Season finale of your life?
I’ve been watching an American office comedy-drama tv series recently. It’s called the Bold Type, a pun on fonts since the girls work at a magazine. It’s a pretty relevant, sensitive, sometimes poignant, but also fun piece.
In every episode we are introduced to important issues, immaturity, concerns that the girls face whether in life, work, relationships, health, etc and by the end of the episode some sort of resolution is reached and all (or most) is well.
I stopped watching American TV shows in favour of Korean or Chinese dramas. So it’s been a while since I saw issues and concerns wrap up nicely in a 45 minute sitting. In some ways, life and problems being packaged into neat little episodes was so weird. At the same time, it was also very elegant and thought-provoking, with issues needing to be condense to their core, it often quickly highlighted important points and gave clear and often simple resolutions. Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched American TV shows in ages, but I found the writing very clever and well thought out.
Life is definitely not packaged into convenient little episodes. Still, it was nice to see life in this perspective. When things are summarised, it also allows for easier comparison. Speaking of which, it is also intriguing how comparisons could often be made between the girls. Yet, it was clear this comparison was not one the producers wanted to draw. The message I got in the end was that these were three different girls, sometimes their narratives overlapped, resembled one another’s, and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes I did wish the producers used comparison, merely as a story-telling tool, to drive home a point. However, I also appreciate the decision not to, making the series more real.
It’s also interesting to see how the seasons were packaged as well. **SPOILER** The first season ended with Jane moving to a new company, Sutton breaking up with her boyfriend, and Kat taking a chance to chase after a girl. The second season ended with Jane writing a piece that culminated in her boss losing control of the digital section of the magazine, Sutton getting back with her boyfriend, and Kat losing her girlfriend. Interestingly, season 3 opens up with a very interesting premise – a new young gay man as head of digital, who at first Jane (who often plays the role of our inner judgey bitch) hates on the pure belief that a man should not be heading a department of a feminist magazine (which is in turn, very sexist). We learn that this man is actually a very capable and smart boss, with a good heart. Still, it irks me how he has very little EQ (hah, where have I seen that before?) and at least on the surface seems not very understanding. I just started season 3, so I’m really excited to see where this goes.
I don’t particular know where I’m going with this train of thought. I just kind of also wondered, what if we looked at our lives like seasons of a tv show? What would be your season finale? What would be your season opening? I guess everybody’s series arc right now is COVID-19. That story will also be different for everyone. It’s up to you to decide what kind of story you’d want your life to tell once your season is over....and whether you want to set it up for an even better season? ;)
