I Love The Waltons!
Yes, I know it’s terribly uncool of me. If you watch (and, God forbid, enjoy) The Waltons, you’re supposed to keep it to yourself - down in that dark, twisted little part of you that never sees daylight. You certainly shouldn’t admit such a thing without at least being horribly tortured first.
But to be quite honest, dear readers, I just don’t give a shit.
I gave up being cool back in secondary school and have never looked back since. So I will say it here. I’ll shout it even: I LOVE THE WALTONS! I love them, I love them!
I will admit, though, that when my Dad got the first season on box set for his birthday, last year my heart sank. Why on earth would I want to watch The Waltons when I could be watching, say, Lost or Merlin or Boston Legal, or some such awesome thing? Why, I ask?! What madness is this? But Dad insisted that I gave it a go, and now I am thoroughly and unashamedly hooked. And that’s only partly to do with the fact that I want to marry John-Boy Walton and live happily ever after with him (which is weird for me as I usually have a habit of being attracted to the villain).
On Monday I watched an episode from Season 1 called The Scholar, and I can’t stop thinking about it. In fact I cried quite a bit of the way through it. I know it ain’t good for the image, and obviously I try not to bawl through every episode (with varying degrees of success), but I’ll admit that this one got to me. There’s a misconception that this show is pious, anachronistic, goody-two-shoes, clap-trap rubbish. I know, because these are all the misconceptions I had myself. But that is simply not the case (I am, on occasions, wrong, it would seem). The Waltons achieves what very few modern-day shows are able to - it is heart-warming without being sickly; it espouses good values and opposes racism, bigotry and prejudice without being boring and saintly; and it makes you think a bit without ramming an idea down your throat to the extent that you choke on it. I firmly believe that if everyone were forced to watch this show from a very young age, the world would be a much better place.
So, anyway, the episode I watched the other day involved John-Boy teaching a grown woman how to read and write. I never really thought about it much before because it’s a skill most of us take for granted. He describes the process of writing and stringing words together to her as “magic”. And it is magic. Writing can take you away from whatever shit the world has decided to throw at you, and transport you somewhere else. It gives you something that real life cannot - and never will - give you.
The sense of achievement and pride the woman in this episode feels when she’s finally able to write out her own name . . . well, it made me think about stuff. I dunno what I’d do if I couldn’t write stories that took me to other worlds filled with real people that only exist in my head (be rotting in an asylum somewhere, I suppose). This story reminded me that it’s a privilege to be able to read and write - and one that you shouldn’t take for granted.
So this episode is just one of the many reasons why I love The Waltons. It isn’t all about wanting to marry John-Boy (although it is quite a lot to do with that). But it just goes to show that when it comes to TV, film, music or books, I should always - but always - listen to my dear ol’ Dad. Because he really is my Sam-I-Am.
Tags: Sam-I-Am
February 4th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
…Unless he’s talking about Koyaanisqatsi.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Yes, I’m afraid Koyaanisqatsi is the one attempt about which we do not (thus far) agree. But I *do* love Philip Glass. So perhaps I’m half way there. Heck, it’ll probably be my favourite film before the year is out. That’s how the Sam-I-Am magic generally works
February 5th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Mmmmm……yes….well….it can be quite hard being Sam-I-Am. I’ve told her here, I’ve told her there, I’ve sometimes told her everywhere…..come on Al, give it a go. Try it…just - this - one - time. You’ll love it.
But oh so rewarding, to watch carefully, out of the corner of my eye, and see those early doubts gradually soften and fade away…..until, all at once, there it is….the dawning of a new major obsession!
I bask in the glory of a long list of successes, too numerous to mention.
As for The Waltons - well that was easy. What’s not to like? I knew it would only take one or two episodes.
Koyaanisqatsi is something else. That one’s a slow burn. I’ve adopted a softly, softly non-pushy approach. She’ll get there in the end. Whether it is “before the year is out” is another matter…..but she will get there….
February 5th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Ah, but do you then take her onto the sequels or move towards something like Baraka instead?
Or there’s the challenge of someone like Wim Wenders, who can be rather fun.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Not much point moving onto the sequels if I can’t get her turned on to the best!
As for Baraka, that’s superb too, but just not as completely mesmerising as Koyaanisqatsi - not that that has stopped me from recently upgrading to a blu-ray copy.
Wim Wenders? Now that’s new to me…..and therefore I am intrigued! Is that something I should be investigating?
February 6th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Wim’s a strange boy, and can be a bit overly arty/pretentious as hell from time to time, but I’ve rather enjoyed quite a few of his films - hell, I went so far as to obtain the director’s cut of ‘Until the End of the World’ so I could enjoy it in all its excessive glory. I think it’s probably better to start with the theatrical cut of that one, though.
Here’s his IMDB. I’m willing to bet you’ll recognise some of the films he’s worked on:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000694/
February 8th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Thanks for that. I’m always looking for something new and I’ll be sure to check it out.