What we can all learn from the mistakes of Nancy Botwin
Recently, showtime’s dramedy (short for drama comedy) WEEDS, completed it’s 5th season. most people, view this show, for the most commonplace and superficial reasons, without comprehending the meaning that this show holds. beneath the folds of it’s dark humor, in the person of it’s lead character nancy botwin (played by the gorgeous Mary-Louise Parker), the show offers a much darker perspective on the world we live in today.
As we follow the layer cake drug world that Nancy passes through we see her life, spiraling down from a loving, caring mother of two, into a relentless drug dealer who will stop at nothing to get what she wants; essentially trading her ethics and morals for a power and pleasure. perhaps that is the truth of the world we live in today. indeed it seems we are ready to be as flexible as we need to be to climb straight to the top.
Much like nancy, the employees of corporate america, and really any field, are ready to trade in whatever ethical code they have for a bigger paycheck, a better car, or even a disgustingly overindulgent abode. compassion is now something almost as rare as Nancy’s MILF weed in the later seasons. is that really the people we want to be. striving to be better than the best is one thing, but losing everything that makes us human in the process is really quite another.
it is that very humainity that is slowly disappearing from our lives. and the further we move along in time, the earlier we seem to lose our traits. what was once the reality of relentless corporate america, is slowly becoming the motto of college kids and the youth in general everywhere. as we beomce increasingly competitive we are eveready to climb higher at the expense of others, and the more often we do it, the more flexible our ethics become.
Much like Nancy who after her first involvement in murder, was shocked slowly becomes more immuned to her new life, we are also locked into a downward spiral. the only way to stop this is to understand the consequences of our actions; what they can essentially do to the ones around us. is it really real happiness if it is at the expense of someones livelihood, their career or more importantly their lives? i think not. i would much rather lead a less glamourous life than live a star studded one built on the anguish and tears of others.
