you are what you watch . and mind-trip monday



Tonight we watched one of those brilliant BBC nature shows about Africa with the boys. About an hour later Zion, Tyler, and I were playing upstairs and Zion said, “I’ll be the be the baby bird Tyler, and mommy you be the mommy bird…” Everyone understood and assumed the appropriate position. Tyler curled up in the fetal position, mimicking the pale, thin-skinned baby birds in this particularly gruesome scene. Then Zion slowly crawled toward him with a menacing look in his eyes and just as he began to attack he said, “ok mommy! now you!” I flew in and did what the mommy bird does in the scene.. punctured the nasty insect with my beak and saved my young. We took turns replaying the scene until each of us had gotten a chance to play all the parts. Then, just as quickly as the improv session had begun, it was over. They raced down the hall to go play something else.


It made me think. Out of that entire show, my five year old picked up on the scene that was the most memorable to him, and then he later wanted to act it out. It made me all the more thankful and aware that having a video gaming system and television just wouldn’t be good for our family. Our boys are still in what I like to call their sponge years. They are soaking up the world around them and trying to make sense of what they will think, do, and be. I don’t know much about the games and shows that kids get into (I know, I know, I sound like grandma parsons over here), but I know that many of them involve gun violence or are degrading to women or minorities. The real, natural world is interesting and hardcore enough. It involves giant insects that prey on baby birds half their size and mothers who are brutal and protective. I’d rather our boys be influenced, albeit infrequently, by that type of stimulus than see them live vicariously through a digital world that involves guns. Especially after the insane and devastating tragedy that happened in Orlando.


Since we are what we watch and I think we can all afford nine minutes to have our minds expanded and blown a little bit. Here’s something I watched recently that did just that.. a video by Charles and Ray Eames from 1977 called POWERS OF TEN. Watch full screen and enjoy the mind trip.




There was an error submitting your comment. Please try again.