Just what exactly does the phrase “prestige popcorn” really mean? This is a phrase that was recently coined by an executive at AMC Network, the home of the ever-popular television show “The Walking Dead,” among others. Many people might be shaking their heads at this phrase, at least when they first hear it. The truth is, it doesn’t make a lot of sense when it is said aloud for the first time. However, if you really stop and think about it, the term starts to make a lot more sense, especially in the terms of entertainment.
When you think about entertainment such as movies and television, one of the things that comes to mind almost immediately is popcorn. It seems to be the go-to choice for anyone that wants to have a snack while they watch their favorite form of entertainment, whether that involves watching a miniseries, a movie, a drama or sitcom. When you think of it that way, the term “prestige popcorn” automatically starts to make a little more sense. But you still have to understand why the phrase “prestige” is thrown into the fray.
When you think about something that is prestigious, you often think about something that is of exceptionally high quality. That is exactly what this particular television executive was referring to. He wants to reiterate the fact that AMC is producing television that is of high quality, yet exceptionally entertaining. That is where the term “prestige popcorn’ comes from. In other words, he is telling you that you can watch television shows that will keep your attention while simultaneously touching you on an emotional level. These are shows that you can easily become emotionally involved in and even tied to. That is the goal of AMC and if we’re being honest, that is probably the goal of virtually every network or movie company out there. They all know that they have to catch your attention and hold it before they can do anything else. However, they also are well aware that if they don’t create something that you can care about on a deeper level, you will eventually move on to something else. Therefore, they have to make everything a mixture of entertainment that is both attention-getting and deeply emotional in one way or another.
You can certainly say that AMC has achieved this with shows like “The Walking Dead.” On the surface, this is a television show that is about zombies going after living human beings. If you are one of the few individuals that has never caught an episode of the show, you might think it all comes down to a bunch of zombies chasing after individuals all for the purposes of eating their brains. However, there is certainly more to the show than meets the eye. If you are a regular viewer, you know about all of the complex relationships that exist within this show. You also know that more often than not, the show actually focuses far more on these relationships than it does about anything concerning zombies. In many episodes, the zombies are more of an afterthought than anything else because the plot is focused on something much deeper and more emotional. That can be considered “prestige popcorn.”
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