Television; How this American pastime does more than entertain
Posted on Sep 25, 2012 in Features
Is TV an essential aspect to living?
Most people would say “yes” without even considering the question. It’s a source for information, comedy, and overall entertainment. Not to mention an opportunity for procrastination at its finest.
While that is obviously true, television and movies are both great ways to connect to older generations.
Star Trek started in the1960s, and continued to appeal to audiences 2010 with the release of the movie. Of course, the technology and cast changed. But the characters were still popular.
Star Wars also has this effect. In 1977, it wowed audiences and became a cult classic almost instantly. My father can remember when the original three movies came out in the theatres. And in 2005, the last movie was made to complete the saga. I remember seeing that movie with my grandparents and my brother. Now, my younger family members have the Clone Wars series, Lego sets and video games.
These two programs are not the only ones that do such things. Thanks to television, programs can run reruns of past shows and movies. Plus, we now have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and many other Internet sites that allow us to view shows whenever we desire.
Because of this, generations now have a way to connect to each other. This is extremely unique when other men and women are able to put movies and shows into historical content and give firsthand accounts on how the viewers were affected at the time of a release.
Television and film also allow people of other nationalities a chance to get to know each other through pop culture. One of my best friends is German and growing up, she watched the same Disney movies and shows we did, just in a different language. When we first got to know each other, it was interesting to hear about it from another perspective of someone my own age.
Movies from different countries are also a great way to learn about other world cultures. Sure, watching a Bollywood movie isn’t going to depict the exact image of Hindi culture (I’m sure they don’t sing that much), but they can provide views with a sense of the distinct pop culture.
Maybe I’m trying to give excuses to watch hours and hours of television everyday rather than doing homework or studying for upcoming tests. But I do encourage any type of film fan to watch and re-watch movies that were made in the past or in other countries – anything from black and white to silent, from French to Mandarin Chinese. Then, our generation can gain a wide variety of knowledge, ranging from influential filmmakers, renowned technicians, world concepts, unique authors and historical/cultural factoids.
Laurie Christolear
Contributor
christolear@uab.edu