Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Existentialism In Being Zack Morris, By Chuck Klosterman

The article, â€Å"Being Zack Morris,† by Chuck Klosterman seeks to show how humans look at the world existentially through the show Saved by the Bell. Existentialism means affirming or implying the existence of a thing. Klosterman used Saved by the Bell to not only show how most of reality is not real but to show how humans interpret or apply their own meaning objectively. Saved by the Bell was a fictional show about high school students. â€Å"The writers of Saved by the Bell always seemed to suggest that most adolescents are exactly the same and exist solely as props for the popular kids, which was probably true at most American high schools.† (140) What happens when one looks at culture that is ultimately not real as being representative of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"You’d think Zack’s unconventional relationship with an authority figure would be the least of Joel’s concerns.† (141) Surprisingly it was his only ever complaint on a show where Zack could pause time and â€Å"oil was discovered under the football team’s goalpost.† (141) The intriguing part of Joel and humans as a whole is not having an aesthetic perspective every once in a while; but, rather his distinction between what seems real and what is not. By the same token, Klosterman says, â€Å"Every decision they made was generated by whatever the audience would expect them to do; it was almost like the people watching the show wrote the dialogue.† (143) Psychoanalytically, the show was written for the imagination of high school students. What the student would expect (i.e. stereotypical ending) the show would perform. The episode where the cast goes to a party and Zack decides to drink and drive is an example of this. â€Å"If these kids drink and drive, they will have to have a bad accident- but no one will actually die, because we all deserve a second chance.† (143) NBC’s purpose of this episode was to teach kids to not drink and drive. Existentially, students took it as you can drink and drive and only face minor consequences. After all, all the members of the cast survived. â€Å"People tend to be more impressed by the packaging of the jewel case than the songs themselves, and they end up

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