Saturday, September 27, 2008

Mourning Toby

I am a sucker. There’s just no other way to put it. If a movie or TV show wants me to be sad, I will be sad. If they want me to get angry, I will get angry. If they want me to cry, I will likely cry… even when it’s something totally sappy and cheesy that I know does not deserve to be dignified by my emotional outpouring. I can’t help it. I’m every director’s dream audience: easily manipulated.

And I’m not ashamed to admit it, because I know that I am in good company.

I just finished catching up on The Office season 4. I am so sad to see Toby leave. Even though I knew it was coming due to a certain “someone” spoiling it for me (*cough* Meghan), I feel like I am still in mourning. I love Toby.

Similarly, I spent 1 ½ seasons rooting for Jim and Pam. I was elated when Jim kissed her, and heart broken when she turned him down. I had an underlying dislike for Karen, despite how likable they made her. And I think I shed a tear of joy when Jim interrupted Pam’s monologue to ask her out to dinner.

This sickness goes far beyond The Office. My heart swells a little every time I see Rachel kiss Ross after watching the famous prom video. I was utterly exhausted about 20 minutes into the Pursuit of Happyness, and may have said a real life prayer that Chris Gardner might catch a break. I gasped out loud when Tony Almeida was shot in the neck, and gasped even louder when Michelle’s car exploded. I feel motivated in all areas of living when Maximus reminds me that “what you do in life echoes in eternity”. And a small part of me thinks I would make a great Scottish warrior every time William Wallace talks about freedom.

No amount of reminding myself that these are not real people suffices in consoling me. Sure, Wallace was based on a real man… but the fact remains that the man raving about freedom is Mel, not William. Why in the world do our brains let us become so invested in fictional characters and fabrications?

This is not intended to be a profound post, nor a breakdown of the human dilemma of reason verses emotion. I just wanted everyone to know that I am caught up on The Office (by “caught up” I mean through season 4… I have not seen any of season 5, so thank you Abby for the little spoiler you posted on Facebook). And I am terribly sad to see Toby go. He will be sorely missed.

For anyone that has read this far (which is admirable, being that this has been my most pointless post yet… I apologize for those few minutes that I just stole from you), and claim that you cannot relate to the emotional instability described above, I leave you with this:


3 comments:

Leslie said...

Loved this post! :)

Meghan said...

You think you're sad for Toby now...just wait until you see the last couple minutes of the first episode of season 5. :(

I think your post makes many good point that I'd have to agree with. I guess that makes me a sucker for sappiness also. The only part that I would tend to disagree with is the part where you called this your most pointless post ever. ;) However, pointless or not, your posts are always so entertaining to read.

And nice touch with that Lion King clip. Though I'm not so sure it'll pull on other people's heart strings the way it does yours. I've only ever met a handful of people who openly weep each time they pass by the wildebeest exhibit at the zoo.

Angie @ Flibbertigibberish said...

Oh my gosh... you and Meghan crack me up. But I really did think you were going somewhere deep with your post. It wasn't pointless though. For what it's worth, I will miss Toby too. *sniff*

And yes, Abby and I had words when she spoiled it. The big meanie.