Someone in this thread actually said that it's still causing negative cultural impact in 2019 lol.
"Friends" is some problematic garbage
- Thread starter DJGolfClap
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Someone in this thread actually said that it's still causing negative cultural impact in 2019 lol.
They're not really even "rich" people, yes the apartments they have are oversized compared to real life, but that's common of basically most movies/TV shows. They were pretty much always portrayed as working people that were somewhere vaguely middle income (ie: Joey can't afford a Porsche but pretends to have one by buying a Porsche jacket/hat/etc. and its played as a joke).
Beverly Hills 90210, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Melrose Place were the "look at these rich people" shows of the 90s.
a lot of people itt would be SHOCKED to discover there are entire university courses dedicated to discussing media that's more than 20 years old apparently. really wild to see so many posts dismissing the entire OP, I'd say the majority of posts itt are doing that. just because something was made a while ago doesn't mean it's not worthy of discussion. if you think Friends' problematic elements don't exist in American culture anymore you're kidding yourself. The very fact that netflix is paying through the nose for Friends points to it still being very culturally relevant. stop being defensive.
Yes you are, OP. Because you see a lot of this criticism everywhere on the internet nowadays.
And It's a valid one. I loved the show back then, and still enjoy watching it sometimes, but some episodes are reaaally hard to digest.
Good signs that despite all the shit in society, a lot have changed in a good way in our mentality
And everytime is a good time to say it: Fuck Ross
You are right OP. Even my ex who is a huge fan of the series told me something similar after re-watching all 10 seasons.
I think that the fact that we feel uncomfortable now means that we evolved as society
I think that the fact that we feel uncomfortable now means that we evolved as society
It's so weird to go back. I was in college back when the show was huge, and it's embarrassing to see how oblivious I was to all of the fuckery. It was on the TV at my parents' house during my last visit and I really couldn't stand it
This is one of my main issues. I as high schooler during the 90's when Friends was running...it was already a very unrealistic look for a group of New Yorkers. There literally are no PoCs around, and a token asian and a black girlfriend later on. The OP points are valid, but the show itself is problematic in bigger ways. HIMYM is similar, and a more modern show. The David Spade sitcom, Rules of Engagement is even more recent, and is very popular apparently (worldwide even) and is extremely offensive....very homophobic, misogynistic, I mean I don't know how most people watch this shit and find it funny. Only modern comedy that's really impressive is Parks and Rec, and The Good Place is awesome as well.
They all have PoC coworkers including those who are recurring.
Besides them being really ugly? No.
Mr Popo shirts on the other hand....
Now that is what I would call problematic.
Married with Children is actually good because it wasn't trying to be wholesome, it was offensive on purpose and very satirical. Sometimes went a bit too far, but the Bundies were basically ignorant white trash and proud of it.
Friends is my guilty pleasure. I watch it whenever I can. The first few seasons were really decent but it got really bad in the later seasons.
I see where you're coming from OP. But it's a comedy show. They tend to be offensive. I mean if you think a vanilla show like Friends is offensive I dont think you should bother with other shows. My fav show of all time is Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Very offensive but so funny.
About those examples you mentioned. I don't think the show is homophobic. I remember the episode where Joey was secure in his sexuality that he wanted to kiss a guy, Chandler and Ross were not ok with it. Until Ross kissed him at the end. Or when Chandler did Joeys eyebrows. For a big part of the shows earlier seasons a lesbian couple was an important part of the show. Or when Chandler wanted a new years eve kiss and Joey kissed him. The show mocked the characters who were homophobic. I wish you had mentioned some of these examples as well.
I see where you're coming from OP. But it's a comedy show. They tend to be offensive. I mean if you think a vanilla show like Friends is offensive I dont think you should bother with other shows. My fav show of all time is Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Very offensive but so funny.
About those examples you mentioned. I don't think the show is homophobic. I remember the episode where Joey was secure in his sexuality that he wanted to kiss a guy, Chandler and Ross were not ok with it. Until Ross kissed him at the end. Or when Chandler did Joeys eyebrows. For a big part of the shows earlier seasons a lesbian couple was an important part of the show. Or when Chandler wanted a new years eve kiss and Joey kissed him. The show mocked the characters who were homophobic. I wish you had mentioned some of these examples as well.
