| November 13, 2003 The O.C. impressions and ludicrous expectations as a whole --Today’s O.C. impressions will be more “me” and my experiences oriented than previous installments. Just warning you if you were expecting a dry synopsis. Sometimes my soul just gets burdened by the world around me….sigh… I’ve come to the conclusion that a major personality flaw I have is that I expect too much from people. Maybe it’s because I was sheltered so much growing up, maybe it’s because I was completely naïve through my high school, maybe it’s because I didn’t know how babies were made until I was 16 and a half, I don’t know. All I know is that I walk around everyday with apparently “dreamland” expectations for the world and people around me. I fail to realize other people did in fact not come from Brady Bunch families like mine where my father loved my mother and my mother loved my father, and there were three blond haired girls and three brown haired boys, and the worst family crisis was Johnny’s bad grade in Episode 23 (note the sarcasm but it’s almost true in relative terms). Why God put me in an almost “perfect” family I’ve yet to figure, all I know is that I’m flawed into thinking people will see things as black and white as I do. I need to realize Keith, this person may not make the same decision you’d make in this situation. I need to realize that some guys come from families where the dad said “see ya later wifey and crying babies”, where the mother is loopy 80% of the day from painkillers, and where everyone that was anyone in their lives basically lied to, cheated, and disappointed them; ergo Ryan Atwood of The O.C. Ryan had no father to say “hey Ryan, girls are beautiful and deserve the utmost respect and purity from you”. Ryan had no mother that walked around with a smile because her husband brought her home 12 roses from work for no reason in particular other than loving her so much. Ryan had no brothers or sisters to learn from their mistakes. In short, Ryan had little to no inkling of wisdom passed to him via his childhood and pubescent stages. To put it more succinctly, Ryan Atwood upbringing was not Keith Wojciech’s upbringing. As much as a surprise as I’m sure that is to you (note the sarcasm), I needed to tell myself that. Whoa Keith, way way too much analysis of a fictional teen drama TV show. Is it though? I think not. This past episode, I’d venture a guess that at least 7 millions young girls, ages 10-18 watched The O.C., and in their heart’s took The O.C. for more of a reality than they’re actual day at school. I’d venture a guess that a least 6 million young guys, ages 10-18 watched The O.C., and thought to themselves that darn “virginity” nagging them is the next career hurdle to leap over. I can’t take it yo’s, I just can’t take much more. So back to my character flaws. Maybe I’m naïve, maybe I’m too nice, I don’t know, but I, with an exception to obvious PABs, attempt to give the person I do not know the benefit of the doubt. I automatically assume (unjustifiably maybe) that the pretty girl I see is really a virgin, and that she’s kept herself pure because gee Keith, why would anyone want to dirty themselves before their wedding night? It all seems so clear to me, so I automatically assume it’s clear to them. Get out of Brady Bunch-land right now Keith! I expect people to be much farther ahead then their upbringings could have possibly provided for them. Sure, there may be a few diamonds in the rough (for the most part Ryan Atwood is a diamond in the rough with his gentle attitude and caring heart {let’s put aside his scuffles} but seriously, if anyone deserves to be mad, bitter, and generally upset, it’s Ryan Atwood) but most people act upon what they’ve seen and how they’re experienced growing up. So I watched last night’s episode of The O.C. I’ll be honest at the beginning of the episode, before I accepted the fact that it would be wrong for me to expect Ryan Atwood to make the decisions I’d want Keith Wojciech to make, I was pretty concerned that Ryan and Marissa were gonna fornicate right there and then. That could’ve proved to be tragic for my already fragile psyche. Luckily Kirsten walked in to break up the hormones. Here’s the thing about youthful lust; we all want to do it, we all want to do early, and we all want to do it often. No doubt I have the same inclinations as Ryan. If I was alone with a beautiful girl like Marissa, I’d want to do it with her also, no doubt. But deep down I wouldn’t really want to do it with her, at least not in that relational setting. See sometimes people wonder why I’m still into video games, dorky other things, and cars so much. They're "getaway" devices for me, they save me in a sense. I’ve been told that I “need to get a life” or better yet “get a girlfriend”. Well I guess my only plausible response to that is how’s that working out for you, that unchecked and unguarded youthful lust? You feel good about yourself? You feel pure inside? You feel like your wedding night is gonna be as wonderful as you were expecting when you were 11? You feel like you’ve been faithful to your potential future wife/husband? How’s that working out for you? Those tears at night in your pillow, those regrets that won’t go away as wisdom comes, those times you wish you could’ve treated her better, all those failed attempts at “real” love that only leave you more heartbroken, lost, and jaded? How that working out for ya, living with that mind of yours? ……. When I started watching The O.C. I thought I was seeing a show that finally broke the expectations of what a “real” man was. I thought Ryan, even maybe Seth, would be the harbinger of a new “real” man, one that treated girls with respect, and one that was respected not for getting into a girl’s pants, but choosing to stay out of them. But like so many times before, I set myself up for disappointment. I do this to myself too many times and you’d think I would’ve learned by now not to expect more than I should from people. There was that girl that I thought had gotten past all her insecurities and realized that it’s the