Shows That Will Change You

Once in a while certain channels will put on a series or an individual show that will really move you to either think differently about a subject, or just touch your heart in one way or another. I personally don’t watch tv, just to watch tv. Hubby and I have a couple of go to shows like together Chicago Fire or Chicago Med or S.W.A.T, but we certainly don’t watch these every week. Usually we have something to do, or even someone to pick up.

I don’t tend to watch a lot of television, but when I do get a chance, I love a great story line, or the purpose of the television show has to connect with me in one way or another. I like shows that are real, honest and make me think about the world we live in.

Last year I came across a show called ‘Old Peoples Homes for 4 year Olds’. It’s a show with two series of 5 episodes each. This series was not only heart warming, but really helped me understand the loneliness that can happen in old age, and how important it is to bring change into our old peoples homes. To see how a kindergarten group of four year olds can change the attitudes and melt the hearts of a group of older and somewhat cranky older Australians was just so lovely to see. Some of the older people weren’t cranky, but were unhappy with their lives and some could say they hoped for a better future. I thoroughly loved this show and really hoped they would do more shows like this. We need to see how lonely it is for older Australians living in care is. I hope our health departments run these programs in all of our old peoples homes across Australia.

Later on in the year the ABC brought out another show called ‘Old People’s Homes for Teenagers’. Again, 2 series and 5 episodes each. This time the experiment was about seeing whether a group of teens could connect with the older generation. The success of the experiment was if both groups in the experiment came out better than when they started. Both ‘Old Peoples Homes for 4 year olds’ and ‘Old Peoples homes for Teenagers’ the old people were tested on a number of factors such as their mobility, their happiness levels, their fragility etc.

In both shows we saw that the experiment was successful on so many levels. It shows that our elderly actually need consistent visits from younger people, they want to feel wanted and needed and that their health and well being rose when they had something to live for. Those in the experiment that started out grumpy and disinterested found themselves tired at the end of the day, but you could see that their perspective on life had been changed. Both of these shows can be seen on ABC I-view for free. I really can’t express to you how much I loved these two series

This month the ABC brought out a show called ‘The Assembly’. Basically, Macquarie University alongside the ABC studio ran a journalism course for a group of 12 students with differing levels of autism. Leigh Sales, mentors the students, who invite a number of Australian personalities into ‘The Assembly’ to ask them any question they would like – nothing is off the table. Series One had guests like Actor Sam Neil, Comedian Hamish Blake, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Singer Delta Goodrem, Footballer Adam Goodes, and the funny Amanda Keller.

I thoroughly enjoyed this show. I loved seeing the growth in the students and their personalities shine over the weeks. Their confidence grew and to see wheel chair bound Abbie put the Prime Minister on the spot with regard to helping her get a job was definitely a moment where Albanese had to make a decision to help this young woman or not. I do hope he actioned her desire to work and helped her out in some way.

I am sure there will be other shows like these along the way. People do seem more and more interested in terms of how people with different issues live their lives and what opportunities come along for certain demographics. With more and more children being diagnosed with issues such as autism, I hope a show like ‘The Assembly’ will give kids a chance to feel better about their futures. An Autism diagnosis doesn’t have to mean doom and gloom if the right support system is in place for young people. I am personally looking forward to Series 2 of ‘The Assembly’, hope it’s not too far away!

Till Next Time,
XO