I’ve been working a lot lately. Like every other person in the world, when deadlines and obligations pile on, I tend to spend less time on the very thing that sustains me best: art.
I feel a bit like the Princess and the Pea, which doesn’t help. This show is too political to relax with. This movie is too violent. This music puts me right to sleep.
The one thing that’s just right? The show This is Us.
This is Us does exactly what storytelling should do. It takes Big Issues and weaves them into the lives of characters we care about. So we’re not longer dealing with Racism and Fat Phobia. We’re thinking about Randall’s experience with his neighbors, and Kate’s struggles to party without feeling shame. We’re thinking about how complex families are, and how sometimes even when we do our best, life has unintended consequences. We’re thinking about the precious moments we create that we often don’t realize are precious until they’re gone.
I mean, did you see their Thanksgiving episode?!? [I’m not even going to explain it. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it. If you have you’ll know how special their traditions are.]
Many people have told me how much they’ve cried while watching. Oddly, they say it with a smile. No objections from any viewer, so I have to assume it’s the good, cleansing kind of cry.
Even more odd, I haven’t cried yet, and I’m usually quite the crier. I have, though, been moved emotionally. I’ve wanted to check in with those characters again and again. For February in Connecticut, that’s pretty impressive. [For those of you in sunny Los Angeles right now, it’s hard to *want* to do anything during February in New England. It’s the pits. Think June gloom, but all day and 70 degrees colder.]
The stories are getting me through, just like stories are meant to do. Because at the end of the day, we watch people saying This is Us (quirky and cooky and gloriously human as we are), and it makes it easier to respond with a resounding This is Me, Too. We see in these stories the reflection of ourselves in others and others in ourselves that reminds us we’re all connected, important, and valued. Isn’t that art at its best?
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