By Ruby Ingra
September 20, 2021
Over the last little while I’ve found myself wholly engrossed in a big binge of Sex and the City. It’s the first time I’ve sat and watched the whole show chronologically and, as I write this, I have the very last episode left to go and I can’t decide if I should just get right through it or wait to savour it. Though a quite dated at times, the show is such a great watch and a brilliant example of character development progression. But through watching it, I’ve come to realise something about my own character. Slowly and subconsciously, I’ve adopted a certain tone and narrative to my internal voice that is suspiciously similar to Carrie’s narration in the show. Existential questions about life and love, quick narrations about my day and quick observations of keep popping up without notice. I couldn’t help but wonder – is my internal voice so easily influenced?
While I’ve been unapologetically addicted to binging the show, I can’t deny that Carrie’s narrative voice isn’t exactly what I want stuck in my head forever. Carrie’s quick wit and effervescent puns are very charming but, and I’m sure many others would agree, she’s is my least favourite of the iconic four. Having an internal monologue closer to Samantha’s character would be much more fabulous.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve unconsciously absorbed too much of the media I’m consuming. Most of the reading I do these days is related to whatever uni course I’m doing – it just ends up being so much content that I lack time for anything else. As it happens, usually my internal monologue changes in a semester-by-semester timetable. The Jane Austen course I did last year was an interesting one. Jane’s romantic and sweet language is certainly something lovely to have in mind, however I could not help but notice abbreviations slowly being exchanged for their full forms, starting to feel ‘vexed’ rather than ‘pissed off’, and the creeping-up of words like ‘countenance’ and ‘propriety’ into my vocabulary. Even so, to think of oneself in free indirect speech is simply preposterous.
This semester I (much to my aversion and I’m not sorry about it) must take a compulsory Shakespeare course. So far I’ve pretty much remained myself – perhaps due to my general dislike for Shakespeare (I’m still not sorry), or maybe because we’re only two weeks in and the damage is yet to come. But maybe it’s lucky. If my internal voice started speaking in sonnet and rhyme, I’d be exhausted. Seems like a waste of time.
On a more serious note, I wonder how influential this type of unconscious media absorption can be. Fake news is easier than ever to access, and it is widely acknowledged that over-consumption of certain types of media can lead to changes in both mental health, attitude and outlook. Can narration and voice be contagious? It’s certainly something to think about. The influence of media can go far deeper than simply adopting Carrie-isms. In a sense I’m glad that I’ve become so aware of the influence the media I partake in can have. It’s something we should all strive to be conscious of.