As one of the many teenagers who enjoys watching Netflix during any free time, it is fair for me to say that "Friday Night Lights" is one of my favorite shows. The show is about football, hence the title. But the show is not only set on the football field; it also dives into the personal lives of the characters and how football has affected them.
I completely finished watching "Friday Night Lights" a long time ago; I would say it was a year and a half ago. But ever since I started becoming really invested in what I was watching, there were these observations of mine that really stuck to my head. They have made me wish I could say that I lived my high school years in the same way that the kids from the fictional city of Dillon, Texas did.
The show is set in 2006-2010, which are years before smartphones became popular. Before the word
"selfie" was even a word.
When you were cool if you had a Motorola Razr. When iPod Shuffles and Nanos were the way to go. When you may have only been using MySpace, but not spending so much time on it. Before modern day technology took over and changed how we communicate in reality.
Jason Street, Matt Saracen, Tim Riggins, Landry Clarke, Lyla Garrity, Tyra Collette, and many more all had the chance to live their high school years in a time before the rise of today's technology. Social skills in person were presented amazingly in this series. While this is common for many television shows, "Friday Night Lights" deserves extra praise for how well the high school students communicate and show that they are mature. In most cases, when someone wanted to speak with another, they would ask both the person and the people around them if they can be excused politely and properly. If this wasn't the case, they would likely go to their house and knock on their front door instead of electronically communicate with them. When there was an argument, someone would have the last word and they would simply walk away (although this too always happens on television). The list goes on and on, but examples like these show excellent social skills that are hard to come by these days.
Because football means a lot to the people of Dillon, it is no surprise that the characters literally see everyone they know at the high school game every Friday night. The fact that a lot of people go to the football games gives an indication that not many of them are strangers to each other. This is also proven in several different occurrences throughout the series where people run into each other at places like the grocery store or the Alamo Freeze. It would be amazing to live in a place where I encounter my friends often. In addition, the spectators also pay attention to the game and are not distracted by Snapchat where they feel the need to take pictures that show their friends that they're at the game. They simply enjoyed their time at the stadium and they do not miss out on much of the action.
The central character of "Friday Night Lights" known as Eric Taylor is a figure that demonstrates so much to both the characters within the show and the audience. Taylor has such a difficult job; he leads a high school football team that has overwhelmingly high expectations, and all anyone in Dillon wants is for the team to win the state championship. But of course, Taylor wants this position and he takes his job very seriously; he is so devoted to his job that he goes out of his way and does whatever it takes -- even late at night -- to bring the team he leads in the right direction. His tremendous amount of pride and passion for what he does is obvious, and this is what makes him an amazing role model in both the show and reality. You don't meet many people like him.
While "Friday Night Lights" is about football in Dillon, Texas, it is also a perfect example of a show where you wish it could all be real. Considering that the show premiered a decade ago, the difference in generations is clear, and as someone born in 1996, I wish I had the chance to have similar life experiences not only when I was in high school, but also while I am in college and beyond.