As much as it may be in-vogue to snicker about the death of broadcast television thank-you-very-much-Emmy-telecast, we sometimes forget what a powerful medium it is.
In the blink of an eye, the small screen in your living room has the ability to get presidents elected, turn unknowns into idols and, perhaps most importantly, alter people’s perceptions.
Just ask DAWSON’S CREEK alum Kerr Smith, whose portrayal of openly-gay high schooler Jack McPhee quite literally changed lives.
“I remember this one kid, he watched that one episode where Jack comes out of the closet to his father, and he told me right after that he walked in the next room and told his parents that he was gay. I don’t know how to feel about that, you know what I mean?” Smith told journalists recently. “That character was quite influential on a lot of kids that were going through the same kinds of issues as Jack. I remember some of the letters I used to get that just made me cry.”