexamined worldview is at the core of life's more pervasive problems.)
Being a Boomer my childhood was a bit different. I was raised by my stay at home mom, dad, my maternal grandmother who lived down the street and and my paternal grandmother who we saw every Sunday. Oh, and there was the lady three doors down who watched over the neighborhood kids as we played in the empty lot across the street. If I misbehaved she would yell from her porch, Tommy I'm calling your mom if I did something wrong!
ReplyDeleteRaised by a village.
ReplyDeleteReally.
We had a pretty free range of our neighborhood and small town and were watched over and watched out for by each other's parents and our coaches, 4-H leaders, Scout leaders, teachers, whatever.
Sure, home was our base and greatest influence, but I would not be the person I am without our small town community.
Growing up, everything and everyone in my world was grist to my mill. Some for good, some for bad. I can't really say that TV was disproportionately influential. But at least it had the virtue of being entertaining!
ReplyDeleteWhen you were part stunt man and did part time stunts, did you also make the bionic man noises? The best!
ReplyDeleteBeing a boomer, and not a rich one, we didn't get out first tv until I was 10, and it was more often in ill-repair than in good working order. Consequently, my programs are different that yours and were frequently Westerns in the earliest days. There were a number of them. I don't know what they taught me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little older than you I think, 64, and by the time Mork and Mindy came along, I was busy most evenings, but I do remember it, but not well. That monologue is lovely.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite shows were MASH, Maude, All In The Family, Laugh In, The Carol Burnett Show and Happy Days. I watched a lot of Sesame Street and The Electric Company while I babysat my niece and nephew. I forgot about The Love Boat and Fantasy Island!
Did TV influence me, I'm sure it did. My family was like the Bunkers but without the love and humour. What I wanted was to live with Maude.
It all seems so long ago now, because it was. I loved Alan Alda, his wit, his compassion, his skills. He played a complicated character on MASH and I think I identified most with him. I wasn't one thing but rather many things, things that shouldn't have gone together but did anyway.