January 15, 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of “Happy Days”, a show predating my existence by nearly 30 years. Despite missing the opportunity to watch the show while it was still on the air, I had grown fond of the picturesque 1950s Milwaukee that would sometimes play on my family’s now outdated tube television when older relatives made their annual appearances on Thanksgivings and Christmases. Only later on did I realize that these relatives were much younger than I had originally thought, when I learned that “Happy Days” was not filmed in the 50s, but rather in the 1970s and 80s. Now, looking back I see “Happy Days” and other relics of television history as pasts that have never existed and never will. Channel Surfing examines this type of memory as it relates to the human experience, identifying technology and the image as a primary access point for romanticizing the past.
