Contemplating a character...

I've been sewing this afternoon, which is in itself amazing. We have a book deadline looming and sewing is a small part of my pile of work. I can't share more than a peek but the quilts we are making are pretty!

 

Anyway, when I'm sewing my mind tends to wander and for the last few days it's been wandering to Quinn Fabray. Quinn is a character on Glee and if you haven't watched the most recent episode you might want to stop reading right now.

I love Glee! The high school drama, the music, the imperfect adults—these characters feel real to me. That said, if I knew them in real life, I'd probably lose patience with many of them.

Quinn is a character who has been through a lot but recently she pulled herself together, was going to Yale, looking forward to a great life. And then—not. At the end of the episode I felt much as I would if one of my friend's had lost a daughter. It was physical.

Several of the characters on Glee will be aging out at the end of this season. Quinn was one of them. I hate to think that she's dead, but if she died in that wreck BECAUSE SHE WAS TEXTING WHILE DRIVING maybe it will have an impact on more viewers than me. I don't text and drive but I've been known to glance at my phone. No more of that.

FYI, Steve thinks I'm crazy but then he never cried at Hallmark commercials either. I told him I'd probably dream about Quinn that night, and I did, and he thinks that's sort of wrong too. But you know, the idea that mourning the (probable) death of a TV character is wrong is exactly the reason that my wandering mind keeps going back to Quinn.

Honestly, I know the characters on Glee better than I know many of my genetic relatives. I can't help but care about these fictional characters. I've spent so much time getting to know them! Aren't there characters in books or movies or on TV that you feel the same way about?

It's the idea that we are all characters in our own dramas that is so interesting to me. Imagine yourself as a character—playing yourself in your very own life. The people we know and love (or know and don't love) inhabit our dramas as we inhabit theirs. Our lives are like a TV drama without any cameras.

In a strange way, this idea feels empowering to me. We can re-write our dramas and make changes as we need to. We have some control... until we get written out of the show...

So now I'm going back to the sewing machine.

Comments

[kathy]

spoiler alert

there are stills of her in a wheelchair at the hospital

[Becky]

Amazing! I cant imagine her surviving the wreck that was coming. Until then, though, I will endure the cliff-hanging will she make it or not emotion.

[Sybil]

I haven't watched Glee butI feel that way about the characters on Farscape.

[Mary Ann]

Its the reason I can't watch some movies or watch some shows, it just feels to real and the emotions are all to real. And yes the dreams...

[Sue]

I was not thrilled with the ending of Glee either BUT hopefully it will send a powerful message to all those Americans who seem to have to be in constant contact with each other. Even though we have laws on the books about not texting and using a cell phone while driving, half of the drivers out there do it. So if the episode sends out a powerful message to people, then I guess it did what it was supposed to do.

[Judy]

Yes, I get attached to characters on TV shows, and I cry at sad movies, commercials, etc. I think that sometimes the ones I'm most upset by or attached to, are the ones that remind me of someone or something in my own life.

I generally just lurk on blogs, but wanted to tell you that I took a class from you years ago at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in W'burg,VA. I love reading your blog, and as a do-it-yourselfer, I am amazed at the projects you've been doing on houses. Exhausting work! Hope you make it back to Mid-Atlantic in the future.

[Carin]

my husband met her in real life last year when she came into the US Consulate in Toronto to replace a lost passport--she is a very nice girl in reality--I have an autographed picture of her--I bet you are jealous :) If it didn't say 'Keep it Real Carin' I would give it to you!
Blessings,
Carin from Margaret's Hope Chest

[kathie]

I commonly feel characters on TV are my "friends". I always thought i was weird, but who's to say? Guess we are alike in that way!

[TeresaC]

I don't think it is uncommon to become attached to characters that we let into our homes daily or weekly or even in a movie. That is what the entertainment industry is hoping, if we aren't attached then we don't come back. I have to admit that every day around 2 there is still a little part of my brain that gears up to go to Llanview, PA. That guilty pleasure was a part of my life for years and I miss that show (One Life To Live). They were my daily cup of tea friends and I hope they are all doing well. ;)

[Joyce]

I enjoy Glee for many of the same reasons you stated in your post. But most of all I like the fact that the show has a social aspect where it brings forth many of the issues we see in this world on a day-to-day - texting while driving, homosexuality, bullies, teen suicide, marriage, children having children, divorce, adoption, prejudice, disabilities, etc. - plus, I enjoy the abundance of talent!

[Marcia]

17 year old girls and their mothers may not always get along, but at 8:00 on Tuesday nights everything else gets put aside in my house and my daugher and I watch the show together. It allows us to communicate feelings with each other because someone else has "started" the conversation topic. This show (Glee) has helped me become amazed at how intelligent my daughter is. We have spoken about social issues, women's issues, sexuality, politics, and many other tough topics because of this show. Even if I didn't like the show, and the wonderful talent on the show, I would still watch it because we feel like one when we watch.

[Becky]

Its wonderful to find a show you can share with your kids. In our house it tended more toward action movies. Boys really are different from girls!