A long time ago I read that looking at fun movies was a good way to recover. Since I'm still in "recovery mode" I've been recording some Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and streaming old TV series. Some are quite good and stand the test of time, others not so much.
Last night we tried to watch "Cheyenne Autumn." The 1964 movie was supposed to a more sympathetic look at the American Indian. We viewed 18 minutes of the movie when we looked at each other and said "we're done." Turns out a cast of "famous" actors can't make a bad story good, even if it is directed by John Ford. The pacing was horrible and while the storyline had not completely emerged in 18 minutes we felt it was not going to end well for anyone. We deleted the movie. We've been deleting a lot of TCM movies recently. Just because a movie is old does not make it good.
On the other hand, I've also been enjoying some "classic TV series." Gunsmoke showed up on my streaming video Home Screen and I thought why not give it a try as it was a family favorite when I was a kid. The black and white episodes all star Marshall Dillon who is some sort of marvel. As a kid I did not realize just how wonderful Mr. Dillon was. He seems to be able to do just about anything in Dodge, Kansas. He keeps law and order, he's an expert shot, and he has charm to tackle problems, no matter their size. Then there's Miss Kitty. No one seems to mention the fact that Miss Kitty is the madam of a brothel. As a kid I had no idea what Miss Kitty did other than wear fancy dresses and too much makeup. The stories are pretty good and hold up the test of time. They are "period" pieces and they depict the period fairly well. Gunsmoke is a good diversion if you want to have a blast from the past.
I've also been looking at the original "Little House on the Prairie" series, circa 1975. I never saw it when it was originally shown, yet I was a fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books (which I read to my classes). Again, the head of the household, Pa Ingalls, is the star of the show. He can do everything and be everything, etc. etc. etc. This led me to learn more about the actual people who were in the program; in particular I wondered what happened to the little girl who played Laura. In the intervening 50 years, several memoirs have been written about what it was like to be on LHP. Turns out, lots of drug and alcohol abuse were needed to survive the "happy" life the Ingalls family lived. They all look so happy on the set which (in hindsight) must have been in an emotional turmoil most of the time. They really did "act" to get thru the day. The new LHP is woke and is a mere shadow of the books. The old LHP is not woke and follows the LHP storyline well. The underlying story of the folks who made LHP "work" paid a high emotional price to be in the series. I've not seen past season 1...as back in 1975 a TV series had at least 30 episodes per season. Nowadays a "season" is a mere 8 episodes.
I've been recovering. I do something, then I rest. I look at TV or read or crochet or paint rocks...then I do something else. The cycle repeats. If I feel good, I don't sit down a lot. If I "overdid" the day before, then I sit and rest. The beat goes on. My back pain is just about gone most of the time. I'm a happy camper. I'm thankful I have lots of diversions to aid in my recovery. Remember, we're all in this together.
No comments:
Post a Comment