Page 50 - Discover Winter 2023

Charlie's Chatter CONTINUED

episode… and why on earth did the scenes keep I have fond memories of my youth. I grew
starting over again and taking different paths? up in a time when attention spans were longer,
and imagination was not left to external forces.
This prompted a lengthy internet search,
We children were capable of amusing ourselves,
which provided the explanation. I was watching
and arranging our own impromptu social
what was meant to be a feature-length film,
gatherings. We reveled in sunlight and fresh air,
which would ask for my input along the way,
and parents looked out for each other’s children.
thus sending my viewing experience down one
We didn’t need exercise equipment or gym
path or another. Eventually, I figured out that in
memberships. We rode bicycles, climbed trees,
order for this to work as intended, one needed to
and played baseball and football on sandlots.
be viewing the video through the Netflix app. As
one who disdains installing third party apps on When I am approached to participate in a survey,
my devices, I had been watching on my desktop I am amazed and at the same time relieved that
computer through the Netflix website. I don’t understand the subject matter of many
of the questions. Not the ones
Apparently, that
about current events or politics
viewing option did not permit
– the ones about popular culture.
me to make choices, and so
The biggest favor that I ever did
I was subjected to an endless
myself was to stop watching live
series of scenes that would
TV shows. It’s a sad comment on
“rewind” and play again, but
our culture that the opposite is
with a slightly different course
true for so many people who are
of events. The actual video
younger than I. Many of them
is supposed to run about 90
are ignorant about history, or
minutes, with the viewer only
the workings of our government,
seeing the results of their
but they all can answer those
choices. At that point, bleary-
pop culture questions that have
eyed and frustrated, I shut the
me continually drawing blanks.
page down and went to bed.
The truth is that many of today’s
I had spent some time college graduates could not pass
reading various articles online a High School final exam from
that had explained all of this 100 years ago.
to me. As luck would have it,
Technology is robbing
I am OK with having “walked out” on this film,
our young people. It steals their curiosity, their
something which I rarely if ever do. The reason
imagination, their sense of adventure, their
why is that in addition to their other mistakes in
health, and in some cases, their very souls. This is
creating this cinematic gem, they gave it a single
all done in the name of progress. Ironically, the
fatal flaw: It’s pathetically boring, no matter
more connected we become, the less connected
which version of the film you end up seeing.
we are with each other in a real and meaningful
While reading the reviews of the film, it sense. I’m not advocating that we abandon
is interesting that while many people gave it a technology, but we need to re-examine our
thumbs down for the aforementioned reason, perspective on its use and its influence on our
there are also the inevitable pseudo-intellectual daily lives. Otherwise, SkyNet will become self-
reviews that explain to the rest of us idiots that aware… or at the very least, we will not be.
we’re just not smart enough to appreciate the
absolute brilliance of the crap that we watched.

48 Discover Smith Mountain Lake WINTER 2022