Being Human

I recently started watching Being Human, a TV series on the SciFi channel. It has (you guessed it) vampires, as well as a werewolf and ghost, trying to share an apartment. It’s not bad. However, one of the more gory scenes (which I couldn’t find a picture of, or it would be up here, it is so striking) is that of the vampire Aidan with another vampire Rebecca. They are in the bathroom after a “romp” and the white bathroom is covered in blood, while they hold each other. It’s a celebration of gluttony and trying to add shock value to the show, but I also think it’s something more. Life is messy, and try as we might to “clean it up” and put flowers on it, it wonderfully and beautifully messy. It’s also a comment on trying to control the uncontrollable. Freud noted (much to his chagrin) that sexuality and desire are some of the only things that cannot be controlled by society or society’s rules. It’s nice to know that we aren’t entirely drones. But it’s also terrifying. Hence, the blood-spattered walls. It IS in your face, but I think that’s also the truth of humanity. The chaotic and unorganized truth. Not that we are ruled by instinct or that we are little more than animals, but rather that we have a whole lot of potential that is hindered by society’s “control.” And, again, it’s nice to see when those controls slip and prove that we are uncontrollable. That word, uncontrollable, has such negative connotations as well. I teach my students about really old experiments that have been done about obedience and disobedience, and they are surprised when (even if the experiment is repeated today) the results indicate people are obedient (for the most part). Teachers and parents fear that their children will be disobedient (in such a sense that it will hurt them and others) and so don’t ever teach them critical thinking or that there is any way of disobeying that will not result in their destruction (excuse the hyperbole). This is not to say that kids don’t disobey their parents/teachers. They do, and ALL the time. And, perhaps, even if they were taught critical thinking skills this still would happen. Kids need experiences to learn. However, I think many make these bad decisions because they aren’t taught how to think. They are taught to obey mindlessly. Obey parents. Obey the Church. Obey the government. You can’t disagree or that means that you are a horrible person. Might makes Right. Apathy is preferred to thinking. I know some rules are there because many great minds have seen that this as the right way to go, and it truly is the right way to go. But to demonize dissenting thoughts simply leads to sheeple (sheep + people). Question everything, so you can be sure of all your beliefs. Not just cause mom, dad, the church, the government, my friends, told me so. Why must I be controlled? Because I might do something dangerous. Or courageous. It’s high time that we start acknowledging—and celebrating!—our messiness. The more we try to control it, the more we suffocate our potential as human beings. And that’s what I took from Being Human