I'm still totally obsessed with The O.C.
A lot of things have stuck with me over the years, particularly the things that also happen to be benchmarks in pop cultural history. I don't think there's anything unique about that--we all have certain memories connected with movies, music, commercials. I think that's just how the mind works. But if you have met me (and maybe you have, I don't know who reads this thing) I have a stupid amount of pop culture knowledge, particularly that which pertains to the screen, whether it be small or large. I have little to no academic memory. Sometimes I think about how my life would have been different had I dedicated the same amount of brain space to "real" information as I have to telling you what every Mighty Duck is up to these days. I love movies, I love television, and when I find something that sticks, it sticks around forever.
Thus The O.C. obsession reveals itself.
The obsession is rooted in being 14 years old and having used the previous 5 to concoct what I thought was a realistic view of high school. I guess high school was my real first obsession, the more I think about it. In 1999 (or there about) I was sneaking off to the basement to watch Dawson's Creek and begging my dad to take me to Blockbuster so I could rent She's All That every weekend. I tried to write my own script inspired by She's All That but it was actually just She's All That with some of the names changed. I remember I wrote the whole thing in pink pen on notebook paper. It was my first large body of work (5 pages, front and back) and I thought it was pretty good. I don't want to go into detail about how I feel and how I've been affected by teen movies. Just know that everything I thought high school would be was more or less defined by Pacey Witter. And yes, he ruined it for every single one of you. But at 14 with only one year until high school, The O.C. entered my life to give me one last glimpse of what it could be like.
Big LOL, right? Like. Seriously, Katie? You used The O.C. as your standard of reality? After years of watching varying degrees of white kids falling in love and finding themselves, you ended it all with The O.C.?
Oh, yeah. That's totally what I did.
Early on in the watching process, I became very keen to the notion that none of the things on this show would never, ever happen to me. None of them. As much as I wanted Seth Cohen to happen to me, I also knew that he would never ever happen. I liked being in a world that would never exist for me. I rank The O.C. as one of the greatest fantasy epics of my lifetime. I would never look like Marisa or Summer, I would never have a dad like Sandy Cohen, and I would never be so California it hurt. It was pure fantasy in which I willingly immersed myself. So when high school eventually came, I knew exactly what not to expect. I was pretty right, save for a few of my friends whose very big houses intimidated the hell out of me.
For Christmas 2006 I got season one of The O.C. on DVD. I think I must have started watching the show halfway through its first season, so it was very important to me that I had the feeling of "being there from the beginning." TV on DVD during high school was the greatest thing that had ever happened to any of us and you know it just as well as I do. Christmas break was made up entirely of:
Hey, what are you doing?
I don't know I just watched, like, six hours of Grey's Anatomy.
Cool. I haven't moved from my couch yet either.
I would dedicate long, late nights to The O.C. I used to only put that kind of time into writing, but that winter I was 100% committed to The O.C. And I loved it. I love it now, especially when I hear the intro to "California" and I know a new episode is starting. Because that's the greatest part of watching a series in bulk, right? The theme music keeps you going. Have you ever watched two seasons of Game of Thrones in less than a week? Because I have and that music makes me want to fight someone or ride a horse or hatch dragon eggs. The point is that hearing the beachy, summer hit, "California" actually makes me think about drinking hot chocolate and still turning on the Christmas tree even though Christmas already happened. The O.C. is, simply, the coziest thing I have. (**For more commentary on the song, ask me about Phantom Planet and my downright adoration and undying love for Jason Schwartzman. It will make you feel sad for me at first but then that knowledge plus knowing who I am will coincide quite nicely.)
This past summer, TNT re-booted the smash hit 80s drama, Dallas. Like me, my mom is a skeptic, and she initially seemed unsure of the rising-from-the-dead of her favorite television show. It took close to no time at all for her to be just as enthralled as I imagine she was 30 years ago. I guess TV just sticks. TV moves forward like we do (which is why Girl Meets World will be 100% fine, by the way, please relax) and whether we grow with it currently or remember a time in which we did, there's really no better way to document your life than tying it to the fake lives of people you don't know. But I guess we do kind of know them, don't we?
Years from now when I am remembering Chicago, or at least this first year out of college, there will surely be a pattern to the kind of entertainment that affected me most. It seems to me that this time in my life is defined by funny women who make me laugh while teaching me how to also be a funny woman. I will personally thank them some day.
In the mean time, I hope you all are enjoying the early days of December and rearing up for which ever holiday it is you enjoy the most. I also hope you all get the chance to watch the things that make you feel most at home.
Happy Chrismukkah! Now go watch Over the Top!
Quick end note. I'm trying really hard not to ruin the sentimental end of this blog post, so I'll just whisper it here. I WOULD be watching lots of happy things on TV right but COMCAST, YEAH YOU COMCAST, fucked up our cable package and effectively ruined my life. How does that feel, Comcast, knowing that you ruin people's lives day after day? Does it make you feel big? Do you gain satisfaction from being literally the worst service provider ever? You're the worst and I hate you.
maybe you didn't seen Seth Cohen in high school, but I'd say Will is pretty close to him (in the best way possible)! Sails, Jewish, you know, all that good stuff.
ReplyDeleteand yeah, fuck comcast.
This is Ramsey, btw.