The allure of a secret identity, powerful hand weapons and mystical martial art skills has intrigued the general population for many a decade; much longer if we include entertainment outside of visual media. And yet there is a darker side that I find is not often highlighted as we cheer for the secret heroes of our time. I have recently started watching a television series, called "Chuck;" it was one of the last tv shows my sister enjoyed, and since she can't tell me why she likes it so much, I started watching it to find that out on my own.
While "Chuck" is entertaining and has its comedic moments, I find myself left feeling sad after nearly every episode. Perhaps a large part of this is due to the fact the main character, Chuck, is my sister's age, and my sister's type--she never married--and I am sad she did not find her own Chuck in this life. Many of the songs featured in the show are also the ones she listened to around the turn of the millennium; not sad in it of themselves, just by association.
Personal reasons aside, I find the show sad because of the life the main character has to lead. He has "greatness thrust upon him," as Shakespeare once wrote, and leading the life of a secret spy with no prior training, maintaining all kinds of military secrets, is mentally and emotionally intense. It's practically impossible to get to know oneself as part of a couple, the basic, fundamental unit of society.
Even if someone like a spy manages to find love, how do they maintain those relationships? The short answer is that most just do without. Our own real heroes, like the military, probably experience the same pangs of lost time and extreme anxiety as our fictional spies, wondering if they will live to see another sunrise, wondering if they will ever be able to come home. And that's just the ones who happen to be overseas for extended periods of time.
What about the very real members of government who work on classified, confidential information? Relationships are based on trust, but these people can't tell their own husband or wife about the work they do. That's an entire third of their lives that can't be shared, based on a typical eight-hour work day; another third is consumed by sleep, leaving only one third of their lives open for discussion.
That is probably an extreme example, though. Still, why the allure of an alternate reality, when we see the characters sacrificing so much? You can't tell me that mint juleps in Japan or a mambo in Morocco is worth being in a constant state of fear, of having to sever all ties and cease to exist, if the occasion calls for it.
It does feel good to be able to defend oneself or to defeat an opponent, to know you possess those abilities that lead to power over others. But something I've learned is that there is always someone better than you. It's not smart to base your self worth on how you match up to everyone else. Then you either get too cocky or you lose confidence; both will get you dead, in the spy game at least.
Perhaps it just feels good for us viewers to be able to worry about someone else's problems for a change; it's an exercise in sympathy and relief, that our problems aren't nearly so bad. Some might even say that watching programs and movies like "Chuck" are cathartic; we as a general population can't go around shooting up bad guys, making out with random hot people, or saving the day, so we watch fictional characters do it. There aren't enough padded cells in existence to contain us if we tried. (And perhaps that's also why Comic-Con is so popular...)
Or maybe we all like to believe there is more going on around us than we can see, thousands of secret plots weaving all around us, invisibly maintaining our precarious existence. Most of us want to be a part of something bigger than us; films and television shows can fulfill that desire. (Religion can do that, too--we LDS are fortunate enough to know that we ARE part of something larger than ourselves.)
Still, I feel for characters like Chuck, because I want everyone to find happiness and fulfillment in trusting, loving relationships. We all deserve that chance. I hope the writers of this particular show find a way to let Chuck have those things (I'm still in Season 1); I hate those "realistic" shows where everyone dies at the end! Give me a happy ending, any and every day!
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