Hello everyone! I thought I'd start off this blog with a no holds barred, no right or wrong discussion about the current state of entertainment during the fall season. Is it just a time to commemorate the season of fall and harvest, a time to be thankful to God for family, love, and life? Or is it a time to conjecture about the journey of those that have died before us, a time to revel in the whole mystery of that ever present question: Is there life after death? We as a society seem to be more and more engrossed in the pursuit of an answer to that question. Maybe it just seems so because in this 21st century we have such a vast amount of media with which to explore this subject. We have books, video games, movies, and the internet to name a few, that suck us into the world of vampires and other undead creatures. What began years ago with bobbing for apples, going on hay rides and telling scary stories at night, has turned head first into a thirst for the unknown. With the passing of time each medium pushes the envelope by becoming more violent, more bloody, and more magical.
Remember when the now famous Harry Potter series was first published? Parents across America were upset with the normalization and popularization of wizards and witchcraft. Now, that dispute has long faded into the antique shop of things that were once offensive, but have become object lessons in tolerance.
On the other hand, surely there are still many people out there who would rather do without all of the superstitious and supernatural slant given to the season. Many parents and schools in fact do not support the traditional Halloween celebrations. Indeed, after reflecting on the events of 9/11, many Americans have reflected on just how precious life is, and how more can be done to celebrate life in this fall/winter season. But does that necessarily make it wrong or undesirable to have entertainment that thrills, chills, and horrifies?
So what do you think? Should the fall be a time to focus solely on family and thankfulness, or a time to revel in the chills we get by exploring the mysteries of the afterlife through fiction media? Let us know what you think!
CT
Bring on the chills and thrills! There's plenty of room in our lives for all of it - to be thankful for family and loved ones, and for ghosts and goblins!
ReplyDeleteBring on the chills and thrills indeed! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI feel that comment is exactly right, but also think that the serious thankfulness and family time can be postponed til Thanksgiving and X-mas. Halloween IS a time for ice chilling thrills! At any rate, if some families want to tone it down just a bit, they could still have the fun of Halloween but just orient their kids more towards the harvest and fall parts of the holiday. And I still think the scary stories part is indispensable for kids and us adults.
ReplyDeleteGreat opening article CT Martin...I'd like to make an observation on the point about parents being up in arms when HP came out and the difference now more than 10 years later. When things like that happen, it temporarily hearkens us back to the Salem witch trials and the age of McCarthyism. In a land of free speech, intellectualism, and open-mindedness (we hope), it still amazes (and disappoints) me that we still may have people so frightened of new or different thoughts. I think that we are all better off learning more about the former practices and superstitions that have led to our current thinking. And there is nothing wrong with continuing with some of the old superstitions if that is what makes us feel more comfortable as a society and culture in relating to our world and as you say - what will happen in the next "world", after death. The more we can experiment with various thought forms and traditions, the better!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts Shirley! People all move at varying speeds but we're all probably headed in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteIf reflection and being thankful for love and family finds a place only in the fall season, then we are seriously lacking on the spectrum of priority. On a lighter note, I have always enjoyed the occasional scary suspense thriller and the fall season does have a way of bringing them out.
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