Journal 1 (Orphan Black)

I expected the first day of binging to be a breeze. Binging is not just a habit I picked up in college. I was raised by parents highly conscious of the harmful effects of TV, specifically pertaining to children and the development of the imagination. For this reason, my brother and I were limited to 1 hour of TV on weekdays, and around 3-4 hours on weekends scattered throughout the day. These limitations spiked my desire to watch TV as I got older and began noticing different dynamics at friends’ houses. When I got my first laptop sophomore year of high school, I began binging on YouTube; at that time I was naïve to the fantastic world of Netflix. I would watch video after video, ranging from makeup tutorials to music videos, absorbed in the information overload readily available all hours of the day and night. I became addicted, and admit it shifted my priorities and time management, which negatively affected my grades in school. With growing up, I learned to prioritize, while still giving myself plenty of hours for stress-relief by binging. I enjoy watching TV. What really lured me into Orphan Black from the start is the element of human cloning. I find the biological procedure to be fascinating, and while I’ve read about animal and plant cloning, I was completely naïve to the controversial idea of human cloning before the binge. This element serves as the fine line between fiction and reality. Since finishing the second season, Sarah and her clone sisters have consistently lingered on my conscience and subconscious mind.