question of the day: What aspects of widespread pop culture can help save the world?

Simple answer is no. TV and movies can change ideas but they show no sign of "saving the world." I guess another question would be, "Save the world from what or for what?

Actually another thought is perhaps TV and movies area no more than a reflection of our ideas. Taken this way, the answer is still no. After seeing many movies and watching tons of TV, the outlook for world salvation from those mediums very, very bleak.

Arguing this point is like arguing the existence of God. There's no way anyone can prove pop culture's impact on humanity's survival. I think that the wise course is one of agnosticism.

*IF* if, the case is in agreement that "pop culture can save the world", I'd like to put out my small list of TV shows (if nothing else) that could partially back that argument:

"The West Wing"
"Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
"Daria"
"The Twilight Zone" (original b & w version)
"M*A*S*H"
"Batman: The Animated Series"
"The Simpsons"

Whether history can prove these programs had significant impact, I think most would agree that they have many, may socially redeeming qualities. Isn't that enough?

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a lot of pop culture is actually getting smarter.

Despite evidence offered by the profusion of reality shows and vapid dramas like ABC's Pretty Little Liars, I've generally begun to believe that at least genre television (à la Lost, BSG, Warehouse 13, etc.) has become much more sophisticated.

Do a simple experiment. Watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, considered at its time to be one of the best science fiction shows on TV). Then watch an episode of the new Battlestar Galactica, Firefly or even Warehouse 13. Tell me that Sci-Fi hasn't come a long way in the last 20 years. These shows deal with gender, sexuality, politics, religion, war - all manner of heady stuff, in a way that is both entertaining and insightful. (For an even starker contrast, take a look at an episode from the original Star Trek.)

This kind of development doesn't happen in a vacuum; genre TV has attracted more intelligent writers and producers and its audiences have become more intelligent in turn. To wit: check out the very populated Skeptic Track at Dragon*Con, or the anti-Westerboro Baptist protest that took place at ComicCon this year.

So, as Bill points out above, save the world? Maybe not; these are human products and just as deeply flawed as we are. But help make it a better place? Hell yes.

http://io9.com/338332/doctor-who-revolutionary-or-tool-of-the-man

Follow the Dr?

I think people become more sophisticated in their viewing habits and the shows therefore become more sophisticated. Or maybe it's the other way around.

My grandparents used to watch hour long black and white shows on potato farming because that was all there was to watch on their one channel no remote tv set.

I think original Trek is important because it tried to create a supposedly equal society black, white, asian, vulcan, women and men working together and no big deal about it. No sexism, no racism (to a point, I mean, all sci-fi is a reflection on the times it's filmed in, but the good intentions are there). Forget about saving the world, you looking at the basis for every ensemble cast since!

I remember reading something about Barack Obama being elected President and someone sarcastically said it was the end of racism. But y'know, whatever you think of Obama, he did an amazing thing. I believe in the trickle down positive effect of stuff like this. It shows us the way. It makes it easier for the next black guy to run for president just as Hilary running makes it easier for the next woman. So maybe we'll save ourselves. (Ok so I'll credit west wing for that one!)

It's an acknowledged fact that pop science fiction has influenced the design of technology for a long time. A device featured in a fictional TV show or movie may inspire a technician or designer to create the real thing long before it may have appeared on its own, if ever.

Star Trek may be the most famous driver of technology -- lots of folks have noted the design influence of the "TNG" interactive datapads on the iPad, for one thing. More recently, the tech in Minority Report seems to have driven or accelerated a few innovations. I don't know quite how I feel about customized billboards squawking at me as I pass, but here they come anyway.

Some of that tech may not necessarily be saving the world, but it sure has changed it.

I don't know about "saving the world," but television and film can certainly influence the world by introducing (or at least popularizing) ideas that lead to change -- or at least sparking widespread conversations and debates that could potentially lead to change. The more Star Trek dealt with themes of multicultural harmony, as mentioned above -- and let's not forget Sesame Street with its multiracial cast and multicolored puppets -- the more the audiences of these shows accepted such ideas. I remember The Cosby Show being talked about as a show whose positive depiction of the Huxtables broadened and deepened our cultural conversation about race. And remember Murphy Brown, Dan Quayle, and the whole national conversation about single mothers and family values? For a more recent example, Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin on SNL was, arguably, key to tarnishing Palin's reputation and turning public opinion against the Republican ticket.

And how about all those scientists who say that they were inspired by science documentaries like Cosmos and by the sci-fi books, shows, and films they encountered in childhood, and wanted to turn those technological fantasies into reality?

Bluejay - welcome back!

I agree with your analysis. I also think mainstream American culture was also "introduced" to homosexuality through TV. In the 70's most people (thought they) didn't know any gay people. Then gay characters started showing up on TV: on Soap, for example. Eventually we got to Ellen and Will & Grace - hugely popular shows that let most people "know" at least one gay person, and hopefully to be more accepting of the people they met in real life.

My father learned English (native Spanish speaker) by watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Sesame Street throughout the seventies as a man in his twenties.

I speak Spanish and English and I'm learning Japanese through watching, uh, somewhat similar children's entertainment. Also in my twenties.

Oh, and the fact that climate change has such a prominent place in everyone's awareness can be attributed, I think, to the impact of An Inconvenient Truth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth#Impact

Too early to tell if we'll heed its warnings and successfully mitigate global warming -- signs aren't good in Congress now, I'm afraid -- but if we somehow do manage to steer away from the brink, I think this film can justly claim some of the credit.

Bluejay - welcome back!

Thanks!

Bluejay - welcome back!

Your dreams were your ticket out...

(I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.)

I also think mainstream American culture was also "introduced" to homosexuality through TV. In the 70's most people (thought they) didn't know any gay people. Then gay characters started showing up on TV: on Soap, for example. Eventually we got to Ellen and Will & Grace - hugely popular shows that let most people "know" at least one gay person, and hopefully to be more accepting of the people they met in real life.

Well, TV certainly made pro-gay-rights attitudes more socially acceptable but it's worth noting that it didn't convert everybody just as All in the Family for all its good work didn't put an end to racism or sexism.

Moreover, the reasons attitudes changed had as much to do with the increased visibility and increased economic and political power of certain minorities (blacks, gays, Hispanics, etc.) as it did the existence of a lot of really cool TV shows.

The one thing I learned from observing some of my Mexican cousins back in the 80s and noting the amount of American programs they watched and the number of not so progressive attitudes they espoused despite such programs was that pop culture doesn't always have the effect on people that we think it will. Not every foreign person who watches an American TV show necessarily wants to be an American any more than most Americans who watch Monty Python or Doctor Who necessarily want to be British. They might envy certain aspects of the American lifestyles they view on TV but they don't necessarily want to become an American to achieve that any more than few of us would want to have to move to a foreign country in order to be well-off.

And not every one who watches liberal American TV shows necessarily absorbs liberal TV values. If that were true, I wouldn't be spending so much time arguing over gay rights with two of the same siblings who used to watch Soap and All in the Family with me back in the 1970s and yet don't share my liberal attitudes.

Still, you have to start somewhere so you might as well start with pop culture. Just don't forget to follow up.