Projected Personas

Anyone watching a moment of television cannot help but be influenced in even in the smallest way by that programming. I was a product of an upbringing before television and radio for hours a day. It was the cartoons firstly. Later came the mini dramas / comedies marketed to young people. Later came the music videos. Along the way the silver screen movies depicting heroes and villains of all types. To project oneself into your favorite television or movie character, or see yourself in any given actor's career, isn't hard to imagine.

Today, having slowly weened myself from consistent media programming, I can see with more clarity how others can perceive themselves and the world around them according to the programming. I still find myself relating, either consciously or subconsciously, to the characters; sometimes considering life decisions based on what such and such character would do. I can thus see how typical it is to project oneself into fictitious characters on television / the movie screen. The projected persona seems to be a part of the westernized culture, and this mentality has made its way into eastern / non-westernized cultures.

I can say that, every time I watch a movie, it is an hour or so of escape. And depending on how well the movie is written, directed and acted out, is how deep the mental journey goes. What I can also identify is the conscious choice to take this journey every so often or not. That decision makes a big difference in objectively seeing the world. Prior to this, I wasn't even aware. I would simply escape the moment I arrived home from school or work. Even in the car, the radio programming would journey me along the lyrical path of the artist, my thoughts suspended.

Choose your programming.