You're at a party your cousin is having for the 4th of July. Someone starts talking about television--the cliffhanger ending of Grey's Anatomy, who Mike marries at the end of Desperate Housewives, the latest death on Lost. You're in college, feeling vaguely superior to the peons shoving cheeseburgers into their mouths, and you want to enlighten them all. Or you're just sick of them talking about how Barack Obama's going to destroy the world, you know, whatever.
Consider the following:
- You want to be able to still connect to them. Don't go banging out the proverbial theory of relativity in Law and Order. Judge Judy's book was right [or, at least the title]: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Or in your case, Smarty, right? Another good rule: don't be condescending. You know you're one of the smarter one around the barbeque, but there's no need to be a jerk about it.
- Start with the basic and expand, but keep it concise. Nobody wants to sit there longer than it would take them to watch the show (on DVR, sans commercials, of course!)
- Bring connections the layman might not make. Parallelism in Grey's Anatomy. The way the island on Lost is a little like purgatory. Did you know that the writers of Criminal Minds start every episode as if it is the saga of the knights of the round table? Now you do. Drop this into the conversation and see where it leads. Your fellow folks could surprise you with the things they've noticed.
Every week, we'll be discussing a popular television show: bringing you a summary, as well as talking points for future awkward party moments. Stay tuned. Or, you know, something less cliche.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment