Why I watch TV

  

Ok, there are actually several reasons.  One of which is I'm lazy.  But one is also my version of people watching.  Let me explain.

     Today I was watching the Nick show, iCarly. (Quick disclaimer: Do I love that show?  Not really.  It's not one of my favorites.  However, nothing much was on and I didn't want to get up off my comfy chair and find something else to do.  I did mention I'm lazy, right?)  Anyway, my dad told me he couldn't believe I was watching that show.

     But while I was watching, I was also thinking.  It was the one (for those of you who know the show, or care or whatever) where Freddy pushes Carly out of the way of a truck, getting himself and broken arm/wrist and leg and generally getting hurt.  Carly is touched that he saved her and thinks she's fallen in love with him.  In the end, Freddy tells her that maybe they can be together after he heals up and makes sure that she likes him for him, not because of what he did.

     The whole time I was thinking, "What makes this compelling?"  The answer was: the sacrifice.  Even though Freddy has liked Carly since the very beginning, he wouldn't date her without knowing she felt the same way as he did.  (No matter how small it is, it seems I'm still a sucker for a sacrifice story--except Madagascar 2-type sacrifices :)

     This theme of sacrifice seems pretty big in the storytelling world.

Frodo gives up a quiet life and innocence to destroy the Ring and save Middle Earth.

Dashti (Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale) gives up her freedom for her loyalty.

Aerin (Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund) gives up her secrets for trust and friendship.

Aslan gives up his life for Narnia.

     In all these stories someone sacrifices something for something bigger.  That knowledge doesn't mean the sacrifice is easy, but it reminds them that it is the right thing to do.  I think there's something about sacrifice that appeals to us, perhaps because it's a rare virtue in the "real world".

     So why do I watch TV?   (Besides the whole "lazy" thing.)  My writing is a lot stronger when I think about what makes other stories so captivating.  (Or at least enough that I don't really want to change the channel.)  Does this happen to anyone else?