Eli Stone (and why tv is bad) :)
So I occasionally watch some television shows online. One show I used to watch was Eli Stone. Although I found it really dorky and the acting was bad too, but I enjoyed it.
Anyway, ABC announced that they were cancelling the show back in November. Then a couple weeks ago or so it just ended. There are still four episodes out there, but ABC is not showing them. Eli Stone is off ABC’s website and everything.
I wondered if the cancellation had anything to do with the last episode they aired. The last storyline involved Eli’s pregnant coworker who was informed by her doctor that her protein levels were high (which I guess shows possible Down Syndrome in the baby). Her first thought was abortion. Then all she did was worry about having to do an abortion if the child was going to be different. I didn’t really think they would do an abortion on the show, so I started to think that maybe they were introducing a special needs child onto a mainstream television show. I thought that would be great! You know, to show how the parents dealt with their baby whom they would love a great deal.
Instead the baby was perfectly fine. Yea. Relief. The baby gets to live.
Did you get my sarcasm? Ooh! It just made me so mad. Can’t have disabled children on television unless they serve some sympathetic plot point! Can’t have this TV beauty queen have an “imperfect” child. (Even though it would have made her character the least bit interesting for once!)
Maybe my reaction is overblown. After all, how many times have people like minorities complained that Hollywood is only geared toward its own ideas about beauty? But I still don’t like the show for this move. And after their whole Autism-is-caused-by-childhood-vaccines episode which led stupid people to not vaccinate their children, the show was on thin ice with me anyway.
I used to read a lot of romance novels. I remember after Lali was born, my friend, Rachel, let me borrow a couple romance novels while I was on maternity leave to get my mind off things. But they were hard to read. They were Nora Roberts books (my favorite), but Nora is famous for good writing, likable, relatable characters, and the perfect babies those characters make together. No disabled children. Then I started wondering why there were no romance novels about a girl in a wheelchair falling in love? Or a story about a young man finding someone with arthrogryposis beautiful? (I’m not talking about sex books here, just romance stories.) I remember one time while on maternity leave I was holding a Nora Roberts book and smiling because I was thinking about how beautiful Lali was and how she would one day have a story like this. But then fear hit me like a car at 90mph–what if she never finds romantic love? What if she never has a Charley of her own to love?
And you all know my own personal conviction that everyone needs a Charley. (I’m just saying. You all know the world would be a better place.) 
But now another fear is gnawing at me: What if the mainstream culture makes her feel less valuable? Less wanted? Less beautiful? Like something you just kill off, survival-of-the-fittest style?
I guess in all honesty I’m just bummed that the imaginary TV characters didn’t have a special needs child. In the 40 minutes it took for them to introduce the conflict of possibly having that child, to the end of the show when the doctor called to say everything was fine, I had gotten my hopes up about this TV series showing the world (or whoever watches the show) how it’s not the end of the world to have a baby with a disability. Viewers would have watched this child grow with the seasons and touch people’s lives. It could show how (after an adjustment period) “normal” people can have a “normal” life with a special child.
But I guess TV people aren’t normal, and aren’t allowed the luxury of having the best, most interesting kids in the whole world to love.
January 30th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Preach it!
January 31st, 2009 at 11:41 am
Hi Alexis,
If you are interested, there are two Christian authors whose books deal with the tough things in life, including a child or two who are not normal along with some really challenging situations that you may want to check out.
I have been driven to tears and personally convicted many times by most of Karen Kingsbury’s books. Within the Baxter family series she allows sin to be shown in each of the characters and they do not all end happily ever after. She has a website: http://www.karenkingsbury.com that you can check out if you like.
Francine Rivers is the other author who deals with some interesting issues. One of her books that I do not recommend is “Redeeming Love” which is fictional based on the story of Hosea and his marriage to a prostitute. It was too graphic for me. She also has a website: http://www.francinerivers.com.
There is very little tv that is uplifting and that upholds biblical values. It is so tempting to allow ourselves to be entertained by stuff that is not edifying and that is actually contrary to biblical views (self included). There have been many times that I would just as soon get rid of the tv to remove the temptation.
Blessings to you and your family.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I was trying to do my homework and was searching photos (I’m a college student) and I came across your blog, and for some reason (it’s 2:45am and I can’t sleep) I started reading and I must say it’s incredible how strong you and your husband have been, I wish you the best for you and you’re family, and I really hope your daughter feels better (I apologize I didn’t read every entry, but I gather she has a condition and I don’t know if it’s something that will ever go away, but I hope she lives a happy/heathy life). I kind of skipped around a bit reading through the blog, so please forgive me if I’ve said something that doesn’t actually fit the situation, but I read an entry from November that said that the dr. had simply just said she would need to be in a wheelchair, and I think that what doctors never take into account is the whole mind over matter effect, and I truly think that when you’re daughter gets a bit older, if she’s determined to, she could probably do anything.
I apologize I’m totally rambling, but I really do wish you and your family the best.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Yeah, the media really stinks. When I used to draw as a child, I’d always draw the perfect looking girls with perfect relationships and perfect little lives. I used to do spin offs of magazines, where they give you the 411 on your favorite movie/music stars. All my characters were multi-talented and could do anything.
Anyway, my point is I did this because it was a fantasy escape. I imagine TV can be the same type of deal. It’s just not real, but unfortunately, the problem is that it’s displayed as if it is some sort of reality; it’s influential either way – my little drawings weren’t made public.
But my drawings also showed that I obviously was being fed some sort of ideal about the way a woman should look. I think most of us as women have gone through times in our lives where we feel we should look different than we do. And I know a lot of us now have overcome that and learned to see ourselves the way God does. Laelia may go through struggles as we all have, but I think she will overcome. I know that one of my greatest comforts in life was having a supportive family to get me through those struggles, and Laelia totally has that.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Er, I was talking about looks because that was my struggle. I realize you were speaking in a broader sense.