Let’s talk about something new, at least as far as I can recall, I’ve never blogged about it.

I’m gonna do this a little differently, before announcing my topic, I’m going to list a few examples of it.

One: Watching a whole season of a show in one sitting.

Two: Eating a whole box of chocolates.

Three: Playing a game for half the day.

And what do these three things have in common? You got it, they all have to do with a thing we call bingeing.

There has got to be a more widespread problem than this, but it’s probably in the Top Ten of First World issues. It’s possible people would get defensive if I even called it a full on problem. We all find various ways to justify our indulgences.

But let’s just be honest, we all know doing anything in excess is unhealthy. I’ve done it yes, but I always pay a price. Too much of a show makes me feel cranky and it’s not even enjoyable after a certain point. Too much food, and sooner or later, you stop eating it because it tastes good, and just eat it because it’s your go-to comfort. Too much gaming and it becomes more and more about needing to conquer the game and less and less about fun and imagination. Now, these are only three things, there are endless examples.

Bingeing is not a 21st century invention, it’s as old as the hills, only it used to be called gluttony. Or luxury, by some. Or indulgence. sometimes we are disgusted with it even when it’s our own; other times we need to take a look at the bigger picture.

The most disturbing thing I saw recently was, I believe, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. When I watched it a few years ago, I thought it was okay, weird, but with a good moral. But now that I’ve seen it as an adult, I think it actually has no real point. The best part is where Mr. T. (as a police officer) gives his speech. he’s the  most honest person in the movie. And the father of Flint is the most sensible. The whole plot turns around a machine that can turn water into food by mutating it. I realized that there is absolutely no way that could be healthy for a person but that is never discussed. However, what we see is that it is definitely harmful, people start getting carried away pretty quickly. A lot of them start eating constantly, the food is almost addictive to them. It is never said whether the food is actually addictive in its genetic make up, but there’s not much doubt of it from an emotional perspective.

In the end, the people’s greed becomes so great, the food literally almost destroys them. I would give the movie a pass if I thought the lesson here was intentional, and expounded upon, but it has to be read into for you to see what happened. Still, it’s a good metaphor for gluttony.

Flint, who created the machine, meant it to be a good thing, but he was motivated by a desire to be accepted by everyone, and have his genius appreciated. So he did not bother testing his product on anything beforehand, or considering what it would do to people if they could get food without effort. Or if it could have any real nutritional value. he also let his desire for appreciation get in the way of turning off the machine while he could, before it got to the disastrous point, or standing up to the people about making so many demands. How many creators of our own time give the consumers products, and never bother to consider whether it’s good for them or not.

See, people used to care about providing each other with quality, a lot still do, but many of us play off each other’s weaknesses to sell things. It’s selfish, and we’re paying for it.

But what’s more, why did no one except Flint’s dad ever think of the possible problems with the food? Why was he the only one who realized people were liking it too much?

Why did the mayor care so much about fame that he became a more and more reprehensible leader, as he became the biggest glutton of all, and embraced it. Encouraging the  people to keep it up.

Perhaps like those who write and act in shows and movies that are complete trash, just because there are a lot of fans addicted to the products.

In the end, their own greed nearly destroyed them all. And yes, gluttony is greed. We gorge ourselves on things out of fear that we’re left out, or alone, like Flint. Or we buy into the right shows and games because we get a sense of triumph from it. Or of belonging. And greed is what motivates a lot of screenwriters and producers.

This is not a nice subject by any means, but I can’t always pick nice subjects. I don’t like thinking about it, but after watching that stupid movie, I realized gluttony is a huge reason for our country’s decline. we want so many things, at no inconvenience to ourselves, that we’ve forgotten that sooner or later you have to pay the piper. Whether it’s with your health; your children ( see the original story;) your freedom; your emotional dependency; whatever.

If you ignore the red warning, you will suffer the consequences. That’s the hard truth.

On a final note, not everything we binge on we are addicted to, sometimes its’ a one time thing, it’s probably not a good idea, but that’s not being a glutton as a lifestyle.

Anyway, this has been a serious post, hopefully my next one will be about a

Enough is as good as a feast

happier subject, until then–Natasha