COVID in Pop Culture - American Edition

I'd like to say the COVID pandemic has been extremely different regarding social interactions (even if they are virtual) to any other the world has seen, why? Well, during other pandemics such as The Black Death (1346-1353) or the Spanish Flu (1918-1920) people were probably confined at home and scared, just like we are, but how did they spend their time? Well, Isaac Newton sat under a tree and discovered gravity during the Great Plague of London, which says a lot. Contrary to this, people in 2020 are not discovering physics laws, they're on their phones, on their laptops, watching Netflix, Youtube and Tiktok. 

I dare to say there has been a huge social media "boom" and pop culture influence during this pandemic; since everyone is one screen away, knowing how others are living through this is very easy and being connected to the rest of the world has become normal to many of us, which is what makes the COVID pandemic so special. Nobody during the 1918s would've known how people in the other side of the world were experiencing confinement during, but now we do. This has also caused pop culture and entertainment industries to shift their usual content to COVID content. 

One example of this in the United States is how Grey's Anatomy, the worldwide recognized medical show, that has been on the screens for more than 15 years is dedicating it's 17th season entirely to tackling COVID 19. Seeing how huge shows are being shaped around the sanitary emergency is very interesting, and we can witness how COVID has managed to affect every single human being and industry in the planet, and how pop culture has adopted it as a way to grow and come up with new content ideas. 

Grey's Anatomy actors Kim Raver (Teddy Altman) and Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) during their first days back on set shooting season 17 during the COVID 19 pandemic.