Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

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Faculty/Staff Column: Why Watching TV Shows is Good for Your Health

Faculty/Staff Column: Why Watching TV Shows is Good for Your Health
ASSOCIATED PRESS

When I was about six years old, (circa the mid 1980s), I would religiously tune in to watch The Dukes of Hazzard on Friday nights on CBS. Often my grandparents would come over on Fridays, and they would watch the show that came on next… a little drama series called Dallas. Of course I loved watching Bo and Luke Duke slide across the hood and into the windows of the “General Lee,” but when that Dallas theme song came on, I was outta there. In fact, I even remember cheering one night when Dallas “would not be seen tonight, so that we may bring you this special CBS presentation…” (oh, the stupid things we remember from our youth).

Well, many years have passed now, and over time, I have somehow, slowly, become enthralled by the series that was Dallas. As I got older and used to watch old episodes that were rebroadcast years later, some sort of childhood nostalgia for something I hated as a kid seemed to kick in, and suddenly I was entranced by JR and Sue Ellen’s battles, and by Cliff Barnes and his failures, or Miss Ellie and her attempts to keep Bobby and JR civil. Of course as a six year old kid, I had no business watching Dallas anyway – and can’t imagine any kid of that era doing so, but as we grow older I guess we learn to appreciate why something like “Who Shot JR” could be such a worldwide sensation (made even more so by the fact that there were only a few major television networks at the time, and the HBOs and Showtimes of today did not exist). But regardless, a combination of a more mature appreciation for good entertainment and a nostalgic voice in my head hearkening me back to a more simple time, has opened my eyes to what a powerful series Dallas was in its heyday.

So… fast forward to present day. Psychology tells us that the scent of smell is among the most powerful means to evoke old memories, but to me – the sound of that unmistakable Dallas theme song may be much more effective. Last year TNT premiered a new Dallas series that combines some of the legendary faces of the 70s and 80s with an exciting young cast of new Ewing and Barnes progeny. Of course the theme song (though slightly shortened) remains the same, and there is just something about that tune that opens an escape route for me, transporting me back, if only for one hour a week, into a childhood that at the time I perhaps simply could not appreciate. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhCJJ7EbUNU)  I do not mean, in this column, to write a review of the new TNT version of Dallas, but while I’m on the subject, I will say that it has become a rather captivating series, one that the old-timer Dallas disciples would love for its rebirth of the all time great characters in TV drama, and one that new audiences can like just as much for its tension, sex appeal, and plot development.

What I do find especially interesting is the power that television nostalgia has in taking its audiences back to the “glory days,” “simpler times,” “the good ol’ days,” or whatever euphemism for the past tickles your fancy. Very popular among young audiences today is the cartoon comedy, Family Guy. However, what makes this show appealing to a wider target audience is Seth Macfarlane’s penchant for 1980s television and music allusions.  Macfarlane, a product of the 80s himself, seems to know the power of a well placed allusion to Diff’rent Strokes or The Facts of Life. But what is it that makes these jokes work? People laugh because the jokes conjure up good memories of a simple time – childhood. A well placed audio clip from Culture Club or Kool and the Gang might just have the same effect of conjuring up an image of riding in the car on the way to the Montgomeryville Mall while wearing parachute pants or a jeans jacket.

According to a 2006 article published in Psychology Today, “despite nostalgia’s bittersweet rap and the oft-heard advice to live in the moment, studies suggest that the occasional detour down memory lane can give your spirits a significant lift.” In her article, Marina Krakovsky has much to say about the positive effect reminiscing can have on an individual and explains the following:

“Researchers at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have also found nostalgia to be a potent mood booster. Since memories often star important people in our lives, they may give us a comforting sense of belonging. According to studies by psychologist Tim Wildschut and colleagues, people who write about a nostalgic event are more cheerful after the exercise compared with people who write about an everyday experience. The studies also show that people who write about good memories report higher self-esteem and feel more positively about friendships and close relationships.”

So why does watching the opening credits of Dallas seem to also be such a “mood booster”? Well, think about it – though we often discourage the watching of too much television, when we do get acquainted with a series, we get acquainted with the characters in that series. And when those characters essentially parallel our younger years, they become immediately tied to our own days of yore, thus, positive feelings of comfort and fondness that connect us to another time. Watching an old episode of a television show is, essentially, not unlike watching an old home movie or looking through a photo album.

So, what is the point – why an article about how memories of old TV shows make us feel better? Well, the real point is to just clog your mind with informational ponderances when the daily Knight Crier email bings into your inbox, but there is a take-away here. If you are ever feeling a case of the “blahs,” take a little tour of the youtube! Whatever generation you belong to, you are bound to find a clip of a theme song, a classic television episode, a commercial, or something to, if nothing else, bring a grin to your countenance.

If you are a current high school student and need a lift, maybe this will do the trick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hZRWhlW_do

In your 20s and in need of smile… see if this does it for you:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EC-0zER8w

Trying to get some “Golden” moments from the 80s back into your now humdrum life? Try this on for size: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSL0jVe1MkI

Need a little JR and Sue Ellen in your life.., here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQnQ5oU4Oo

Longing for the 60s? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqauXQMZKvA

If you took the time to get this far in the article, then you probably understand the power of television nostalgia, and if you bothered to click any of the links above, you probably smiled at least once, so I’m glad I was able to help you today. I guess Nick Carraway was onto something when he said, “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Source Citation: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200605/nostalgia-sweet-remembrance

 

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