Why "The O.C." still matters

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of one of the saddest days ever for pop culture junkies of this millennium: the end of “The O.C.” \nYes, “The O.C.” was a fluffy teen soap that went from phenomenon to complete trainwreck seemingly overnight. And yes, it wasn’t always the best-acted show [read: Mischa Barton]. But, I truly believe that no TV program has shaped the actions of the generation of people between the ages of 15-22 and that no show has created more trends within the medium itself within the last handful of years. As a cultural text, “The O.C.” should be remembered for doing these things and not for falling apart two episodes into season three.\nWhen it debuted in August 2003 , no one was really ready for it, but by the end of that year, it was arguably one of the biggest shows on TV, primarily because of its young tween-inspired audience. But most people have already forgotten what the show did for that audience.\nThat age demographic was the first group of really young people with cell phones and they saw them being used to the fullest extent by people supposedly their age on the show. The constant referencing of bands, films, and comic books allowed the audience – still very impressionable – to find new things that could inspire them. And let’s not forget “Chrismukkah,” the merger of two holidays that some people now recognize for real. \nSure, lots of television programs inspire and influence the cultures around them – and some have even done it in similar ways as “The O.C.” – but I think no show has been more effective most recently. The show is most always grouped with “Beverly Hills, 90210” or “Dawson’s Creek,” which are fair comparisons. Yet while those two shows influenced the culture in fashion and ideals, they didn’t ever do them both as well or as often as Ryan Atwood and crew.\nBut the show really transcended the TV medium as well. Without it, I think that the landscape of television would be very different. Think about when it began; the shows dominating at the time were procedural dramas like “CSI:” or reality junk like “Survivor.” But once “The O.C.” gained momentum, a lot of its traits rubbed off into some of the new shows that now dominate the tube.\n“The O.C.” really emphasized the “episode-ending montage sprinkled with the indie track of the moment” craze that’s now used in many shows. As is the aforementioned integration of pop culture – especially music – phenomenon into storylines. And while the show’s extreme self-reflexivity hasn’t been matched yet, it will. Not to mention, the number of carbon copies – both scripted and reality – that hatched from it.\n Maybe “The O.C.” was just another flash-in-the-pan teen melodrama that didn’t influence our culture, but instead exploited it to its advantage before being so wrongfully cancelled last year. And maybe its supposed cultural worth is only existent to diehards who are still irate it was canned. But I’m not afraid to admit that I miss the Cohen family because in some way, I know “The O.C.” changed my life.