My Two-Cents: Media Hangover
Media Hangover. I got my first one after I finished Wizards of Waverly Place in 5th grade. Then another when I finished the Hunger Games series in middle school. Then one again when I finished The Office. Then a big, throbbing, nasty, puke-all-over-the-next-morning, Casey’s-breakfast-pizza-and-diet coke can’t even fix this one when I finished the Harry Potter Series. I think I google searched “What to do with oneself after finishing Harry Potter” and was a bit surprised to find BuzzFeed articles dedicated to the question. So clearly I wasn’t alone in my troubles. Fast forward to present day: I finished Parks and Rec earlier this afternoon. As my hangover set in I began to think my experience wasn’t unique, but rather a common phenomenon. Maybe we all get Media Hangover. Why though?
I spent hours dedicated to the whimsical, dry-humor-filled, heartfelt plotlines of Parks and Rec. So much time, I could have picked up a hobby. But where's the fun in that! When my life was unfunny, I got to live vicariously through lovable characters and quirks. I decided I would marry Ron Swanson, probably, if the situation ever arose (yes, I know this he is a fictional character). I developed major girl crushes on April Ludgate and Leslie Knope, and their real-life counterparts, Aubrey Plaza (who is deadpan as fuck and was hilarious in her SNL hosting debut last week) and Amy Poehler. At the end of the day, books, shows, and movies are just things in our imagination – but that doesn’t have to make them any less real. Well, yes, technically it does. You should probably live in the real world and avoid taking up residence in a delusional fantasy land. But media – books, movies, shows; Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Parks and Rec – make us laugh, make us think, and give us a break. Often, characters in books and shows are considerably more consistent than the people around us – real life is a lot messier. Real people are more than plot devices: they’re contradictory and confusing, and that’s wonderful. Nevertheless, it’s sometimes nice to come home after a long day and watch Ron Swanson talk about how he’s diversified his financial portfolio and to know that by that he means investing 50% of his solid gold (because he does not trust modern currency... or the government... even though he works for government-funded Parks and Rec Department) into a Lagavulin Whiskey. That’s the why finishing Parks and Rec has left me with a Massive Media Hangover. But now what's the remedy?
Here lies the Rosetta stone to my conundrum – you can avoid the hangover if you keep (metaphorically, and maybe non-metaphorically) drinking. I now plan on starting 30 Rock or finishing Seinfeld in order to continue to get my comedy kick. My burlesque buzz. My parody party! Here I come Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. Skip the Pedialyte and give me Jerry Seinfeld. Someone is going to have to sing/make me laugh and forget all my problems to sleep at night.
Go watch Parks and Rec you fool,
And thank me later,
Kate
