The sizzles and the pops of the oil echoed through our tiny kitchen. As the pot warmed up I leaned my head over into the den.
”Who won the challenge?” I asked.
”Boston Rob!” Marie excitedly yelled.
I poured the corn kernels into the pot and came into the den as Doc was trying to figure out a game on his tablet.
It was a couple of weeks into the lockdown. Marie and I had found our groove of popping popcorn and binging episodes of Survivor which neither of us had watched before. The game’s social dynamics easily reminded me of social structures in the “real” world. Cliques are quickly formed which brands others as outcasts. A handful of these outcasts have found their way into the game and even won a few seasons. On the same token, many “challenge beasts” and cool kids found themselves voted out early in the seasons and experience the sting of being cast to the wayside. There is even one season titled “Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty” There of course is plenty of drama and I’ve never watched a single reality show, but the nature of this one grabbed us both immediately. It became our quarantine comfort.
One night we were watching a particularly tough episode in which a certain underdog player was just getting crushed both mentally and physically. I started to think about what animal representing this player could I include for my next party series. And it popped into my head! “A Raccoon!” I blurted out. Without batting an eye, Marie knew exactly what I was doing and yelled back “Tossing popcorn!” And thus Movie Night! was born.
What’s your quarantine comfort? A good television show or a movie? Maybe a good book or some other activity? I would love to hear all about it!
Stay gold,
Will
