About six months ago I was watching the second to last episode of the show Ray Donovan, which I had been enjoying up until then. A blend of drama, action and introspection that only the creator of Southland could have come up with, Ray Donovan also deals with the fact that Ray’s sibling and himself were molested by a priest when they were children and ignored by their father.
This is where I come to the melding of television and or movies, and life. Allow me to explain. Throughout human history, humans have created stories, some based off of nothing but pure imagination, others derived from inspiration that can come from a multitude of sources. Real-events taken from peoples lives are turned into fiction and vice-versa. All of these events, these memories and moments, all are part of what some call the “collective-conscious”. Whether taken or given from this source, we are all participants in this great, unwritten narrative, even those among us who are viewed as anti-social. I personally feel that it is indeed those of us that are ‘anti-social’ perhaps contribute the most to the fabric of the global society that so many of us are privileged to enjoy living in.
After all, what does a recluse do aside from being an artist?
Another show that is a prime example of storytelling is Louie, which is written, directed by and stars Louis C.K. The show goes beyond merely being a television show and enters another realm entirely, stories about life and the surprising way that we, as human-beings, react to it.
Stories are more than stories, they show us perspectives, entire universes of ideas that we would never have been open to otherwise. Finding that treasure allows us to find ourselves.
Ethan I. Solomon 