Jumping The Shark...

by titch 7 Replies latest jw experiences

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  titch

  I don't know if this "thread" belongs in this category or not, but here goes: Jumping the Shark...you've probably heard that phrase before. It was coined back in 1987, when 3 University of Michigan roommates were discussing TV shows, and the discussion turned to when they thought that their favorite classic TV show had finally "gone downhill." One of those students, Sean Connolly, stated that for him, it was easy regarding the popular show "Happy Days". For him, the show went downhill starting with the episode in which Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler, during some water skiing event , jumps over a section of water in a bay, in which there is a shark in the water. He "jumped the shark." That episode, in Sean's opinion, was the defining moment for him, when Happy Days started to go downhill as a TV show. And, since then, the phrase "jumping the shark" has taken on a meaning in popular culture, that a "defining moment" has been reached. A defining moment when you realize that from now on, it's all downhill...it'll never be the same again.

  But, thinking about that phrase recently, has gotten me to ask myself a question. When did I realize that my useful years as a productive, contributing, working member of society, of the work force, had finally...jumped the shark? When did THAT event happen? And, believe me folks, my years as a productive member of society HAVE jumped the shark! I honestly believe that. Well, thinking back, for me personally, I think that it happened about 1997 or 1998. About that time, I was working as a document control clerk at an organization in Southern California, that was managing the design of major roadway construction projects here in this part of the state. And, it was about either of those two years, while working, that a thought went through my mind, like a light bulb suddenly coming on, that hey, this is it! I had reached the pinnacle, the ultimate of what I wanted to accomplish in the working world. I began to think to myself, that after this job ends, whenever it DOES end, that's it for me. There is nothing else that I need, or want to accomplish, as far as my working career is concerned, and that I had no all-consuming, burning desire to accomplish anything new or anything different. So, that's when my working years "jumped the shark." It's been all downhill since then. Now, that job DID come to an end in January of 2000. I have remained in the work force since then, and I am right now desparately searching for gainful employment, in this recession. But, I don't bring any passion or enthusiasm into whatever employment that I obtain. Since 2000, I have worked becaue ***I HAVE TO***...not because I WANT to. I remain working out of pure necessity---nothing else.

  So, with those thoughts in mind, I ask, How about you, those who come to this site? Has your career "jumped the shark"? Have your years as a productive member of society "jumped the shark"? Or, do you feel that you still have many more years ahead of you as a contributing member of society, and that you have a lot more to contribute? Have you, or have you not, jumped over your own "personal shark" with regards to your working years? I welcome your comments.

  Titch
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  snowbird

  It's sad to see a long-running show "jump the shark."

  It's also sad to realize that you no longer bring the drive and passion to a job you once loved.

  That happened to me in 1997-98; now, I just work for the paycheck.

  Though I do a good and conscientious job, I couldn't care less about it as a fulfilling and rewarding career.

  Syl
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  OnTheWayOut

  Sorry to hear about your career jumping the shark. I hope you just find some peace and contentment some way and manage to retire one day. That's all it's really about. Some don't even need the "retire" part.

  I don't really think the analogy fits here, though. "Happy Days" jumping the shark was about them continuing on after they should have been off the air. Careers are not like that really- possibly in sports/entertainment and politics. But humans have to continue on after even a pinacle in their career. Even a pitcher who throws the perfect game doesn't just stop pitching that day. You might find him years later struggling to get one more batter out with not-so-impressive stats. That's okay. He's still pitching because he has to or he wants to, but he's still pitching. Maybe he pitches for a loser team or even in the minors, but he's still pitching. Even if he lost his pitching and pumps gas now, he is continuing on. That just means his pitching career jumped the shark somewhere, but the man is still doing what a man has got to do.

  Give yourself a break.
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  SixofNine

  Happy Days writer defends "jump the shark" moment

  More than thirty years after The Fonz' infamous water ski trick on Happy Days, the phrase "jump the shark" is among the most dreaded to hear in the TV industry.

  But back in 1977, series writers including Fred Fox Jr. simply thought the stunt would be a good way to utilize actor Henry Winkler's real-life water ski skills.

  Although Fox doesn't remember who specifically penned the moment, "what I definitely remember is that no one protested vehemently; not one of us said, 'Fonzie, jump a shark? Are you out of your mind,'" he wrote in The Los Angeles Times.

  The moment has since gone on to join the pop cultural zeitgeist -- and put a name to some of TV's worst moments (see Felicity's haircut andRoseanne's lottery win). Fox still contendsHappy Days was far from past its prime when The Fonz jumped the shark.

  "All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not Happy Days' time. Consider: It was the 91st episode and the fifth season," Fox wrote. "If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?"

  Fox is still surprised by the phrase's staying power. "It is unfathomable to me that the shark still has its bite. But so does our show."
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  simon17

  I dont think this saying really applies in life. LIke OntheWayOut said, its really the moment that something shouldn't be anymore. A lot of people hate working from Day 1. If that hell is the provisions to allow him to raise a loving family or pursue his passions, there's nothing wrong with that at all.

  Probably this expression makes more sense on your time as a JW. At some point its your life, your hope, your everything. Then it trends down with doubts or concerns. And at some POINT, you realize that "no, this just isn't working". From there, whether a fader or a spy or whatever... its just an ugly, torturous downhill death march. I remember mine: Giving a talk on the dating in the Bible and proving the date of the flood and right there, as I was speaking from the platform, I said to myself "this is just all wrong, how can I even be so stupid to be saying this out loud." Jumped the shark right there. Still at 5 meetings a week (or whatever the fuck number its called), but its not pretty :)
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  agonus

  I think I jumped the shark pretty much after kindergarten. My work just hasn't been the same since.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Probably this expression makes more sense on your time as a JW.

  I was thinking the same thing, Simon17. But I was expecting a thread about how WTS jumped the shark when they introduced some ridiculous doctrine. But that might take them all the way back before 1914.
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  titch

  To Six of Nine: Thanks for putting up that information. I read an article in the L.A. Times a few weeks ago, written by Fred Fox Jr., the person who wrote that episode of Happy Days, and the article included som information about how the phrase has also been used in other areas of life besides just TV shows. It was after reading the article all the way through, that I started thinking about how "jumping the shark" could apply to my own personal journey in the work world, and how it has kind of gone downhill about 11 or 12 years ago. And, good comments from OnTheWayOut---they are appreciated. Thanks!

  Titch.