Way To Go, Godot!

Let’s face it: if you’re reading this article, you’re probably not like the others. There has probably always been something a little different, maybe even a little awkward about you. But you used that difference as a strength; you took it as your permission to explore the world from new angles, and to develop yourself into the sort of person who keeps working to develop yourself. And you probably succeed in your personal development. You are probably much more motivated than the general public, much more likely to succeed in business, more likely to enjoy a happy family life and to age gracefully.

Carl Jung based much of his psychology on the idea that people and societies are fundamentally balanced, that each of us has all of the possible dramatic configurations and mythological motivations built in, and that they each have equal importance for our overall being. This means that the things that you really hate about other people are exactly the parts of yourself that you are trying to disavow. Jung called these parts the shadow.

That’s why I think it’s so important to watch CSI:Miami.

Many of us deadly-focused workaholics have turned off our televisions in disgust, often for years at a time. Why? Because of its rampant commercialization of human emotion, its perversion of body image and sexuality, its role in the political complacency of the viewing public and use as a propaganda machine for corrupt governments, its certain role in the immediate onset of the 7 plagues, and so forth. But I’ve got to tell you: you really ought to be watching CSI:Miami.

Because we all need balance. And when you’re an unflinching intellectual cowboy or an existentialist in wolf’s clothing, then the type of balance you need, as completely far-out as it might sound, is CSI:Miami. Because it is bar-none the stupidest and prettiest thing on television. Because it explains every plot-point to you in a way that a stoned 8-year-old can understand while delivering serious explosions and breasts. Because you can shut off your mind, relax, and trust the process.

We all need a balance between mindfulness and mindlessness. And when the implausibly tough-minded forensic analyst Horatio Caine (played by the artfully artless David Caruso) says something comically pithy in that deep whisper of his (the mystical “Horatio Moment”) and The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” starts playing, it’s pure mindless TV magic. The bright colors, the CGI, the unbelievable drama and reckless abuse of plot devices. You just can’t take it seriously. And that’s the beauty of it.

If you’re like me, then you need to learn to love CSI:Miami. Because for anyone who thinks they’re too good for proletarian mass-media delights, who prides themselves on critical thinking and depth and subtlety, this show encapsulates the shadow and delivers it in a form that could, by way of worry-free enjoyment, ultimately lead to an acceptance of a part of yourself that was previously disavowed. Jung called the gradual process of reconciliation with the shadow individuation. It is an unfolding of the self into a fully realized, vibrant and harmonious individual.

CSI:Miami is your permission slip to turn off your mind and return to equilibrium. It’s okay to be stupid for a little while; it’s necessary. Because if we are to be balanced as individuals, we must appreciate and incorporate the cultural heritage of our people, in our time. CSI:Miami is our rain dance. Sop it up.