Chuck Klosterman's Saved By The Bell

1248 Words3 Pages

Chuck Klosterman uses the show Saved by the Bell to illustrate the image of something having more importance than the actual object. Saved by the Bell was an unrealistic 90’s show about the lives of a group of high school kids. The characters would go through experiences and “learn lessons” about life throughout each season. The viewers could stare at Saved by the Bell mindlessly yet have it become a major part of their lives because it was simply easy to watch and understand (Klosterman 138). Klosterman uses postmodernism to manifest why reality is not real through his real life situations and examples displaying how Saved by the Bell altered the reality of its’ viewers. Klosterman highlights his own experience of postmodernism to show …show more content…

“I could watch Saved by the bell without caring and still have it become a major part of my life” (Kosterman, 138). Watching Saved by the Bell did not expand Klostermans knowledge; it was there for him to stare at and pay mindless attention to. (138). “I would watch Saved by the Bell the same way all high school kids watch morning television, which is to say I stared at it with the same thoughtless intensity I displayed when watching the dryer” (Klosterman, 138). Although he claims that staring at Saved by the Bell relates to watching the dryer, it still became a major part of his life. There was no hidden meaning behind each episode, therefore it was easy to understand and watch religiously without thinking deeply. Saved by the Bell had no actual meaning therefore the image of people watching this show was seemingly more …show more content…

He explains that there are numerous characters from different backgrounds and personalities but each of them are somewhat the same. “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 in the 1980’s” (Klosterman, 140). Post modernism changes views of reality. Although Saved by the Bell is extremely unrealistic, it somehow still relates to most high schools in the 90’s. Watching this show made people expect their lives to relate, which in turn changed the way they viewed what was real and true. For example, Zack, a popular kid on the show who gets all the ladies and basically gets anything he wants could appeal to real life kids around the same age, and unconsciously make them actually act like him. High school is a time for kids to find themselves and mature, therefore watching Saved by the Bell’s unrealistic characters distorts the idea of

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