Cultural Amnesia

Scott Hardie | April 22, 2015
You can wave a magic wand, and forget exactly one book or movie or TV show or album or video game.

Would you use it to erase the memory of something that you hated, or would you use to re-experience for the first time something that you loved? And what title would you choose?

Erik Bates | April 22, 2015
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Samir Mehta | April 22, 2015
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Erik Bates | April 22, 2015
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Scott Hardie | April 25, 2015
I think about it much the same way, Erik. The things that I loved once were tied to who I was at the time, or what culture was like at the time. The Sopranos was a great show, but it seemed even greater at the time because there was very little like it on TV. Now that it has been so influential and so many other shows have risen to or exceeded its level, seeing it today for the first time might even seem like a let-down.

I guess I'd have to go with a classic: The Star Wars films. I've only seen them a couple of times anyway, but their prominence in our culture makes every scene completely familiar. I'd erase the series from my memory entirely and then see them with fresh eyes, just for fun. And since I didn't love them as children the way that everyone else in my generation did, I have no risk of not loving them the same way again. I have no idea whether I'd bother to include the prequels in this.

I have not yet experienced Game of Thrones (books or show) or The Wire, so I still get the pleasure of discovery with both of those. :-) I have no particular interest in the former despite it being a cultural juggernaut right now, but the latter is definitely something that I regret missing. I too loved the Chronicles of Narnia books when I was young—the movies, not so much.