Written by Michael Worrall

“So is Tiger King spoiled meat?” My buddy Andrew sent me that text in reference to the meat and bones conversation from last week’s article. Though I haven't watched the wildly popular new Netflix docu-series, I think the question draws attention to a fascinating phenomenon - we live in a time of viral media.

Viral means quickly and widely spread (an ironic term in our current moment)--media that seemingly pop up out of nowhere and shout for our attention. Tiger King is the newest in a lineup of Serial, Making a Murderer, and Birdbox. Viral media (or at least the conversation surrounding it) is often gone as quickly as it arrives, but while it lasts it is demanding - like a waiter insisting you try a certain dish.

How do you know whether or not to indulge? You could do a tasting (watch 20 minutes and then stop and review) but often unhealthy choices are sweet & alluring. Let me propose that you ask good waiters, connoisseurs, men and women who have palates developed through years of tasting & seeing that the Lord is good. In humility ask, “What would you recommend?”

Here is week 3 of Quarantine Corner from an amateur connoisseur. Might I suggest you try…

Listen: Fall & Winter by Jon Foreman

These six song EPs are half of a four-part project called Seasons. Though spring is in bloom, Fall & Winter seemed the more fitting choices on the eve of Good Friday. With lyrics like, “Thought I was learning...how to live not how to cry, but really I’ve been learning how to die” and “O my Lord, to suffer like you do...it would be a lie to run away” Fall & Winter are a beautiful, thoughtful, folksy lament to lead into your Easter celebration.

Read: Untangling Emotions by J. Alisdair Groves & Winston Smith

Speaking of lament, Untangling Emotions is a fantastic practical theology of emotion. Whether you tend towards stoicism or emotionalism you will benefit from this read. Groves & Smith help readers to see that emotions (even “negative” emotions) are good and needed while giving tools to help readers engage and understand emotions rather than being ruled by them. This was one of my favorite reads of 2019. I’d recommend reading it alongside the Psalms.

Watch: Inside Out (Disney+ or Rental on Amazon)

Keeping this train on the emotion and lament tracks, Inside Out is a Pixar movie about the mixed emotions of a young girl who moves to a new city. Though Inside Out paints human beings as primarily “feeling things” that are ruled and run by our emotions, it is nonetheless a creative, thoughtful story that helps us see the beauty and value of our emotions - even sadness and lament.

If you watch with your kids here is an article with some helpful conversation points at the end.