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The Plugged In Show, Episode 99: Fall TV & What Instagram Knows About Its Influence

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LISTEN TO THE PLUGGED IN SHOW, EPISODE 99

Autumn is here, and that has historically harkened the arrival of three things: school, football season and new television shows.

Well, two of those things are still true(ish). TV? Not so much. Streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ are as likely to drop hot new shows in February or June as they are in September or October. But while traditional broadcast networks might not be as big a piece of the entertainment pie as they used to be, they’re still plenty big. And those giant broadcast and streaming networks have new fare worth talking about … even if they’re not worth watching.

Meanwhile, one topic transcends every season: social media. Facebook and Instagram have been in the spotlight far more than either would like for the last several weeks. Adam Holz and Jonathan McKee dig past the headlines and tell families what they really need to know.

So as the old TV announcers used to say, don’t touch that dial! (Even if that dial is a touchscreen.) And feel free to check out everything we talked about in the links below.

Oh, and once you’re done there, why don’t you dawdle on over to (somewhat ironically) Facebook or Instagram, send us an email at [email protected], or call us at 800-A-FAMILY (800-262-3459) and answer these questions:

What shows are you most interested in seeing reviews for this fall?

What’s your own personal pick for the best show in the last 10 years or so?

Additional Resources:

paul-asay
Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

One Response

  1. -It pains me to hear people talking about watching foreign language shows, particularly live action, with it dubbed! You are losing out on so much and the exceptional performances of the actors in Squid Game (or any other show). I watch almost exclusively foreign language films/tv (most of the world watches subtitles American movies so we are the odd ones out in that Americans generally don’t) since I became dissatisfied with the same old same old that Hollywood has been making. Even the best dubbers can’t deliver performances that capture all the subtilty and emotional subtext of the original dialog. Plus in this world where people stare at their phones while watching things having to actually read subtitles makes you pay a lot more attention and get more out of it. So like Director Bong Joon Ho said “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

    I also take issue with the success of Squid Game being because of the violence. There are many other shows and movies with worse violence and gore that didn’t capture attention in the same way. The violence is important to the story and if it wasn’t so unsettling the social commentary would lose a lot of its bite. But the most compelling part is the characters and the story. You care for the characters and are engaged in what happens to them. You laugh, you cry, you see things from other peoples perspective, you don’t know what is going to happen next, it leaves you thinking, and no one is going to forget episode 6.

    Yes, Squid Game is not a show for kids, but that quality of storytelling is present in many of the other Korean tv shows and is why they have been growing so fast in popularity. There are a lot of other great shows out there to watch! There are many geared more to family viewing that a wide age range can enjoy and numerous genres from slice of life, romance, melodrama, fantasy, crime, etc to fit whatever you are in the mood for. The best part of the internet is getting to experience and learn about other cultures through their media and there are so many great things to watch. I have been watching international shows for many years now and K Dramas for about 6 and its been exciting for me to see it start to hit mainstream American culture. Please don’t dismiss them all because Parasite and Squid Game didn’t suit your taste.