Reflections of the Small Screen
Although there is a plethora of “Everything I Know I Learned From” books on the market, with topics from the Grateful Dead to Dungeons & Dragons designated as the ultimate foundation of knowledge, a more fitting source may simply be television. Entire generations have grown up Brady or Huxtable or Simpson after all, and while the likes of the Grateful Dead and Dungeons & Dragons may indeed be popular, they do not have the same reach as the small screen. With that in mind, Reflections of the Small Screen strives to spotlight current and historical events—whether from politics and culture or scientific studies and technological breakthroughs—and dissect them from the perspective of television. Sometimes informative, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, Reflections of the Small Screen proves that everything that is worth knowing—and most of what isn’t—derives from the once vast wasteland of television.
Most Recent Articles
The Big Bang Theory and Comic Book Culture Exploration of comic book culture through the lenses of the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory and Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture by Rob Salkowitz.
Survival Techniques for The Walking Dead Advice gathered from various Internet sources regarding how to prepare for a zombie uprising like the one witnessed on the AMC drama The Walking Dead.
The Sheldon Cooper Guide to Relationships Analysis of the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory and Sheldon Cooper’s attempts at applying the scientific method to friendship and romance during season two.
Castle, Linchpin Theory and X Events Exploration of X events as outlined by systems theorist John Casti and how they relate to the season four “Pandora/Linchpin” double episode of the ABC drama Castle.
The X-Files and Men In Black Examination of real world Men In Black encounters, using the episode “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” from The X-Files and The Real Men In Black by Nick Redford as catalyst.
The B in Apartment 23 and French Politics Satirical exploration of Chloe from the ABC comedy Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, her tryst with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and US politics.
The Big Bang Theory and Personal Robots Exploration of contemporary robotic technology, as well as the personal needs of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory and David Freeman of Discover magazine.
Fringe and Mind Control Exploration of the mind control experiments performed on the FOX drama Fringe and the actual research conducted by the CIA’s MK-Ultra Project, with emphasis on the effects of LSD.
Grimm and the Origin of Fairy Tales Exploration of the origin of classic fairy tales, as recited by Maria Tatar in the book The Hard Facts of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and their relation to the NBC drama Grimm.
Castle and Vampire Culture Exploration of vampire culture as portrayed in the “Vampire Weekend” episode of the ABC drama Castle, as well as within the pages of Vampires Today by Joseph Laycock.
Justified and Harlan County Exploration of the Harlan County seen on the FX drama Justified and the real life Kentucky community depicted in the memoirs of G.C. Jones, entitled Growing Up Hard in Harlan County.
The X-Files and Roswell Examination of the events in Roswell, New Mexico, and how the supposed crash of a UFO in 1947 has been incorporated into the mythology of the classic FOX sci-fi drama The X-Files.
Castle, Prohibition and New York City Exploration of Prohibition and its influence on New York City and its tavern culture, with the “Last Call” episode of the ABC drama Castle serving as the catalyst.
Alcatraz: The Real Alcatraz Examination of the notorious prison as depicted on the FOX drama Alcatraz as well as in the book Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years by Michael Esslinger.
Castle and Real Life Superheroes Exploration of Real Life Superheroes as portrayed in the “Heroes and Villains” episode of the ABC drama Castle, as well as within the HBO documentary Superheroes.
Person of Interest and The Shadow Factory Comparison of the surveillance system in the CBS drama Person of Interest and the real life capabilities of the NSA as outlined in the book The Shadow Factory.
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