Snow days tend to make everything slow down. With classes likely canceled for the entire week and students tucked away in their dorm rooms, one thing is certain to happen — screen time is about to skyrocket.
When the cold keeps us inside, movies and television become more than just background noise. They turn into comfort and routine. With nowhere to be or go, snow days create the perfect excuse to watch the movies and TV shows that you have been trying to find time to watch.
For me, this frozen respite have become just that. I have spent my week watching movies that I have never seen before, but also taking a break from the new and turning back to the familiar for background noise. My parents and I finally sat down and watched “Interstellar” and “Inception.” It was my first time seeing both of these films which were both visually and mentally engaging and demanded my full attention. Both left me questioning the reality of space and time. This goes hand in hand with how the snow days are treating me. I have found myself forgetting what day it is, which made the movies feel even more surreal.
On a lighter note, I watched Tobey Maguire’s “Spider-Man 2” and the movie “Murder Mystery.” Something is reassuring about an early 2000s superhero movie. “Murder Mystery” stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston and is a light-hearted comedy where they are trying to solve a murder together. The pacing of these movies feels familiar because of the light-hearted tone and the nostalgia factor of seeing these stars on screen time and time again. These are also the kind of movies you can put on with roommates as background noise and talk or scroll on your phone or make a cup of hot chocolate.
The snow days gave me time to deep dive into more serious content. I watched the documentary “Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart” with my stepmom because we still wanted to watch action-packed films. She had a personal tie to the watch as well because she was about the same age as Elizabeth when she was abducted and remembered hearing Elizabeth’s story on the news.
The documentary reminded me how powerful storytelling can be. Elizabeth and her family used words that left me feeling uneasy, and the pictures and visuals shown sent chills down my spine.
But it also reminded me just how gracious the Lord can be during times of loneliness and need, just like some people are experiencing during these snow days.
Personally, I also gravitate towards a good, nostalgic early 2000s show even when there is no snow on the ground outside. However, during these snow days, I have been watching hours and hours of “Castle” starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, which is my “new” show that I am currently watching. I had started “Castle” in the summer, but got too busy with school and work that I hadn’t had time to watch it, but these days have allowed me to pick it back up, and I enjoy it immensely.
I would always recommend watching any early 2000s shows. As I have said before, they really encapsulate satisfying our need for nostalgia and they embody an easy-going feeling. The shows that I would personally recommend to scratch this itch are “One Tree Hill” and “The O.C.”
I watched “One Tree Hill” with my dad when I was a child, but did not remember the finer details, so I decided to watch it on my own for the first time two years ago, and it has quickly has become one of my favorite shows of all time. Set in North Carolina, it is a light-hearted basketball centered show where high schoolers face some difficult challenges as they grow up. Watching this as a senior in high school made me connect with the characters even more, which is why it is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. This show has become a “have in the background” kind of show when I do homework, but from time to time, I stop and watch episodes that are my favorite so I can have a little taste of remembering what I felt the first time I watched it.
I recently finished watching “The O.C.” for the first time just a couple of weeks ago, and this show is also one of my all-time favorites. I have heard people say that “The O.C.” is basically “One Tree Hill” but set in the beaches of California. I was intrigued when I heard that statement and wanted to see if it was true. It is not entirely true, but this is also a nostalgic and dramatic early 2000s TV show that I would recommend to people during the snow days or just in general.
Snow days may interrupt schedules, but I think they have been a blessing to me. Before the blizzard hit, I had already started to feel burned out and in need of a good break but the storm has created space to slow down and just exist, but also allow us to watch TV shows or movies we hadn’t seen before. It also allows us to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate surrounded by loved ones and have a comfort show on in the background.