Metaplanar Babel

I recently went to our local Walmart and had a somewhat bizarre realization (for me). I was walking along, and there was that TV hanging from the ceiling with commercials playing. I don’t even remember what the ad was, I just remember hearing this woman talk in the ad and thinking, “Y’know, this is what I hate about the world we live in.” Her voice was smooth, friendly, just giving helpful advice - your typical testimonial-type advertising trick. It was *so* smooth and friendly that some part of me was screaming, “How fake is that?”

It’s weird; I’ve been listening to ads like that one all of my life, just like everyone else. I never really paid them much mind. For some reason, though, this time I found myself disgusted by the whole thing. Are our lives so meaningless that we’re comforted by the kind words of complete strangers? Strangers who’re just acting, even. It’s like we live in a world where we’re more intimate with the people in the TV than our next door neighbors. Strangers offer canned advice for “feminine problems” or any other number of things that I would be mortified to find myself discussing with any but my best of friends (if even then!). I guess, in a way, that’s why it works, because that person in the TV isn’t real and doesn’t have to be embarassed or whatever. It just feels so impersonal, even though I think the intention is the opposite.

Reading back over what I’ve written, I’m not sure I’ve really gotten my point across, if indeed I had one. I just had a brief moment that I can’t really explain and hoped that writing it down would help me muddle through it. I’m not sure it’s really helped much, but I suppose I should just let the thoughts go and see what happens. Anyone else ever had a moment “like” that (”like” meaning whatever you can manage to take from my account, since I don’t think I’ve explained well enough for a true comparison)?