What are you staring at? The adventures of TV HeAD

Tuesday, November 06 2007 @ 07:25 AM PST

"Was that a Hallowe'en costume or a social experiment?" a psychology classmate recently asked me.

"Both," I replied with a wild grin.

Thus ended another adventure of TV HeAD, channeling the path of resistance!

It all started last year in Victoria. I've always enjoyed and appreciated how dressing up in costume at Hallowe'en allowed your Jungian Shadow to have a little prime time. I haven't always created political/social commentary costumes. Mostly I aimed for weird, funny, and beautiful garbs. But one year I became an Orca who was "oFINded by all the fricken' whale watching boats following me around!" I'd say with a crazy laugh, "You're bringing the Killa Whale outta me!" Then another year I admired the mad fast-food server dotting a meat cleaver. She was completed with a blood bespattered MacDonald's uniform. Since subversion is one of my Shadow faces, Hallowe'en has become an opportunity to turn on TV HeAD and turn off the world....

So last year, when the vision hit, it was not hard to find an old abandoned TV. You see, Fernwood, in Victoria BC, has a strong tradition to leave free piles on the sidewalk. The strangest things have walked out of my boxes over the years. So as I looked around, I actually had several abandoned TVs to choose from. I found one that fit the program: old enough to be easily gutted; perfect size for my head; and obviously a TV. I don't know why, but when I got home I plugged it in. It still worked! Ironically I felt a little guilty about killing a live one. The perfect scenario would have been a TV that blew-its-tubes. However I knew If I left this TV on the sidewalk that the likelihood of it being thrown onto the road at 3:00am by some bar-boys was pretty high.

My three year old son helped me with the deconstruction. A zipp-zipp of a few bolts and the whole guts of the TV came loose from it's shell making it easy to cut a head sized hole in the base. Incidentally, I brought the guts to the electronic recycling drop off, so no waste occurred. Then, it took a few days but I found a used and unsafe old bike helmet. I used screws and those pull-zip fasteners to lock it into place inside the TV shell. A few dabs of paint to cover the mounting screws and it was done!

I donned it on Hallowe'en day and TV HeAD was born.... or should I say turned on! The kids went bananas over it at the middle school I worked at. There was crowds of ten year olds around me at recess time, asking questions, making jokes. Quite a few children, and even one staff, asked me why I had a TV on my head. I responded with snappy lines like: "This is your brain on too much TV." Then later that night I hit the streets with my family. TV HeAD caused quite a stir. At one point TV HeAD entered into a bar, walked to a row of 4 glorious large screen, bowed down and worshiped the almightv.

It was such a rush. TV HeAD was becoming quite a character! "You turn me on and I turn you off," he would say. Almost like a reality show or something- he didn't want to stay in the closet till next Hallowe'en! So a few weeks later I snuck out of work and suddenly TV HeAD was crashing my friend Jim's Media Literacy class at Vic High School. This time TV HeAD was becoming a little more naughty. He crept into class, and made eeeevil snickers: "Heh-heh-heh-heh." All the desks were shoved to the sides and the students were sitting on chairs in a circle with Jim Pine at the far end. Jim Pine. Jack Pine. Jim-I-speak-for-the-trees-and-everything-else-Pine. Grey Hair, well earned. Simple goatee, well trimmed. Clothes worn till done. Bike driven every single day- snow, rain or shine, to almost everywhere. Jim who runs the environmental club which among many projects, gather 5 gallon pails of dead batteries from the students each year. Pails full- saved from landfill and poisoning Earth. Is there any other high school teacher out there who feeds anyone who comes by his class? And goes to the powerful teachers association and requests the millions of dollars in the teachers pensions be pulled out of the war machine? Or has a worm compost in his classroom by his desk? Jim pine is one of the smartest and purest men of integrity that I know.

Needless to say the students in his self-paced class, media literacy and civics class (aka real democracy and revolution), love him! "Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!"

A 17 year old sitting at the edge of the circle points and yells: "No-waaay!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh," responds TV HeAD and he slinks to the circle of youth. He shakes his finger at all the young people learning to deconstruct the onslaught of information and propagation poured out from the media machine. "No-no-no-no-no," he says to the kids. And suddently the snickerous TV HeAD spots a friend, and slinks around to the wonderful, profound 24 inch TV staring at everyone from the corner of the class. TV HeAD bows to the master, gives it a hug, and pulls out a piece of paper from his black coat. He sticks it on the screen of the almightv, turns back to the youth and snickers some more: "Heh-heh-heh." Jim Pine's eyes are afire, smile blazing as he views the message now on the box: "OBEY".

"Heh-heh-heh-heh," and out the door TV HeAD runs, listening to "That was friggen' awesome!" echoing from the classroom door that slowly fades to black.

When I came too, I was sweating, smiling, laughing, high-on-adrenaline, and holding a TV in my hands. "This is good," I thought. "Real good." I jumped back in my car and returned to work with my alibi.

This year was a different adventure. New to Winnipeg. A student again in university. A little unsure.

But when I suddenly discovered I was walking down the street with a TV on my head, i was committed. The sky was glorious as I waited for the bus. Air crisp. I was thinking "Fall is coming" when it pulled up. I walked on, flashed my buspass and smiled at the driver. He took one look and eyes back on the road... like a person wearing a TV on his head was a everyday occurrence!

I turned to the 1/2 full bus and walked down the aisle. I was buzzing with adrenaline and grinning with mischief. I took my seat and sat smiling inside my box. My perceptual world was framed by a square of black. Perfect for tunnel vision. Perfect for tunning out. Ironic huh? I watched peoples faces and looked at their eyes as they entered the bus and saw me. Strange. Everyone immediately looked away from me. I posted my "obey" sign on the window before getting off the bus and onto campus.

What followed was tube blowing. I attended two classes and walked for several hours around campus. I entered scores of classroom buildings, libraries and stores. I looked into the face of several hundred people. These are some of my findings:

• Three people asked to take my photo. They gave me lots of compliments.
• Two persons looked at me with absolute horror, disgust or confusion. That surprised me.
• I heard scores of laughter all around me as I walked.
• 5 people made comments. Here's a list of them, with responses:
  • "Change the channel!" / TV HeAD would point at them and say "Comedy!"
  • "Is there something good on?" / TV: "What are you staring at?"
  • "Hallowe'en is tomorrow dude." / TV: "Oh yeah, what channel?"
  • "Isn't that heavy?" / TV: "It's depends what's on."
• And the majority of people that truly engaged with me were behind glass. At least 6 times I passed a bank of windows and found a huddled group pointing, laughing and waving at me.

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