TV eats your brain
Sometimes writing is hard. Writing something original is really hard. Watching TV all weekend makes writing really, really hard.
This fall, I watched the first season of House of Cards on Netflix. I don’t recommend it. It’s dark. It make’s me feel dirty after watching it. On the other hand, lead actor, Kevin Spacey, is so good. Spacey portrays Frank Underwood who is the epitome of a corrupt politician. Like a wreck you can’t turn away from, I’m mesmerized by the evil that is Frank Underwood.
Last weekend, season 2 was released. I watched 13 episodes (11 hours) in 4 days…which gets me back to writing.
For the past hour, I’ve tried to write something intelligent on vision (my Word of the Year). I have random thoughts floating around, but I just can’t make them all fit.
Like Frank Underwood, my brain has been corrupted.
Truth, Lies and Frank Underwood
Corrupted or not, Monday night I couldn’t turn off what I had just put into my head. Here is what I’ve come away with.
Reduced to his core, Frank Underwood is a liar. Everyone around him knows Frank Underwood’s a liar. Everyone tells everyone else not to trust Frank Underwood. Frank Underwood admits Frank Underwood’s a liar. But Frank Underwood is so smooth people are charmed and forget (or don’t care) Frank Underwood is a liar.
It’s not just that Frank lies; Frank Underwood does what all great liars do. He mixes his lies with truth. It becomes impossible to discern truth from fiction.
But more than Frank Underwood being a liar, this thought kept running through my mind, “Frank Underwood is Satan.”
Not figuratively, really. A better way to put it is…Satan is Frank Underwood.
Frank Underwood and Satan
Satan and Frank have a lot in common.
First of all, they are liars. Liars so smooth you find yourself believing the lies, though you know who’s speaking is a liar. They both mix just enough truth, you find yourself questioning what is fact and what is fiction.
But it’s more than just lying. It’s the whole package.
In House of Cards, Frank lies, cheats, steals and destroys with eyes toward becoming president. It’s the most powerful office in the world, and he will stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) to get it.
Satan also lies and cheats, steals and destroys. But his goal is much bigger than the President of the United States. Satan wants to be like God.
Unlike Frank Underwood, though, Satan can’t have what he wants. Satan can’t be or be like God. He can do the next best thing – keep me and you from experiencing what he has lost…God’s presence.
Be alert!
It’s true. Satan wants to destroy you. He wants to destroy your family. He wants to tear every single good thing away from you. Most importantly, Satan wants to disconnect you from the single most important thing you possess in life – something he can’t have – a direct connection with God.
Don’t lose it!
Don’t lose the most valuable thing you possess, the ability to connect with the living God at any moment. Don’t miss the opportunity to call Him Father.
It’s what Frank Underwood and Satan want most in life.
Be intentional. Don’t let him have it, but let him die trying.
I watch House of Cards too Andy. It reminds me of “Mad Men and “Breaking Bad”. All of these shows paint very complex views of right and wrong. All of them seem to lack any character that you really like. Yet I think that we sometimes see something in the characters that we can relate to – maybe just the struggle to do the right thing?
That said, I think that the word that best describes Frank to me is amoral. He lacks a moral center/compass. He only worships himself and his goals. It reminds me of the verse in Philippians where Paul describes some saying that their god is their belly. I fear that many in DC are like Frank but pray that they are not.
Hope you are having a great weekend!
Blessings, Bob