What is real

I watched the final episode of Survivor last night. I'd never seen the show before. But as I was flipping through the channels looking for a mindless way to conclude a long Sunday, I came upon a compelling picture of a tropical paradise. Nothing like big screens and HD to change your value system. I am always raging against the evils of television but seeing that crystal clear image of white sands and turquoise waters, I happily sat my butt down for two and a half hours. I am sure the tan bodies had nothing to do with it.

I have mixed feelings about the digital age. I am amazed by the clarity. My television works better than my eyes do. And that is not an exaggeration. I honestly do not see well enough to fully appreciate things like 1080i (whatever that means) but what I can see--especially on channels like Discovery and Smithsonian--simply blows me away. But at the same time, if I think much about it, I always get creeped out. I have serious doubts about digital representations of the world. Something tells me that they are not real.

Part of the reason for this is that I shot film photography for years. When digital cameras started showing up, I held them in disdain partly because I was something of a purist and a zenophobe but also because something told me that digital photography was completely unreal. Of course, my holdout didn't exactly slow the transition. Technology sort of works like that. It's kind of like an invading army or a virus. It sort of has to run its course. And sometimes that means completely taking over. I watched as the pixels went up and up. I saw how handy it was to put pictures on computers instead of paper. And most of all, I could not deny the quality. It was a trifecta. Quality, Convenience and Price... I purchased a Nikon D90 earlier this fall and I have not been disappointed. Still though. It's all sorta creepy. I am not sure how it works but the image sure looks a lot like what I am pointing the camera at--just better.

A woman named Natalie won Survivor. It was an upset. She appeared to be the meakest person left on the island, cowering behind Russell the arrogant and manipulative alpha male. But all that expediency came back to bite Russell as he sat before the jury. Of course the jury was made up of people Russell had lied to and disposed of earlier in the contest. In the end, the jury had little to work with. The nine judges had to choose a winner from three dispicable people. It was either going to be Russell who plowed his way through and over everyone else on his way to the finish line or one of his two coat-tailed submissives. Mick was apparently a non-option altogether receiving zero of the nine votes. Natalie was finally chosen because her cowardess appeared more forgiving than Russell's arrogance.

As I said this was the only episode that I saw. I am sure that there were other people in the contest that might have been more deserving of the million dollar prize but given that these folks had long been eliminated, I guess Natalie was the best choice. I have this theory about good-looking women who sell pharmaceuticals and copiers... Perhaps the saddest moment was the very end of the show. After the votes had been cast and everyone had the opportunity to go home, shower and return to the LA studio for the final announcemnt of the winner. Mick, Russell and everyone else showed up pretty much as we remembered them from the show but Natalie was frankly unrecognizable. She had her hair done and enough make up to smother every tiki torch on the island. I tried to imagine who had made this decision. Was she hoping to parlay her 39 days on Samoa in to somekind of Hollywood acting contract or did she really believe that she looked better as a Barbie? And how does the answer to that question relate to this whole business of surviving?

At the beginning of the show, I sort of got hooked. I told my wife that I thought I could do this "Survivor" thing. But as the show wore on, I was reminded of what was really happening. In the end of the day, these people were on TV. I think I might be able to handle eating the bugs and suffering the elements and even dealing with the personalities. But being turned into a zillion dots of light simply for entertaining the masses? That would probably kill me.