You are what you watch

A while back, The Star Tribune did a really good article (I can't find the link) about how restaurants in the Twin Cities are forming from not just places to eat, but a place to be seen. Instead of bars and clubs, the younger crowd is opting for fois gras as Bar La Grassa. There is a social hierarchy aspect to eating these days, and I found it quite interesting. 

Which leads me to television. I feel like more and more, people are becoming defined by what they watch. But only a handful of shows. If in casual conversation you say "I enjoy watching ESPN or The Simpsons", nobody seems to notice or care. But throw in a "Did you catch the last Game of Thrones" into a sentence, and you'll surely catch the attention of some. 

Certain shows seem to have a cult following that break the episodes down into every aspect possible. I was just talking to someone about how Breaking Bad uses color on the characters to foreshadow what is to come. I never really noticed it, but he intensely watches each episode for those things.

The Wire is by far my favorite show of all time. And any time someone else is like "I love The Wire too" we instantly have a connection. We can talk about favorite scenes, characters, Marlo or Avon, etc... The conversation can span a half hour with no effort. But only on that show. If someone loved Boy Meets World (just as I do) that would spawn a smile and agreement, but not a debate or discussion. So why do some shows do this, while most don't? 

I think I started to notice it with The Sopranos. Watching that (or I guess Sex and the City too) became almost chic. It is the "it" thing to do. If you came into work on Monday and didn't know what happened on Sunday nights episode, you were left out of water cooler chats. 

But now it seems that television shows dictate our perceived personalities. Example: If someone loves Game of Thrones and Mad Men, I can probably tell I will get along with them. If I know NOTHING else about them, I can probably make that assumption. If they loved The Wire and The Sopranos, I can probably tell I will LOVE them. These people could be baseball hating kleptos, and would assume I would like them solely based on the television they watched. 

This theory doesn't apply to books, music or even movies. Just TV. I have no idea exactly why this happens, but found it to be something worth looking into more...