character flaws

The other night we finished watching season 5 of Six Feet Under. As we both sobbed un-apologetically (anyone who has seen the series finale to this KNOWS what I'm talkin bout) it really ran through my brain just how similar the Fishers are to my family, the Rogers'. They are each exaggerations of us..theater versions, if you will.

Ruth - the worn out, worn down, tired older women, dealing with aging and the fact that her kids are growing up and moving on. Doesn't know what to do with herself if she's not taking care of someone else. Overly sensitive, easily worked up. Living with a lot of past regrets. AKA - my mom.

Nate - the eldest son, the rebel, the idealist, the one who "got away". Moved far away from the rest of his family and fought hard to be unlike them. AKA - my oldest brother.

David - the middle child, the responsible one. Perhaps a little tightly wound. Unaccepting of himself and weighed down by the weight of the world. AKA - my other brother.

Claire - the youngest, the only girl. Slightly disconnected from her siblings and absorbed with herself and her life. Photographer, artist, caught up in drug cultures and people who ultimately do her no good. Striving to achieve her family's approval but always sort of missing the mark. AKA - me at ages 16-18..right down to the giant ugly car.

Even some of the other supporting characters...Brenda, for instance strikes bizarre similarities with my brother's girlfriend..though it would be the wrong brother in comparison. I guess that's why maybe it strikes such a chord with me. In the end when Claire goes driving off into her future and they flash forward, and you see where everyone ends up. She reminds me so much of myself. Does the things that maybe I would have if life had gone differently for me. So to see her just driving off into the unknown- and yet I am armed with the foreknowledge of what lies ahead of her...it's intense. The bonus features on the DVD are awesome too...the guy who plays Nate says something to the effect of "death can shut you up real quick..so if you've got something to say in this life, you better speak up." I can dig it.