Some T.V. shows sneak up on you. They creep into your life, subtly hooking you, until you can think of nothing else. Recently I had an experience with this and it made me think. I got hooked on a show called Smallville. Sometimes while watching the show I thought, "Wow, that actor is really hot," and "gasp, that was exciting." But mostly I thought things like, "why am I wasting my time with this? It is absolutely not adding anything to my life." With this last thought came enlightenment, or maybe it was disgust, and I vowed to stop watching Smallville and all other shows like it.
Smallville is about Superman... as a teenager. The all-important characters are the always-attractive Clark Kent and the not-yet-evil Lex Luther. Add to this the not-so-subtle foreshadowing, and hints of greatness to come. For the most part it's a hokey teen soap opera with only slightly above average acting, and yet, it is utterly addicting. I don't know why.
Besides the occasional Superman trivia it offers nothing of educational value, and if you weren't so wrapped up in the show you would probably be able to feel your brain melting. But this is only my opinion, and I know others who would disagree, strongly. South High Junior Aly Ogle is a self-described devotee of Smallville.
"I've never watched less than two episodes at one time so, I'm always led into the next one," explained Ogle. "The longest I have watched straight, I think I've watched about seven episodes, and they're approximately 55 minutes each. So that's close to seven hours straight minus 35 minutes. So yeah, that's definitely an obsession I'd say."
Ogle said she isn't sure whether her obsession is an appropriate one.
"Well I don't know if this would be a good or bad obsession," said Ogle. "I guess to me it's a good obsession just because it is involved with teenagers, so it is somewhat related to my life at this point. Maybe if I was in my late sixties and watching this show it would be a bad thing if I got so involved in a little teenage drama, but right now it kind of helps me understand things or can help me see different possibilities. The show does a really good job of playing off what real teenager would react to, except some reactions are a little less extreme, because he is Superman, so he can't react quite the same to some things. So yes, it is an obsession, and I think it's an okay one."
Opinions are strong on both sides of the Smallville spectrum. One of my friend's mothers says while she doesn't hate the show, she doesn't like it... at all.
"My name is Lorna, and I don't like the show," said Lorna Sousa. "I don't like the characters, I don't like the actors playing the characters, and the show has no feel when I'm watching it."
Sousa says she prefers older version of the Superman story.
"Oh I know the story of Superman, and I know all that. What it's all about, and Lois Lane, and Clark Kent, and when he fell to earth, but the story, I don't like watching it, because it just doesn't feel good when I watch it."
Sousa says she was surprised to hear that Smallville is actually a fairly popular show.
"Umm, maybe because Superman's cute. I don't know, I don't know why you would watch it. I don't like it, I don't know."
And that's exactly how I feel. Perhaps, not quite so adamantly as Sousa, but there are definitely some similarities. The show is a good escape, but there are other things I would rather spend my time on.
Resenting Smallville
