Tag: TV

Coronavirus Log: Days 4-8

I’ve missed a few days! It’s been an odd combination of first having nothing new to report, and then having too much to do.

My children attend the same school system in which I teach, and Thursday was the day the district officially implemented our remote learning activities. (The teacher’s union helpfully and rightfully negotiated Tuesday and Wednesday as prep days for teachers develop resources and materials for an unprecedented situation). For me as a teacher, putting together activities for my students is actually a nice outlet–I do rather enjoy designing curriculum in general, and the present situation is something of a unique and enjoyable challenge. Even better, it’s really nice to read what my students are writing about this unique event. Now more than ever, it’s our writing that will help create community when we’re apart from each other.

As a parent, it’s a welcome relief to see my own children get back into their own school work. Their teachers have posted an impressive set of resources, complete with daily schedule and plenty of student choice, and none of it unreasonable or overly demanding. Truth be told, I think my kiddos are happy to have something new and engaging to do, though I don’t think they’d admit it. My second-grader had a virtual “snack time meeting” with his teacher and class this morning on Zoom. Really lovely to see the continued sense of community there, too.

Stuff that’s gotten done

  • Reading for the Nebulas has continued, if at a somewhat slower pace. Still reading my way through the novelettes, with a detour into the game writing category, as well. Really interesting to see the diversity of games there! I’ll write more about that particular category in a future post.
  • In my last post I mentioned watching The Walking Dead, which is one of three current shows I’m watching these days. The others are Better Call Saul, which continues to be just phenomenal. Monday night’s episode was so good, but then again I think I say that every week with this show. Definitely a topic for a future post. The third show I’m watching, of course, is Star Trek: Picard. Full disclosure: I’m entirely unable to remain objective about this one. Let’s just say I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and I’ll save my gushing at least until the first season ends (next week!), and I’m able to think and articulate a little more critically what I’ve enjoyed about it.
  • My kids got me to download and try playing Brawl Stars with them, which if you haven’t heard, is all the rage right now (at least with 2nd and 3rd graders). I can see the appeal for them, but I was like… meh. It’s hard to get into when you’ve just started playing The Outer Worlds! (Which, by the way… phenomenally immersive. Kind of like a cross between Fallout and Mass Effect so far. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!) Anyway, I’d much rather play M:TG or a board game with my kids than Brawl Stars. (Disclaimer: My negative attitude may be a direct result of having my butt whooped within the first five minutes of playing… Just saying. ;P ).

Is “The Walking Dead” Catholic?

Dare I say AMC’s The Walking Dead carries some distinctly Catholic undertones? (Or is it overtones? I’m never sure which I really mean).

I think I’ve always felt this in my bones. I came to the show about three years in, caught up with a summer binge in time for Season 4 , and have watched faithfully ever since. Every now and then, I’ll tune in to some of the Internet’s reactions to the show, and I’m often surprised to find seething hordes of angry fans and critics closing in on the show writers like Rick in the tank.

Angry fans besiege the AMC writer’s room

Those fans and critics were alternately angry at cruel character deaths and bored for long stretches that I found rich in a number of ways: surprising interpersonal cooperation and conflict, compelling explorations of human nature, the tensions between doom and grace, fresh interpretations of mythic archetypes, and through all of it, a persistent resonance with Catholic concerns.

At its most basic, the apocalypse of TWD is a Catholic nightmare about the resurrection of the body and life after death–like Lucifer’s mockery of Christ’s promise. This nightmare continuously tests the remnants of human civilization like Job writ large. To what extent will they–can they–remain true to the things they know to be good amidst the horrors this world will visit upon them?

Then, of course, there are the symbolic echoes of the Judeo-Christian story: Rick Grimes, one-time lawman, leading his people on an Exodus like Moses, the Law giver; Rick, the foster father, raising a child not his own for the promise of hope in a world of death; the repeated gathering of lost sheep; not to mention the more overt winks and nods in names like Judith, Ezekiel, Gabriel, Abraham, Simon, Aaron, the (ironically named) Saviors and their Sanctuary, and, yes… Jesus. (Apparently, your odds of surviving the apocalypse are higher if you have a biblical name; bonus points for Old Testament).

I’m hardly the first to notice this, and in fact, it wasn’t until the most recent half-season (Season 9) that I was able to articulate my Catholic appreciation of the show when others’ faith in the series had been crushed by Negan’s barbed-wired bat. It was the fight for community at Hilltop, in the Kingdom, at Alexandria, that felt so profound in a show that, on the surface, might just have been about killing zombies. Here is a show of diverse, believable, imperfect people, haunted (literally) by their mortality, finding their strength in community and love in their neighbors, daring to show mercy to enemies, yearning to welcome the strangers they fear.

What’s not Catholic about that?