The random acts of kindness movement has met reality TV.
Forget the contrived sugary-sweet "We'll make your pony all better" love fests and the "here's your new house, hot tub and pool boy" giveaway shows. Give me "Random 1," A&E's new series that documents the travels of two ruggedly rumpled Gen Xers as they help random people they meet on the street.
Only in America could two guys in rusty Ford pickup meet a former stripper named Amber, and with the help of a TV crew, restore her self-esteem and get her life back on track in just one day.
God, I love this country.
We can't all be Oprah. Chrysler has yet to answer my letter requesting new cars for my PTA members. But "Random 1" tells the everyman story of how two regular Joes with no budget - and less-than-perfect communication skills - can make a difference.
The show, which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST, is the brain-child of freelance producer John Chester and his buddy Andre Miller. At 34, a Gen Xer himself, Chester says he "got tired of complaining about the world and decided to do something about it."
"When it comes to connecting with people, we as culture think too much," says Chester. "The idea behind us finding people at random eliminates the use of filters and gives humanity a second chance."
They call it guerilla philanthropy. I call it much more interesting than an afternoon with Mimsy at the Junior League thrift store.
Chester and Miller, along with three producers in a high-tech RV, give themselves 24 hours to move heaven and earth in search of things like an a interview with an environmental non-profit firm for Kim, a corporate flunkie who longs for a more meaningful life, and a free prosthetic leg for Bruce, a homeless guy and former construction worker with a dirty prosthetic duct taped to his stump.
It's a concept that only a crew of Gen Xers could execute and embrace. Everything about it is, well, random, including the way they just walk up to people and ask them "what their deal is."
Their stream-of-consciousness, question-the-universe show even pod casts on the Web site (www.Random1.com). There, discussion board comments vary as widely as:
"I'm a VP for a large bank, and make a 6-figure income. I'd give it all up to be a part of your show."
"Father, I pray that you would bless this organization and give them uncommon favor."
Of course, for this generation, a simple, "Dude...thank you, thank you" is enough.
If a bunch of "real" grown-ups - the over-40, "let's get it all planned before we start" Armani suit types - were running the show, the Web content would be carefully controlled. The potential helpees would be thoroughly screened weeks in advance, with extra points given for cute kids who cry on cue. And footage of the makeup-free producers cursing at each other on cell phones would never see the light of day.
As it is "Random 1" is gritty and raw. People magazine - the ultimate authority on cultural values - says, "You can almost smell the BO on some of the people piling into that truck." You'll also see the same people who call each other jerks one minute are in tears the next over a guy getting a free leg.
Producer Molly Schreck comments, "Things always end up working out as long as you keep it random and don't try to control the outcome. It's very obvious in some crazy way that it was meant to be."
You have the sense that the show is both random and divinely guided at the same time. It's a study in contrasts that opens a window into the mind of the Xers. A generation accused of being both disconnected and undirected, but is perhaps anything but.
Maybe they understand something we don't. They grew up in a world where marriages broke up for seemingly no reason, there was a new kid in class every other week, and you chatted with who ever showed up on instant message that night.
They realized early on that life was chaotic and you just have to work with what's put in front of you.
They don't script their lives, or their TV shows, because they know it doesn't work.
For every parent screaming, "Why don't you have a plan?" there's an irritated Xer, white cords dangling from their ears as they click up the volume on their iPods, thinking, "I have one because I don't."
Perhaps this will be the generation that finally teaches us we don't have to wait for an infrastructure to act. And that you can't micro manage yourself to a higher purpose, you simply do the right things until one shows up.
Life is random. Shouldn't your philanthropy be?
Article Source: http://www.elrincondelantropologo.com/.