Shows like Burn Notice, Suits and White Collar foster a culture of hope and resilience through competent characters. We need this to return now more than ever.
I have no way of knowing the competency or credibility of creators outside of social proof. There is some research indicating that gen z uses social proof far too literally.
Everyday I encounter fairly successful creators who are obviously grifters of one kind or another, or had some economic or network advantage over others. Who learned to exploit the aspirational ambitions of their peers.
As a lot of the crypto Bros became AI Bros I happen to think about this a lot. Most of the people I compete against for attention don't care about the topic at all and use AI tools to automate their content.
Social proof, although a fairly recently coined term, is far from a modern phenomenon. Its power and influence has been in play since time immemorial and includes cultural activities like witch hunts and the long list of pogroms throughout history . Like gossip, it’s a cheap, easy way to control behaviour that doesn’t fit the current norm. It also doesn’t require the expenditure of much time or energy in the way of thought processes.
I am neither a consumer of the cited mainstream media nor a member of the assumed target generation(s). Coming from an era where there was still a positive belief in technology and the future (although, the process of the current attitude of deterioration could be detected ), my view is that it is easier to tear apart than to build, simpler to destruct than construct, to criticise than to canonise, to submit to gravity on the downhill slide than strive to push the stone uphill.
So, perhaps there is no role for the likes of me in this discussion. But, I’ll give it a shot, anyway.
In current popular media there is too much of “thou shalt”, too much of the arbitrary black and white dichotomy in territory filled with different shades of grey. Too much cheap cynicism in lieu of risky exploration.
Those old varieties, the eternal qualities and characteristics of hope, resilience, tenacity and associated beliefs in the future, in progress and the positive possibilities of humanity are required.
As a watcher of these shows in my youth, I'm glad that you're bringing them to my attention again and highlighting the innate reasons of why I liked them so much. Recently I finished watching Superstore which is a great example of the growth of competency through experience and collective support. While I love how the shows you featured tell the stories of highly skilled characters, Superstore tells the story of lesser skilled characters coming together to make a difference in an environment that is heavily controlled by corporate greed.
You managed to put into words what I liked so much about Suits. It's the compétence of the main characters definitely! There's something so satisfying watching shows about characters who are just the best in their fields.
As I often repeat, I strongly appreciate analyses and essays that start from pop culture, because they make us understand a lot about the way people think, write and interact. I liked your issue above all because it brought concrete examples and cases capable of shaping the role of expertise. Furthermore, the use of online comments gives a good idea of what people actually think. Another interesting example in my opinion is also The Big Bang Theory, where competence is portrayed in an absolutely different and particular way.
Moreover, you've just made me realize how much in my fiction writing I want to do exactly this - create strong, competent characters. I've always wanted my Hugo the wizard to be strong, competent, self-confident man - without overdoing any of that "personal demons" kind of thing. There's too much of those "personal demons" in character building right now. It used to be fresh, but now it's a cliche.
I absolutely agree! I loved "Suits" and now I know I must explore the other two shows. I've always believed we don't need realism, we need aspiration. I wasn't watching Suits for lawyerly realism - I was watching it in the hope of some of Harvey Specter's confidence and competence to rub off on me ;) Humanity has understood it since the dawn of time - hence all the songs about heroes. And I'm not buying the narrative that overly lofty ideals make people neurotic, frustrated and crush their souls. A truly strong person can bear the "company" - either in real life, or in the story - of an individual better than himself, because he or she wants to be better. It's only a weak person who wants to watch persons weaker (or sicker, or whatever) than themselves.
USA Network’s Blue Sky period was just top notch feel goodness. Eureka and Warehouse 13 fit nicely here too.
oh sweet taking notes thanks Kyle
No prob, those shows were on ScFi Channel, but for me had the same vibes. I think Amazon Prime has them on streaming.
I have no way of knowing the competency or credibility of creators outside of social proof. There is some research indicating that gen z uses social proof far too literally.
Everyday I encounter fairly successful creators who are obviously grifters of one kind or another, or had some economic or network advantage over others. Who learned to exploit the aspirational ambitions of their peers.
As a lot of the crypto Bros became AI Bros I happen to think about this a lot. Most of the people I compete against for attention don't care about the topic at all and use AI tools to automate their content.
Social proof, although a fairly recently coined term, is far from a modern phenomenon. Its power and influence has been in play since time immemorial and includes cultural activities like witch hunts and the long list of pogroms throughout history . Like gossip, it’s a cheap, easy way to control behaviour that doesn’t fit the current norm. It also doesn’t require the expenditure of much time or energy in the way of thought processes.
I am neither a consumer of the cited mainstream media nor a member of the assumed target generation(s). Coming from an era where there was still a positive belief in technology and the future (although, the process of the current attitude of deterioration could be detected ), my view is that it is easier to tear apart than to build, simpler to destruct than construct, to criticise than to canonise, to submit to gravity on the downhill slide than strive to push the stone uphill.
So, perhaps there is no role for the likes of me in this discussion. But, I’ll give it a shot, anyway.
In current popular media there is too much of “thou shalt”, too much of the arbitrary black and white dichotomy in territory filled with different shades of grey. Too much cheap cynicism in lieu of risky exploration.
Those old varieties, the eternal qualities and characteristics of hope, resilience, tenacity and associated beliefs in the future, in progress and the positive possibilities of humanity are required.
As a watcher of these shows in my youth, I'm glad that you're bringing them to my attention again and highlighting the innate reasons of why I liked them so much. Recently I finished watching Superstore which is a great example of the growth of competency through experience and collective support. While I love how the shows you featured tell the stories of highly skilled characters, Superstore tells the story of lesser skilled characters coming together to make a difference in an environment that is heavily controlled by corporate greed.
You managed to put into words what I liked so much about Suits. It's the compétence of the main characters definitely! There's something so satisfying watching shows about characters who are just the best in their fields.
As I often repeat, I strongly appreciate analyses and essays that start from pop culture, because they make us understand a lot about the way people think, write and interact. I liked your issue above all because it brought concrete examples and cases capable of shaping the role of expertise. Furthermore, the use of online comments gives a good idea of what people actually think. Another interesting example in my opinion is also The Big Bang Theory, where competence is portrayed in an absolutely different and particular way.
Burn notice is one of my favs
Moreover, you've just made me realize how much in my fiction writing I want to do exactly this - create strong, competent characters. I've always wanted my Hugo the wizard to be strong, competent, self-confident man - without overdoing any of that "personal demons" kind of thing. There's too much of those "personal demons" in character building right now. It used to be fresh, but now it's a cliche.
I absolutely agree! I loved "Suits" and now I know I must explore the other two shows. I've always believed we don't need realism, we need aspiration. I wasn't watching Suits for lawyerly realism - I was watching it in the hope of some of Harvey Specter's confidence and competence to rub off on me ;) Humanity has understood it since the dawn of time - hence all the songs about heroes. And I'm not buying the narrative that overly lofty ideals make people neurotic, frustrated and crush their souls. A truly strong person can bear the "company" - either in real life, or in the story - of an individual better than himself, because he or she wants to be better. It's only a weak person who wants to watch persons weaker (or sicker, or whatever) than themselves.