Kelso gave me a book on film today, and it got me a-thinkin'.

Film creates a basic language which allows us to interact on an equal level with each other. Starting at childhood, we are saturated with representations of emotions and the way fake people react to these fake emotions. Monkey see, monkey do, and soon enough we all think love is standing under a balcony with a torn heart. "When you are happy, you will smile."

Think about what would happen if these conventions did not exist: emotion would be much more masked. We all know what is going to happen after a man brushes the hair from a girl's eyes and she looks at him with watery, sniffly eyes. I don't even need to say it. If we didn't see this scene played out for us time and time again, how would we react? I don't know, neither do you, because we use these languages of gestures and pre-written dialogue patterns to communicate emotion with a protocol we all understand, and it dictates the way we interact. Next time you're around other people, try to recognize the body languages people use that they've picked up from the media. Try to hear the "worn cliche's" (how ironic that that too is now a cliche) behind what people are saying. Especially when things get emotional.

I'm not letting my kids watch TV.