by Katie Barton | staff writer
Media can be a great way to bring comfort to people, but that begs the question: what makes something a comfort show? Is it nostalgia? Is it the message of the story? Or is it the sense of escapism that a piece of media can offer?
Freshman Kendall Souder finds just about any TV show comforting as long as it is entertaining to watch and can offer her a chance to get away from the stress of life.
“Shows and movies are like a way to escape from the world around me,” Souder said. “Shows and movies help me get away and forget stress and worries.”
TV and movies can give people the opportunity to feel like their experiencing things they would never get to in their normal everyday lives.
“I am a person that loves to travel,” Souder said. “And without being able to have adventure in my day to day life, I was dependent on watching shows and movies for entertainment.”
Especially since over the last year, people haven’t able to travel or leave their houses much or see their friends as much as they usually can. Because of this, people have become more and more dependent on their favorite shows to give them some escapism from our current world and feel less isolated.
“Due to safety regulations, watching these comforting shows and movies gave me a sense of cheerfulness and how it’s okay to be alone,” sophomore Myhan Tran said.
If escapism isn’t what makes something a comfort show, the message or theme of a show could. The message of a show could be just as comforting to people in times of trouble. For Tran the message of the movie The Princess and the Frog is enough to make it a favorite for her.
“The Princess and the Frog it shows that you are always one step closer into making your dream a reality, and to never give up all of the hard work that has put into reaching your ultimate goal,” Tran said.
Along with finding the themes of shows to be comforting, Tran also finds watching characters go through struggles that you can relate to can also be uplifting. She sees this in the TV show On My Block.
“It’s comforting to see how much has change during the teenage years as well as the struggles that each of them has to go through,” Tran said.
What makes something a comfort show or movie varies from person to person and from show to show. But even with the variation in what makes something a comfort show, we can all agree that movies and shows can bring people a great deal of comfort.
“I would say that shows and movies definitely bring me the most comfort out of all media,” Souder said.
