Using Examples From Shows

As I have already mentioned in a far earlier entry, I tend to think in analogies. When considering a certain situation that I am confronted with, my mind seems to naturally go back through all of the TV shows and movies I've seen (as well as stories I've read) to come up with scenarios mirroring, in some significant way, my current experience. And some of these sources are generally well-known enough to the point that I can confidently use them as examples when I am either discussing things with others or writing about them on this blog. Of course, in conversation, I can ask whether the other person has seen the episode or movie (or read the story) that I am using as an analogy. If he or she says no, then there's no point in me going any further on with it. But with this blog, I'm just going to have to presume that my reading "audience" knows about the shows I'm referring to. To increase that probability, I try to use more popular examples such as blockbuster movies (like Matrix, Godfather, A Beautiful Mind, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, etc.) or episodes from popular TV series (like All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek, etc.) Every now and then, though, I'll use an example from a show that I don't believe many have seen (I used an episode from the 1960s Prisoner series a few days ago). When that happens, I try to give a little more background information about the show.

They say "Art imitates life", or is it the other way around? But using analogies, although they are usually flawed to some degree, can help listeners and readers to more fully understand the point that I'm trying to make. Or to at least get a hint as to what I'm talking about!

One danger in using examples from shows as illustrations is in possibly giving away a show's outcome to those who haven't yet seen it (and might want to). So, with this in mind, if my example seems to "give away" something in that show, then I'll preface my blog with a "plot spoiler" warning.