Whether it is a deemed classic like “The Goonies” or a fan favorite like “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” there is no denying that the fall season is the focal point of many people’s favorite movies and TV shows.
Fall can be associated with the months of September, October and November. The season initiates a period associated with the browning and falling of leaves, burnt oranges and reds, the crisp smell of apples and cinnamon and the coveted pumpkin spice.
When it comes to movies and TV shows, any sign of fall memorabilia or visuals can ignite association with the fall season. Movies and TV shows can transport the viewer to that story through aesthetics, themes and feelings.
The movies and TV shows of the autumn or fall season consist of all types of genres, including comedy, drama, romance, etc.
According to Harper’s Bazaar, some of the best fall movies for the fall season include “Good Will Hunting,” “Brown Sugar,” “Far From Heaven,” “Dead Poets Society,” “Hocus Pocus”, “Little Women” (2019), “Knives Out,” “Mona Lisa Smile” (2003), “October Sky,” “Practical Magic” (1993), “School of Rock,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “You’ve Got Mail,” etc.
For many students at GCSU, the fall season provides comfort and coziness that can be projected in TV shows and movies. Comfort can be taken in the soundtracks of movies and TV shows, like that of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” or the “Harry Potter” series.
Sarah Loncon, a junior computer science major, notes that for the fall season, some of her go-to movies and TV shows include “Over The Garden Wall,” “Dead Poets Society,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox”. She concludes that color scheme plays a big role in movies and TV shows she associates with fall.
“‘Over the Garden Wall’ is set over Halloween and it’s set in a forest, where all the leaves are orange and the filter on the show is orange-yellow and there are pumpkins and turkeys, so it reminds me of fall because that’s what it looks like in real life,” Loncon said.
For film theory and analysis, color can play a big role in how an audience relates or interprets a scene. Color schemes can add to or disparage the overall aesthetic of a film or TV show.
Color as well as the mise-en-scene of a movie or show can contribute to the portrayal of a season. Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of scenery which includes the setting, props, music, camera work, costumes, etc.
Social media plays a role in the movies and TV shows that people associate with the fall season. Applications like Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram have led to the most perpetuation of the achievement of the ‘perfect’ fall aesthetic.
“I feel like I see TikToks where people will be like ‘Gilmore Girls’ inspired clothes’ and then they do like outfits that correlate with ‘Gilmore Girls,’” said Kylie Totten, a junior education major. “People will be like ‘It’s fall time, so that means it’s ‘Twilight’ time, so we’re gonna get out our flannels or boots and whatnot’”.
Out of all of them, TikTok has become the leading contender of all social media when it comes to recommendations and promotion for shows and movies.
“Gilmore Girls” has become the fall TV show classic, igniting fall trends, aesthetic videos and overall displaying the pinnacle of fall comfort. Despite the show’s premiere in 2000, the show is the center of or number one on the list of recommended fall shows.
TikTok and other social media apps have also promoted the revival of older shows and movies, introducing them to younger generations. This revival of shows and movies
“Through TikTok, yes, now we have access to see more,” Loncon said. “I get more recommendations, like on Letterboxd, you can find more movies I haven’t heard of before and now I can see them.”
For some, the fall season is mainly encapsulated by the Halloween holiday, displaying fall spirit through the more spooky movies like “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Scream,” “Death Becomes Her,” “Halloweentown,” “The Craft,” “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Coraline” or “The Addams Family”.
Keelie Mincey, a freshman mass communication major, associates the fall season with horror movies as well as a mix of the classical deemed fall shows, like “Gilmore Girls.”
“‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is one because it’s both Halloween and a little Christmas, and the music and I just love Tim Burton,” Mincey said.
The phrase “Season of the Witch” has become an aesthetic associated with the fall season. The mythological figure of a witch is often paired with the Halloween holiday, but depictions in social media and film and TV shows have produced a playful fall folklore.
The production of stories involving witches includes various shows and movies of all genres including comedy, romance, horror, drama, etc. Some of the more well-known movies and TV shows include “Practical Magic,” “Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone,” “The Craft,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and most recently Marvel’s “Agatha All Along”.
The fall season continues to produce aesthetics paired with the influence of pop culture that shapes the movies and TV shows that have become classics and fan favorites.
