Phaunzie Posted May 10, 2023 Posted May 10, 2023 The most harmless, political correct, alright drab and basic show of it's time period. It is the Wonder Bread of daytime television and is super easy to get into. I hate it. It refuses to challenge the socitial norms and doubles down on maintaining the status quo. Hence why minorities are so sparse and when they are presented, it usually for a laugh.
OrgVisual Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 It's inoffensive, white, catchy, and fun for a laugh The perfect recipe for success in any entertainment industry tbh
SupremeGoddess Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 10 hours ago, Wrecked said: The way some of you make hating Friends a personality trait… You don’t need to be ‘enlightened’ about anything. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Why does it bother you so much that other people like it? because people made liking friends a personality trait
Attaboy Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 Literally there is none! You’re not crazy Seinfeld cleared
ICLDXU4HS Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 12 hours ago, Phaunzie said: The most harmless, political correct, alright drab and basic show of it's time period. It is the Wonder Bread of daytime television and is super easy to get into. I hate it. Ngl, all of this reads like you haven't seen more than 3 episodes. Friends being called politically correct is... a new one. It's very much not, which is a big reason why people are still drawn to it to this day. It's messy and PrObLeMaTiC without ever being truly vicious towards anyone. Your description better fits the average sitcom of today. 12 hours ago, Phaunzie said: It refuses to challenge the socitial norms and doubles down on maintaining the status quo. This isn't true either? Friends isn't by any means the pinnacle of progressivism, but it e.g. featured a lesbian couple raising a kid for a full 3 years (!) before Ellen came out. Chandler has a trans mom and while her portrayal is questionable she's ultimately portrayed as a sympathetic character. Phoebe is a free spirit (the opposite of a person conforming to societal norms) and very much painted as someone we should aspire to be more like. There's a storyline of her being a surrogate for her brother's triplets, like... Every single season has multiple episodes dragging Ross for his antiquated, traditionalist views and toxic masculinity. Rachel goes from a materialistic and shallow aspiring trophy wife to an independent and hard-working girl boss. I could go on... 12 hours ago, Phaunzie said: Hence why minorities are so sparse and when they are presented, it usually for a laugh. This is the only thing you're correct about although every minor character, minority or not, is used for a laugh, so...
Phaunzie Posted May 12, 2023 Posted May 12, 2023 11 hours ago, ICLDXU4HS said: Ngl, all of this reads like you haven't seen more than 3 episodes. Friends being called politically correct is... a new one. It's very much not, which is a big reason why people are still drawn to it to this day. It's messy and PrObLeMaTiC without ever being truly vicious towards anyone. Your description better fits the average sitcom of today. This isn't true either? Friends isn't by any means the pinnacle of progressivism, but it e.g. featured a lesbian couple raising a kid for a full 3 years (!) before Ellen came out. Chandler has a trans mom and while her portrayal is questionable she's ultimately portrayed as a sympathetic character. Phoebe is a free spirit (the opposite of a person conforming to societal norms) and very much painted as someone we should aspire to be more like. There's a storyline of her being a surrogate for her brother's triplets, like... Every single season has multiple episodes dragging Ross for his antiquated, traditionalist views and toxic masculinity. Rachel goes from a materialistic and shallow aspiring trophy wife to an independent and hard-working girl boss. I could go on... This is the only thing you're correct about although every minor character, minority or not, is used for a laugh, so... Politically correct as in adhering to the politics of the time it came out. It literally frames drag queens and lesbians as the butt of a joke.
Wicked Posted May 14, 2023 Posted May 14, 2023 (I'll preface by also saying for the hundredth time it was a blatant Living Single rip off, that much is obvious. Go watch Living Single pls) FRIENDS is popular because its humor was made for the general audience (what I mean by this is there's no slant to the writing, there's nothing that the writers imply the viewer knows beforehand, there's no heavy or unique humor style. I would imagine THAT is why it has the global reach it has. Like Squid Games had a whole controversy about the subtitles not being correct, so the South Korean sentence structure and context was lost when translating to English; FRIENDS wouldn't have that issue) and the cast has great chemistry. FRIENDS was always going to be more popular than something like Newsradio [which was the better show, but the humor was wittier/niche] Shows like Frasier, Newsradio, The Larry Sanders Show & Seinfeld have all the critical acclaim (more than Friends) because critics favor better, stronger, "smarter" writing, the general population just wants something easy to follow with a familiar cast when it comes to sitcoms. This is kind of evident in the fact the 5 shows I named previously all aged better than FRIENDS. I'm a writing girl, so if the humor ain't seasoned appropriately it's not for me. But I also understand there's a place for both types of shows to exist. FRIENDS is not my cup of tea whatsoever, but the appeal is very evident imo.
Recommended Posts