by Claudia Bishop
As humans we love routine and plans. Personally, having a
structure to my day ensures no laziness and boredom (especially in this time).
However, many of us have found ourselves re-watching the same classic films and
TV series for the 100th time whilst stuck at home. Life can be very
unpredictable (as proven by the recent circumstances) and this is a cause of
many people's anxieties and worries. If we knew how things were going to end up
it would make life very easy and satisfying.
Obviously, a world like this does
not exist therefore the closest thing we can get to this is through the
fictitious characters in movies and TV shows. The main example of this is the
phenomenon of Friends. The first episode came out on the 22nd of September
1994, almost 26 years ago which is a long time for something to remain so
relevant. To this day, Urban Outfitters is still coming out with new Friends merchandise 20 years after the show last aired. So now I must beg the question.
Why?
Although Friends has a lot of appeal from the fashion and the famous actors to the beautiful New York setting, the main reason we watch these
shows is for the comfort of knowing what is going to happen. It is a guarantee
that at the end of a Friends episode things won't end up too badly for the main characters.
No argument is ever too big to get over in a few episodes which gives us
comfort in things staying the same.
Recently, I managed to binge all 121
episodes of Gossip Girl in just under 2 weeks. The benefit of hindsight makes
the viewer feel very superior (another feeling we humans love to feel) to the
unknowing characters. Although watching it the first time was exciting, with
all of the plots twist and turns, watching it for the second time brings a
whole new way of watching the show. I almost felt like God watching down on the
characters, knowing what was going to happen to them and shouting at the screen when they trusted someone they shouldn’t.
Many people admit to having TV shows
like Friends and another favourite of mine, Miranda, I often have on in the background whilst
doing mundane tasks. It makes us feel included in society and have our own
bubble of reality where we are omnipotent about the fate of our characters.
Therefore, I recommend re-watching that show you love just another time. It
really provides that normality and routine that has been taken away by the
uncertainty of this current climate.
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