Which movie or TV show has had the most influence on society?
I am a student at
all times. I reckon that will go on until I die. So, as a student, I had to ask
around and see what everyone thought. What did I discover? This question
changes greatly, depending on what era you are from.
Television itself
was a novelty to my parents and their parents. The very impact of the first in-home television changed the world forever. Families that once gathered around
the table might have grabbed their plates and headed for the couch to gather
around the television. When once the "world" ended at the edge of the
town or city one lived in, TV made the most compelling argument yet that,
perhaps, there was more out there than the boats of the Oregon Coast or the
farms of Pennsylvania, and so on.
If you ask my
generation they say things like Nickelodeon TV or SNL. I myself would say Law and
Order has influenced more people and more minds than we can count. Now
everybody is aware of exactly the horror that could befall them and they have
seen life-like murder scenes in all their gruesome entirety. It has changed the
attitude of people. We are desensitized. We are weary of others, slow to trust,
fearful, and still only slightly educated about the legal system. Shows like it popped up like crazy afterward. These shows did,
however, raise great awareness on a lot of issues that weren't making enough
headway in mainstream media. Issues like rape, racism, hate crimes, legal
manipulation and injustice. They encouraged people to get equipped, learn how
to stand up for themselves, learn how to fight back. They encouraged some people
to get educated. That is a pretty significant impact on society.
The generation
before me said maybe something like Hannah Montana or High School Musical.
Shows that popularized fashion, dance, pop, and stardom. Glamour is all the
rave. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens look-a-likes and dress-a-likes are
everywhere. I only wish kids had Troy Bolton's confidence too, so they could
feel as good about themselves as they are trying to look.
Perhaps my
favorite response to the question was from a member of the baby boomer
generation. She said that the most influential show on society was
the Ed Sullivan show that introduced the Beatles. Not a show as a
whole, but a single episode of an epic event that my generation missed but can
still see in the now diamond studded sky where Lucy can be spotted. The
introduction of a new era of music, where lyrics are artistic
and rhythm and tunes are globally shared and heard.
She said she remembered watching that show and then going to bed
and waking up to a world that was never the same. I would say that music
is arguably the most influential force in the world, so an episode of
a TV show that changed its face and its depth forever must have been pretty
stinkin' influential on society.
