I’m usually quite reluctant to recommend books or movies to anyone because it’s a highly subjective thing. There have been times someone has told me to watch or read this or that and after I do I’m left wondering if that person knows anything at all about me.
But in the past months it has become more and more common for us to wonder what others are watching to fill the extra time many now had on their hands. Canada’s number one streaming service said subscribers watched on average 3.2 hours per day, an increase of about an hour from pre-pandemic habits. It’s not surprising we want to know what others are watching to save us time from searching through the seemingly endless possibilities to find something on our own.
As you click through the various genres there are descriptions and ratings to give you an idea if it’s something you might want to try. Those descriptions are often a few sentences in length. I guess that’s too much to read for some. So another option is to watch as title shots float by with just three words to grab your attention. Three words.
It is marketing in its briefest form designed to pique our interest enough that we will give it a look. The key is to choose the right three words; words that adequately reflect the project while attempting to captivate the potential viewer. The words need to be small and understandable, yet big enough to convey an awful lot. Many are quite convincing. Gritty. Menacing. Slick. Witty. Forceful.
We might question the power of stand-alone words to form our opinion but really, we shouldn’t. We do it all the time. One word can totally shape how we perceive something--or someone. Addict. Loner. Ex-con. We conjure an image before we even meet someone. Or we allow the label to justify an attitude that is likely far from correct.
There is tremendous power contained within the words used to define individuals. Mentally ill. Disabled. Survivor. Their mere mention overrides anything else. A word so full because of what we bring to it based on our experience of what we know, or what we think we know. We hear the word and we’re quick to form an opinion. It may even shape how we interact or choose not to interact with that individual, even though there is so much more to that person than those words imply.
There are also words we attach meaning to without fully realizing it. Think about the terms we use that are loaded with assumptions. Senior citizen. Refugee. Plus-size woman. Do our minds start to form a picture without us even thinking too much about it? What does that picture look like in terms of our impression of someone’s abilities physically or intellectually? Just think how narrow that definition is.
The flip side of course is that we give some words power that is not earned and consequently more deference is given than is healthy. Socialite. Celebrity. Upper class. They speak and many listen, even though the senior citizen, refugee or plus size individual may be saying something of far greater value. Sadly, we simply won’t know because we don’t take the time to listen to those who deserve to have our ear.
We need to work harder at digging beyond what the labels suggest and move to a deeper place, one that is a fuller picture of who someone is and not just a snapshot that comes loaded with presuppositions.We shouldn’t allow single word descriptions to determine our perception of the whole. It might be okay in choosing entertainment, but not so good in choosing interactions. While a well selected word may lead us to a movie that is a diamond in the rough, in might also cause us to miss out on a gem of a human being, and that is of far greater value. That’s my outlook.
