When you hop in front of the TV to browse some new, juicy Netflix show, do you find yourself spending a considerable amount of time just deciding on what to watch? You scroll, review, and eventually give up. To enjoy your downtime you once again find yourself gravitating towards your favorite TV show, your comfort tv series, your top movie!
I noticed myself in that position a few days ago. The shows were promising, but I found myself going back to my favorite chick flicks. Then I started thinking about my current state of emotions and how I’m naturally feeling which would lead me to choose fun chick flicks. Was I craving comedy? Romance with a side of drama? A feeling of longing for something? There’s something about our emotions that definitely influences our choice of shows and I feel that what we watch reflects our current inner state, basically what we are feeling inside! Like falling in love at first sight with someone, the shows we get tied with seem to always come with “Yep, we’re meant to be” feels.
What Makes Us Come Back to Shows We Love?
Perhaps it’s because the show’s already predictable, or maybe it’s the nostalgia, but the pull of classic movies – hi, Disney! – will always be there. Psychologists call this the affection that comes with familiarity.
Bad days can push us to press play on Friends again. What about it is so relatable, or what about it fills our void? Are we looking purely for a light laugh on a bad day or are we hoping we had close friends like them who would support us, be there for us and call us out when needed? Is there loneliness within us we have yet to shine a light on? Sad events can make us crave the comfort of familiarity – at least in your show, you already know how things would turn out and nothing could surprise you.
When the pandemic hit, people found escape in shows that bring them back to the beauty of normalcy where characters are having fun, falling in love, and defying odds without a major health threat looming above their heads.
What Our Choice of Shows Tell Us About Us
Interacting with friends who also love watching TV shows and movies caused me to make a fun, little discovery, my friends’ favorite shows differ! The show that one friend considers as “legendary ” may come off as a little “fantasized” to another. This observation from my friends’ discussions about their impressions on different TV shows, and my own tendency to like shows of the same DNA made me realize that the shows we choose can tell something about us.
I am putting a little disclaimer here that this is just out of pure personal observation, and not science-based so feel free to take any information with a grain of salt.
Our Choice of Shows Exhibit What We Value
If you take the time to assess the kind of shows you’re currently watching, what value does that show carry that strike home to you? If we take a step back and be mindful of what we watch, we will notice a pattern. Perhaps you love family-oriented shows because you just enjoy your family so much. Maybe you are all about women-centric shows because you’re a big advocate of girl power! You even caught yourself one time engrossed in a legal drama because you want justice to be served in the most majestic way.
Isn’t it fascinating? The things we value can be seen in our TV show picks. Sometimes, knowing what’s important to us can be lost on us, but hey, even our favorite dramas can actually remind us of the things that matter most.
Our Favorite Movies and TV Series Exhibits Our Hopes
If you’re into Korean dramas, you’ll have an idea that one of the biggest shows of 2020 is Itaewon Class. The Park Seo Joon masterpiece isn’t your classic K-drama serving – it’s laden with goal-crushing, dream-getting scenes and peppered with just a bit of romance with an underdog you can’t help but want to root for . One of my male friends told me that he loved the show because it was inspiring him to pursue his big dreams. Another friend who binge-watched Dawson’s Creek remarked “It just feels so nice to see people interacting in a carefree way on screen. Can’t wait for the day when we can do that again without worrying.”
Our hopes (voiced or not) can get us hooked on a show, and we won’t even notice it. The next time you
They Tell Us That Sometimes We Just Want to Remember Some People are Relatable
I love reality TV. I enjoy watching Master Chef and Dancing with the Stars. I even pressed play on Styling Hollywood a while back. It’s not because I wanted to be a great chef, or dance with celebrities, or even lead a luxurious celebrity life. Sometimes, I just watch those shows because I want to see that other people can be relatable. Those chefs working on their dreams, their struggles inspire me. The way they think on their feet, how they react during a hot moment, how they take on feedback from the judges, it’s super interesting to me.! The contestants for dancing with the stars become more human – they put a lot into their routine and they’re not always as perfect as they are when they’re on the stage. The stylists in Hollywood- who work tirelessly behind the scenes of glam, glitzy lives of A-list celebrities, showing us so much of fires in order for their clients to look and feel as good as they can. So if you love watching reality TV, you might be just like me, someone who loves to know that the people I see on TV are relatable, too!
Our Choice of Shows Reveal What We Want to Improve in Our Current Situation
If you look at the shows you’ve watched for the past two months, you might notice that you’re starting to like a genre that resonates with you. Purely from observation, your choice of shows could reveal something you want to improve in your current situation.
If you find yourself resonating more with romance and love-filled shows, you might be yearning, or you might want to enjoy more soft, innocent, romantic moments in your life. Watching people whisper sweet nothings on-screen could reveal you might want to add a little sweetness in your current relationships, too.
Comedy shows always turn on the switch for happy hormones to come rushing down into our system. Consistently choosing comedy shows can mean we want to escape reality for a while and feel comfortable with carefree moments. We can also use funny shows as a way to help us realize somebody “gets us.”
Action movies can mean you want more action in your life. My good friend’s husband has always wanted to become a military guy but circumstances didn’t allow him to. Adventure is in his blood, so when this pandemic struck, it was a little challenging for him. His escape? Action movies. In his own words, he feels like he is “experiencing that fast-paced, exciting life again..”
If you or someone you know leans towards fantasy shows, you might be yearning for a little creativity in your life. Maybe it’s now time to go for activities that really unleash your creative side!
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You see, shows are not just shows. I had remarkable insights while making their observations. Nowadays, it’s easy to feel lost on what could be missing in our life. Do a little experiment and get cues from the shows that you’re watching. Perhaps our TV show preferences can inspire some thoughts for self-reflection. Maybe what we’re investing into screen time could help us realize something about ourselves that we’ve missed all along, or perhaps notice voids in our lives and or emotional wounds we might finally be ready to start healing.
