Everyone has an addiction or a hobby. Some people love music, painting, dancing, singing, but not me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like dancing, singing and painting, but my addiction are TV shows and that’s how I got my nickname “The girl with TV Shows”.
What are these TV shows actually? I searched the definition on Wikipedia and these are the words that appeared on my screen: “A television show (often simply TV show) is any content produced for broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, cable, or internet and typically viewed on a television set, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings”.
But for me and other people there’s more to it than just these words. Yes, this is the definition, but in our souls we feel things differently about the TV shows we watch.
I have watched many TV shows and every single one hits differently, but only two of them mean the world to me. Not just because of the plot, but because of what they taught me. One of these TV shows is Supernatural (2005), the other one is Glee (2009).
Supernatural
From the title you would think it’s related to the horror genre, but this isn’t what this series is all about. The plot is pretty simple: Supernatural story follows two brothers (Sam and Dean Winchester) who are out to kill every evil thing in this world. When Dean was 4 years old and Sam was only 6 months old, their mother (Mary) was killed and their father (John) was determined to find and kill the demon who killed his wife. He started raising the boys as "HUNTERS" of all evil things. Their motto: “SAVING PEOPLE, HUNTING THINGS, THE FAMILY BUSINESS”. After John's death, the boys continue the family business with the help of a few other hunters and Supernatural allies, like the angel of the Lord, Castiel and king of hell Crowley, traveling cross country, killing as many monsters as possible and saving as many people as they can. And at the same time, they learn that "Family doesn't end with blood". They will do whatever it takes to save each other and their "FAMILY" by going up against demons, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, Hellhounds, Leviathans, Djinns, Ghouls, demigods, witches, Wraiths, Ghosts, Wendigos, spirits, Changelings, Jefferson Starships, Clowns, Scarecrow, the Four Horseman , angels and even Archangels like Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael among other things. They lose the family but they find new people to call family. They will go to heaven and hell for each other over and over again, because that's what FAMILY does and "Family doesn't end with blood".
The TV show will end in 2020 with the last season, the 15th. All the fans are sad that this decision was taken, but at a convention, one of the cast members, Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester), said “I don’t think we’ll ever say goodbye to these characters. I mean, really, living with them for 15 years … it is only the start … I think it was Stallone that said that ‘to the greatest imaginary friend I’ve ever had’ talking about Rocky Balboa and I kinda feel the same way. These guys will live in us forever”. Also Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) added “For me, Sam Winchester will never go away”. As we can see, the show means a lot to the cast, but it also means a lot to the fandom or how we are called, The Supernatural Family.
I am apart of some groups on Facebook, so I asked some of the fans what Supernatural means to them. Here are their answers:
“My husband went through hell mentally, struggling with depression for many years. For a while, when he was hospitalized, he said goodbye to me several times, thinking that he was going to die. That would have left me alone with three kids. I felt like giving up so many times, but I heard “Always keep fighting “so I stood up by his side, supporting him. After some time, he finally got the right help, now he’s doing great. I got a tattoo as a reminder.”
Josefine Fransson
“Supernatural has changed my life in a positive way, it didn’t only teach me that Family doesn’t end with blood and we can have our own free will, no matter what everyone else wants us to do. The cast has shown me that we have to always keep fighting, no matter what is going on in our lives, there’s always light at the end of the road “one of the fanpage on Instagram said.
“Supernatural helped me realize Lucifer and Death are not as bad as everyone makes them out to be “ Parker Mede answered.
“Supernatural is the last remaining link I have with my grandma … she watched the first two seasons before passing away (I was 16 at the time) and it was something I watched with her. We were really close, like I was at her house everyday and then ended up living with her. She was always into those shows … “Angel“, “Smallville”, “ Charmed”, but Supernatural was the newest one and it was so different for many reasons , so she was really into it. Watching it and having it last as long as it has really has been a way for me to keep her spirit alive” Amber Yajcaji answered.
I’m grateful for all the fans that answered my question. There were so many answers that are really inspiring. Isn’t it crazy how much a TV Show can mean to someone?
Despite all this sadness, Misha Collins (Castiel) keeps teasing us about the end of the show.” I think when the show ends, we’re going to have the feeling that everything is really done. It’s not going to be like Game of Thrones, where you wish it had ended in a different way”. I’m really excited and at the same time afraid of how the show will end.
The next TV Show I really love is Glee.
It’s perfect for people who love musicals. The story is simple. Glee is about a Glee Club formed in a little high school in Ohio. Many teenagers signed up for this club and got in. Something that really inspired me is that they don’t care about what other people think of their choices. After more time, the Glee Club, now called The New Directions, got in many competitions and built an amazing family.
Something I loved about this TV Show is that it taught me so many things about people. I learned how hard it is for people to come out as part of the LGBTQ community, I learned how people can be so mean to you because you are doing what you love, I also learned how this world can be so mean, and we need to make it a better place . We don’t have to see the world as it is, but as it should be and maybe this is the change we need. We need to think about the consequences of our actions, about the fact that some people have problems in their personal lives and that the bad words will make their lives worse. That’s why the bullying has to stop. We need to try to make this world a better place for everyone.
I also asked some of the Glee fans about how the TV show changed their lives and how it helped them get rid of anxiety and depression. Their answers made me believe that we still have hope. Here are some of the answers that impressed me.
“It helped me to accept who I am and understand that being different is okay. It represented so many different stories – gay/lesbian relationships, teen pregnancy, trans storyline’s (of both male to female and female to male), Rachel (one of the characters played by Lea Michele) having two dads , OCD, school shootings and whole bunch of different stories. All the stories above I have witnessed in my life and it has probably helped me understand them better. It still helps me, to this day, with my depression and anxiety” Annie Ryan replied.
“Glee helped me to understand myself. It allowed me to love myself and I remember always falling in love with this beautiful celeb and always comparing myself to them and trying to change my image to fit theirs and that’s something a person should never do and that’s what Glee taught me. Glee, by its very definition, is about opening yourself up to joy, that’s exactly what I did “Amber Gilbert confessed.
“Santana and Brittany's storyline taught me that even though I’m different, there is a place for me out there, considering they were the first lesbian couple I saw on TV and I will always be thankful to Heather, Naya, and the writers for portraying and creating a storyline so beautiful” Kacie Alaniz answered.
“Yes, I loved the stories and the characters but it also worked as music therapy. Music was an area of my life I had gotten away from and Glee was a big step in bringing me back to it. It lifted my depression.” Carrie Hamstra replied.
There were so many inspirational replies. I’m glad of how this show changed so many lives along with mine.
Maybe TV shows aren’t too special for other people, but they mean the world to me. They helped me so much because I’m an introvert and made me realize that sometimes I have to get out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I use them as a distraction from this world. They taught me that this generation can change this world in a better place.
By Babescu Sara
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