Like a lot of busy entrepreneurs, I use a social media calendar that has been thoughtfully compiled by somebody else. Yesterday was both World Gratitude Day AND International Day of Peace. These are two wonderful things that should be celebrated without needing to overlap. They each deserve their own day, preferably at least a month apart. It got me to wondering about why so many of these awareness or celebration days come in thematic clumps. Last month, Overdose Awareness Day was the day immediately after Grief Awareness Day, which in turn was only two days after Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. For somebody who also writes about grief, this made choosing one topic a massive headache.
Today was flagged as “Business Women’s Day”, and as I work with female entrepreneurs, that was what I anticipated writing about. The thing is, the UK doesn’t seem to have a business women’s day – it’s an American thing – and today is the 25th anniversary of the first episode of Friends being screened. I wish it had been on my calendar, but I guess none of us mere mortals knew until the studios started promoting it.
It’s also the 20th anniversary of The West Wing, and a few days ago it was 25 years since the mighty ER hit our screens. I am making a note to check out epic TV series release dates for next September, because the really good ones have impacted our culture. There are shows that have changed our language and shows that have changed our outlook.
Maybe it’s my age group, but I still hear variations of “Joey doesn’t share food” pretty much every time I eat out. I still laugh inwardly every time I hear somebody say “pivot” while moving furniture, I still hear Janice screeching “oh my God” and yes, I still sing variations on Smelly Cat from time to time. It’s a show that is as ingrained in my pschye as moments from my family history. It was also, I think, the first major hit ensemble cast to demand equal pay across the 6 main cast members, as part of payrises. A classy move that was to be repeated by The Big Bang Theory cast about 20 years later, with the five original cast members all taking pay cuts to help their lower paid colleagues achieve parity. When moves like this are widely reported, it gives hope to the masses that the gender pay gap may one day be eradicated.
I read a wonderful piece about The West Wing which mentioned that the president who took over from President Bartlett in the show was modeled on Obama, before most of the world knew who Obama was. “We got Obama elected” was the title. Personally, I always felt that 24 had a lot more to do with it – Jack was kept busy in Day 1 saving the black presidential candidate David Palmer, played by Dennis Haysbert. Palmer is in the next 4 series as President and Former President, portrayed as a good leader who makes difficult decisions without much hesitation. He gave people every reason to believe a black president of the USA was not only possible, but a good idea.
Pop culture, of which TV is a huge part in the 21st century, is absolutely relevant to the theme of Totally Awesome Women. Over the past year we have seen the rise in influence of the phenomenal Greta Thunberg, a teenage girl from Sweden who started a school strike to protest political inaction on climate change. She regularly sat by herself outside the Swedish parliament, before people started to listen and join her. This past weekend has seen millions of people out marching in protest at international political inaction on climate change, quite literally a global movement galvanised by a girl who is still too young to even stand for election.
We all have it within us to be part of cultural change, whether it is as a leader, early adopter or follower. This is a short and brilliant video that explains how a movement is made, and reminds us that “when you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in”.
What is the change you want to be part of? And what are you going to do to move that change forward?
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