Have you ever wondered why locks are featured in pop culture? Have you ever noticed how often locks and lock symbolism appears in movies and games, and are used in song lyrics? Let’s check out some common pop platforms where locks are utilized in different ways and are the heroes of multimedia.

GAMES

Lock-picking is a popular strategic gaming task that has been used during the long history of video games. The first appearance of the lock-picking mechanism in gaming traces back to the Dungeons and Dragons game in 1989. The game requires players to implement a variety of tasks with several trivial challenges of picking a lock, solving a puzzle or opening a locked door. Dungeons and Dragons has established a new era of lock-picking game mechanisms which have resulted in the use of lock challenges becoming more widespread in popular games like Resident Evil, The Elder Scroll (2011), or Thief (2014). A better version of a lock-picking system in a video game is incorporated in Grand Theft Auto V (2013) where the players need to engage in safe-cracking and lock-drilling actions.

MOVIES

Lock and locksmith topics have not always been popular in the film industry. However, a number of cinematic masterpieces have recently been released which explore the locksmith’s perspective and the symbolism of locks. Locks and keys have become a common representation of unlocking lovers’ hearts and souls, finding your other half or the purity of love. Before being featured in movies, they were used as powerful symbols in poetry and books. Film directors are now taking locks to a whole new level and featuring them in popular movies. Recent releases include The Locksmith (2010), Lock Charmer (2014), Locks of Love (2014) and The Locksmith (2015). Most of these movies are inspired by real stories and the majority of them are made by European directors.

MUSIC

Locks have been used as inspirational themes by many songwriters whose songs have become big hits on the global music charts. One of the most famous recent songs is Locked Out Of Heaven– a reggae rock track influenced by new wave and funk genres composed and performed by Bruno Mars. 92,000 copies of this song was sold in the first week it was released. Other popular songs which feature lock themes include Love Lockdown (2008) performed by Kanye West and Lock Me Up by The Cab (2014) have also received a lot of public interest.

Locks are not only important for ensuring the security of your property, they also have become a major source of inspiration in pop culture, appearing on a broad array of multimedia platforms in different industries such as music, films and video games.

Next time you call a locksmith service or open your locked front door, remember locks and keys are not just a crucial form of protection, they symbolise love, freedom, wisdom and so much more.