Greatest American Hero
Posted by andreasherrel on July 6, 2010
Connie Sellecca, William Katt, Robert Culp
Recently I re-visited the 1981-1986 television program Greatest American Hero. It starred William Katt, Robert Culp, and Connie Sellecca. As soon as the show came on and I heard the opening theme song I was immediately brought back to moments in my youth when all of my friends were singing that crazy song. “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air. I never thought I could be so fre-e-e…”
This morning I found myself waking up from a dream in which that song was playing in my head and everyone around me was singing, laughing, and reminiscing about the campy style of the show.
It got me to thinking about national identity and how it may or may not be impacted by the increase in the options media offer. When this show aired, cable already existed and people had access to MTV and other channels, but it wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. Many of Americans were still getting their primary diet from the major broadcast stations, including NBC, ABC, and CBS.
So if you have a large number of citizens with a smaller pool of entertainment from which to choose, a greater proportion of them are going to watch the same program. This in turn creates a connection between those individuals across racial, gender, and class boundaries. They are now tied, albeit loosely, by this commonality.
What happens when the entertainment choices increase exponentially and people can find content based on very narrow interests? How does that affect their ability to connect?
This presupposes that media has an impact on people, their views, and their actions. As a media literacy educator, I of course believe that to be true.
