It’s something Ranjit and I love to do together: watch TV at night. Specifically, watch TV where bad guys are chased and captured. The scenarios pop up with regularity – the fearless and indefatigable CIA agent, the bad guy who is Arab, Russian or Chinese, top-secret files and classified documents all over the place and the sounds of a computer punching out ominous words on the screen (eg: CIA Covert Base Station, New Mexico). It’s formulaic and familiar. In other words, it’s delightful.
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| Mr Bauer from ’24’ |
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| The crazy Carrie from ‘Homeland’ |
In my early 20s, I trained in media studies. I specifically studied movies. We watched silent movies, and obscure black-and-white French infused with subliminal messages. We studied the relativity of truth in Rashomon the surreal imagery in Luis Buñuel films. And most of that time I was sound asleep. The dark room and white noise were more than a tired grad student could resist. I woke up in time for the movie critique, desperately trying to piece together what the film was about.
Fast forward 15 years: As spent as I am from being a mom on the go, I’ve never fallen asleep on Carrie Mathison or Jack Bauer. All I need is a big pillow to hide behind during the gory torture scenes, a few pieces of dark chocolate and the hubs for company. My idea of a perfect evening.
