For all of us, the COVID-19 crisis has proved to be something of a challenge – for some more than others. For my own part, as an octogenarian, I am happy to say that it has generally been as good as it could be. I have not been ill; I have been able to take trips to the grocery store as needed; I am warm; I have not become depressed. I have much to be thankful for.
Of course, for me, as for everyone else, there have been disadvantages to the lockdown, but also some unexpected benefits.
As a film reviewer and film lover, I have certainly missed the experience of going to the cinema. I appreciate being able to select a movie from a wide array of theatres and screens. Once there, the experience is entirely different from viewing a film at home. It’s not just a matter of a larger screen; in fact, for me, the large screen is not something I value, with the result that I always endeavour to sit as far away from the screen as possible; nor is it the snacks – overpriced and totally redundant. No, what most I miss is the shared experience of emotional reactions of an audience enhancing the moment. Watching a movie alone at home is just not the same thing.
Of course, because of social isolation, I have resorted to streamed films. Having subscribed to Netflix only, the result has sometimes been positive, though there have been a number of releases provided by other servers that I would like to see. Were the cinemas open, I would be able to see them conveniently. In any case, watching movies is normally only a small part of my life, but other important aspects have not been possible. This has resulted in a number of adjustments.
Leading among these adjustments is watching more television. Avid reader though I am, there is a limit to the number of hours I wish to spend reading in a day. An obvious alternative is television, something which does not usually play a large role in my life. However, I have certainly welcomed the fact that I can now attend Mass virtually by taking advantage of the streaming provided by my parish.
At best, this is a very inadequate substitute for actually going to church; however, an unexpected benefit of this is that it has awakened in me a greater realization of how important it is to me to participate in community. More than ever, I have come to realize how sustaining and strengthening it is to participate in worship with others, to experience the Mystical Body in a very real way. I miss the greetings and the smiles of my fellow parishioners; some of them I know only superficially, but in their presence I feel a sense of belonging, of unity. Though I am grateful that I can share in the liturgy virtually through television, I look forward to the day when once again I can really be part of my parish community and participate fully in the Eucharist. The epidemic has certainly helped me to appreciate all that attending church means.
For the first time in my life, I have actually become a regular and frequent viewer of television during the daytime – not merely in the evenings with programs such as Masterpiece Theatre. This has not been at all rewarding. Since I do not want to watch children’s programs, soap operas, or game shows, I have settled for watching news channels.
I have discovered that CNN, the news channel that comes with my television package, is decidedly limited in its coverage, in general addressing two two news items throughout the entire day. In recent months, these have been coverage of events relating to former President Trump and COVID-19. Clearly, these are important topics, particularly for Americans, but to rehash them over and over for an entire day, along with repetitive reports and even more repetitive discussion of the same two topics is redundant. Are the reporters at CNN not aware that there are other issues and other countries?
So I have abandoned CNN and turned to PBS NewsHour and the BBC’s Outside Source as being more informative about what is happening in the world as a whole. Above all, I have benefited enormously from the intelligent programming that constitutes Amanpour & Company – excellent interviews on an interesting and stimulating array of topics. At the same time, I have come even more to appreciate Canadian news channels such as CBC and Global for attempting to provide better and wider-ranging news coverage.
However, even here I feel a high degree of dissatisfaction. The current epidemic is in itself depressing enough; everyone is aware of this. So can’t the good that people do be the headline, the “breaking news”? While there has been some attempt to recognize the great contribution of front-line workers in dealing with the epidemic, the news of the main television providers is full of gloom and doom.
There is little coverage of attempts to help migrants, of advances in efforts to combat climate change, of positive achievements in dealing with societal problems. Instead, we are bombarded with details about more problems. That the heads of the newsrooms are aware of this failure to provide viewers with something uplifting is evidenced by the tiny segment which comes at the end of most newscasts, a segment which is generally a feel-good item – the rescue of a dog, the kindness of a stranger – but this hardly makes up for the parade of tragedies, crimes, and disasters which have preceded it. So, while I continue to watch newscasts (mainly Canadian), I do wish that they could provide more to uplift us and less to make us aware of the negatives in the world.
All of the foregoing is indicative of something which I think would not have happened but for COVID-19. I doubt that I will become a fully functioning “televidiot,” but I have discovered that there are some things on the box which are worth watching. More importantly, I know for certain that I look forward to being able again to attend Mass with my fellow parishioners, going to cinemas, meeting with friends for coffee or lunch, and being able to move about mask-less – and not at a distance of six feet from my fellow human beings! I know that, like everyone else, I look forward to a return to normalcy.