way a guy doesn’t try to make out with you that makes him so much more of a catch. Sigh….I expected too much from that girl. Then there was that girl that I thought had finally seen the light, that the life she was living was leading nowhere and only to more broken relationships and guys that only want her because of her body…sigh…I expected too much from that girl… Then there was that girl that I thought was making progress, that the light bulb was finally starting to flicker on, and that crossing the border to freedom was only a few steps away…sigh…I expected too much from that girl… I don’t know, maybe The O.C. is just a television microcosm of what’s gone on in my life already. The expectations, the insinuations, the tribulations, the sexual tensions, the romantic impressions, the emotional abrasions, the spiritual undulations, etc… The O.C., Ryan Atwood, Seth Coen, they’re everything that was my high school/college figuratively, yet somehow, and very ironically, they’re everything I want my life to be literally, and even more ironically, at the same time they’re everything I don’t want my life to be. It’s just a show, yeah I know that; I’m not that dorky. But these shows are beginning to reflect real life better and better these days, and you’d be surprised how on target these shows are relative to our fantasies. Yeah I know, this column is supposed to be a clever and humorous interpretation of last night’s episode like I do every week (give me my clever and humorous self confidence will ya). That’s what probably brought you here. If you’ve read this far you’re probably either upset at me for getting all serious or either really apathetic to all this “deep” stuff I seem to be talking about. If it’s the latter, I pity your simple life. You’re most likely writing me off as some “holier than thou” crack head who thinks he’s better than everyone else because he’s judging everyone who’s “screwed up” already. Well I don’t care for smokescreens so smokescreen your unattended guilt all you want. Sorry to disappoints you, but this article wasn’t about you or people who have already “screwed around” before marriage. This article was about me, in a selfless sort of way I'm writing this to myself. I don’t think of myself as any better than anyone else and I see myself as a first place finisher to the gates of Hell apart from Christ and only Christ. So if you think I’m trying to preach from my soapbox, that’s your problem. I don’t really care about last night’s episode. I don’t even really remember what happened really. Well that’s not true, I do. Ryan and Marissa passed to the boyfriend/girlfriend stage. Seth is continuing his love triangle (unfortunately Seth seems to have bought into the “virginity is a hurdle to be leaped ASAP” lie {hey girls! How many of you want to volunteer to be a hurdle that guys jump over!?!?! Any takers!?!?!? I thought so….you’ve heart’s depths betray your societies persuasions}) Props to Sandy for resisting Medusa (aka Racheal) Glad the bi!ch Julie got exposed. I think that’s most of the main plotline. No Luke fights or anything, that’s always a bummer. But as you can tell, I wasn’t much into the specifics tonight as usual. Too many emotional memories to deal with. In conclusion, I apologize for an uncanny exposition of last night’s episode. It turned into one of Ebb’s “out there” commentaries, I know. Sorry. Deep down though, I gotta believe there’s a scattered few out there that see where I’m coming from, that know what I’m talking about, that maybe…..just maybe, went through some of the same things I’ve gone through. But maybe I’m just pipe dreaming again and expecting something that I know will never come despite my heart’s argument. The O.C. is a great, addicting show no doubt. It’s better than almost every other “teen drama” and definitely puts emphasis on good character versus bad character. It hasn’t stooped to anything too low just yet. We can assume Ryan and Marissa (she’s not the innocent girl I first made her out to be) did it together at the end of the show. But for some reason it didn’t affect me as much as thought it would. I guess by the end of the show I came to the realization that people have had it much tougher than I have and their decisions now reflect their tumultuous pasts. Are people like Ryan Atwood and Marissa Cooper still responsible for their decisions? Sure they are. But without proper guiding or direction, they’re lost. And that’s true for all of us. We’re all just drowning in our selfishness, pride, and unstoppable sin; hopelessly lost in our own, non-existent strength as homo-sapiens. Only a hand from above can pull us out of our impending doom, dry us off, clean out all the dirt and grime, and give us a blank slate. Only a hand from above… · It’s only a matter of time before Fox uses the Switchfoot song “I Dare You to Move”, in one of their episodes. · Writing about The O.C. is my outlet for all the cultural, social, and relational angst that builds up inside me. · No doubt, despite the plethora of The O.C. fansites and commentaries out there on the Internet, mine carry the most depth and thought-provoking insights. I just want people to have the opportunity to make conclusions for themselves. · I’m not looking forward to the episode that Seth loses his virginity. I’m afraid Fox will do it all wrong. Also, my last bastion for a “real” man on the show will be all but lost. Stop these crazy expectations Keith! Get a grip on reality man. · Once you have sex with someone, there’s really nothing more to give them physically. It’s like riding a roller coaster, sure you can ride it again and again, but the novelty of the maiden voyage is gone. Why take that maiden voyage before you’ve already bought the roller coaster? Insensible and dorky analogy? Maybe. Heart in the right place? I think so. Is there anything more that someone wants in sexuality than purity? I think not and we all know it. Maybe I'm about 8 years too late on this soap box....sigh · Is my writing as erratic as it looks? I just re-read what I just wrote and my thoughts are all over the place. |