Recently, an immensely popular TV show titled ‘Respond 1988’ ended. Viewers expressed not only feeling of sadness but also a feeling of emptiness after the final episode was aired. The show is a family drama of 5 high school students who lived in the neighbor during years of 1988 to 1994. Their growth, friendship, and love along with happenings in and between each family are presented beautifully and the show enjoyed record breaking viewership.
One of the unique features of this show was to watch the TV news and advertisement of the time on TV. Many enjoyed watching the news which was originally broadcasted 30 years ago since it brought back memories with them. The program was the talk of town since it replayed so accurately things happening at that time period. One example was a chess scene. One of the main characters was a genius chess master and when he competed against famous chess masters of China and Japan, the game board was displayed. The position was known to be the exact replica of that of Chang Ho Lee, a chess master, when he beat Chinese chess masters in 5 consecutive winning streak.
Many times when I returned home from work, my wife and daughter were watching this show. Since my wife can hear only and it is not easy for her to discern voices of new actors or actresses, somebody needs to explain to her like, “Right now, so and so said that.”, or “Right now, so and so came in then left without saying a word.” This could be tiresome, but it is also a chance to bond between mother and daughter through such helping and serving.
Sometimes, I watched the show with my family and felt touched by its wonderful presentation. Some brought acute pain to my heart or some brought tears to my eyes. Remembering the warmth of the Korean neighborhood which we used to live, made me to miss that era. One amazing thing was that as I watched the show, I felt the desire to live with consideration, kindness and goodness just like those people in the show. I was surprised to see the great impact of one show on a human heart.
It is rare to see shows about goodness. These days even in love stories, we often see an evil plot, murder, extra marital affairs, immorality and violence. Along with it, we have become more wicked. A story of a parent who murdered his young child, mutilated his body and kept it in the freezer happened this time and age and this could be a result of current movies, shows and games.
That is why the Bible commends us to think about good things (Philippians 4:8). I pray that Christian writers will have a greater sense of duty so that instead of following the world or gaining fame, they will produce more fun, warm and realistic stories to guide society into the right direction.
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