Chris Hardwick: Educating the youth of America

As I was watching “Talking Dead” last night, a fan was sitting on the couch alongside the celebrity guests. He entered a contest and won a chance to sit on the couch during a live episode of the show. This wasn’t just any zombie lover though, he was a high school English teacher who gave his students extra credit for watching “Talking Dead” and further analyzing the questions that host Chris Hardwick and his guests discuss.

“Talking Dead” is the live after show following the AMC drama “The Walking Dead.” During the broadcast, Hardwick poses questions and allows actors, directors and writers from the show to comment along with the viewers. The show is extremely interactive including live quizzes and polls, behind the scenes interviews and even has its on hashtag. They allow audience members to come up and ask questions and allow viewers to call from home and ask questions as well.

This show has really taken off and sparked more shows of its kind, all hosted by Hardwick, to come to light including “Talking Bad,” “Talking Saul” and a “Fear the Walking Dead” after-show.

The best part about this series is that fans are analyzing a TV show just like students analyze a book in a literature course. This is exactly what you do in college: read the material, pick it apart, look for reasons why something happened, look for patterns, and speculate what will happen next based on previous episodes or the comic book. You analyze characters, settings, tropes and themes. “Talking Dead” is educating the mindless youth of America and the viewers don’t even know it. They are acquiring critical thinking skills and understanding not to just take cinema at face value.

There needs to be more shows such as these on TV because they would be popular and reach a wide audience. Children could learn the analytical skills at a young age and prepare for school. Adults of all ages could continue education they otherwise could not pursue and still acquire the skills needed and wanted in life. “Talking Dead” has taken a show that you would not normally discuss in school and turned it into a analytical masterpiece. There would not nearly be as much hype about “The Walking Dead” and all of its hashtags and funny names and phrases if it weren’t for “Talking Dead.” Learning is fun, even if you don’t understand that you are doing it.

Video courtesy of Youtube.com.