View the episode synopsis here.
This week's episode includes special guest star/comedian Andy Dick who acts as an EMH Mark-5, a step above Voyager's own EMH, a Mark-4. The two are thrown together on a Federation ship taken over by the Romulans. Witty dialogue and hilarity ensues. A good episode to watch, particularly for those non-Trekkies amongst us (which may be 9/10 followers). We've come full circle with this episode in the sense that it reminds me of why this project began in the first place.
With the advent of Faceplace and other social networking sites, self-publishing has reached a pinnacle. Never before have people been able to interact so casually, posting random thoughts, events, and (god forbid) hundreds of pictures of their kids and/or pets that only the truly nosy put the time and effort to sift through. I admit, I used to be a member of these sites, but each day I felt the pressure to say something, anything, meaningful that could be heard above the tumultuous posts, posts like (and these are real by the way): "Tom Jones hates Mondays" or "Jessica F. just had the most romantic date ever" or "Kary Jacobs is trying to pick a cup size for her ladies." Dear Tom, duh. Everyone hates Monday. That's nothing new. Jessica, really, the most romantic date...ever? Really? What does that even mean? Are you saying that of all the dates every single person throughout history has had, yours was the most romantic? If that's the case, then that is quite a feat. And Kary Jacobs, as much as you're interested in your pending boob job, I am considering un-friending you (which is a strange term that has popped up) in real life. But hopefully, my point is evident: most people don't have one.
The message in a bottle (taken as a metaphor or literally) leaves much to consider. Daily, we engage in small talk, whether it be by scrolling through a wall of posts or talking about small things to people we encounter. My job as an English instructor seems futile. I teach students how to eliminate meaningless sentences, phrases and/or words from their writing, but they live in a world where, daily, words are thrown around like errant bits of trash flying off a garbage truck. Ann Carson (a delightful, thoughtful writer and scholar) wrote about how words on a page create tension between the reader and the meaning the writer is trying to convey. So often, she points out, what we write (or what we say) does not come close to the actually meaning we are attempting to articulate. The reader, ever selfish, takes what s/he can from the words and moves on. In this sense then, perhaps we can think of readers taking the meanings (from these words) for themselves, interpreting what they can, throwing away the useless parts, and hopefully recycling the meanings that incite a heart flutter and re-gifting these to others.
Crafting words on a page should be a thoughtful process. Poetry is the essence of meaning. There are no superfluous words or extraneous fluff. Poets spend months, if not years, shaping a single poem. But poetry, unlike tweets, status updates, or posts, is an attempt to share an experience with a reader. Note the word choice: experience. Good writing does not consist of random emotion. It is not about how you feel or what you think. It's about life, about experiences, and about sharing these experiences in a way that is meaningful to readers.
This episode reminded me that writing (wherever it may be) is precious. Words are precious. Each time we open our mouths or our facespace accounts, we are preparing a message in a bottle. Just think: if each message you sent out were as meaningful as a message you would place in a bottle, perhaps we'd all know a little bit more about this thing we call life. This blog serves as my message in a bottle. I wonder if someone, somewhere will get my message.
Episode #8: ST: Voyager's "Someone to Watch Over Me." Check out a preview here.
End transmission.
No comments:
Post a Comment