Right?
I never went out of my way to try watching the show but I have seen a lot of episodes through my girlfriend's, even when I'm not looking and just hear, this show legit cracks me up. One of the few shows that does that for me.
The funny part was that she was tiny and Joey was big. You wouldn't assume it would hurt. But what happened at the end ? They were laughing UNTIL it happened to one of them. Rachel understood after she went through the same experience. As soon as she did her playful hitting on the arm thing to Rachel her opinion totally changed. Again, I wish you had mentioned this as well.
I watched Gossip Girl which is pure schlock with an unredeemable rapey main character that they try to redeem for the next six seasons. Doesn't mean it isn't shit just because I watched it :).
I mean it's still a good show that's very funny and has many iconic moments. What's the solution? Boycott Friends?
The boss who sends Chandler to head up the new office is Aunt Viv, then he bombs an interview with a black exec, and then his boss at the ad agency is black.
Joey has taken auditions given by black directors/dancers.
Ross had at least one black coworker at the museum (technically Joey too) and at the university.
Monica had the Latino coworker/love interest.
Everything this guy says about Ross is true. But he's also the funniest character on the show bar none.
You mean Chuck Bass? That's very problematic. A similar show, "Pretty Little Liars" has a primary couple, where the dude is 23/24 and the girl is 15. I mean, what were they thinking? How were they even trying to normalize that shit?
Yeah Chuck and Blair are like the "it couple" of the show too. It just completely glosses over it after he's made to be the primary antagonist in the beginning of the show.
And ew at that Pretty Little Liars stuff.
Seinfeld's writing was miles ahead of Friends. Friends indeed had a lot of problematic moments (not like Seinfeld was immune) but it's mostly just nostalgia that makes me like it (haven't watched it in probably good 10 years). I went to High School and College in the 90s, so shows/movies/music from that time period is very nostalgic. People here are fully accepting that there is a lot of problematic materials from media of that era but as bad as the excuse is, it was indeed a "Product of its times".
Watch this 4 minute video. There are way more than you think. And this only covers black folks and not Asian or Latino.
I'm certain that in 20 years some will find stuff in Brooklyn 99 that offends them and that show for all intents and purposes is progressive as all hell in 2019 as was Friends considered in the 90s.
Got to admit that I have similar nostalgic view of Fresh Prince (Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro were funny as hell) as I do of Friends (Seinfeld I still will defend to being one of the best sitcoms ever made). Melrose Place and Beverly Hills were complete trash though.
Which brings to mind the travesty that Fresh Prince isn't on any streaming sites without paid episodes, at least in US.
1994 was 25 years ago, I knew that, but I never stopped and think that that's the same difference as 1980 and 1955.
That certainly puts things into perspective, doesn't it? These 25 years is basically the entire history of the internet!
Friends reaffirms why I think Frasier is one of the better timeless American Sitcoms, it handled a lot of sometimes sensitive material, and maybe it's my nostalgia talking, but I think it handled it with some modicums of dignity.
Pretty much.
Half the complaints here are just reminding me what people were like in 90s myself included.
I can look back and criticize, but I'm not gonna pretend I had a 2019 mindset back then.
How many of them have names? And that's a pitiful amount black people for a 10 year show in one of the most diverse cities in the world, and they are mostly extremely small single scene characters.
It was a bit shameful it took them 9 seasons to have a significant black character. People like to point to Ross having a black girlfriend at one point to prove it wasn't a very white show but it took so long and I remember at the same that aired it was made into a big deal because there'd been next to no black actors on the show. It definitely wouldn't be the case if it was made these days thankfully.
We need to look at these things to help be better. Doesn't mean we can't enjoy it or have to change the past.
But while friends may be a product of the 90s, last year Two Broke Girls was still on the air and it was far more problematic and gross. If we want to be better we have to identify how.
But while friends may be a product of the 90s, last year Two Broke Girls was still on the air and it was far more problematic and gross. If we want to be better we have to identify how.
I always wondered how people feel about gay representation in "Modern Family". The two characters seem rather fleshed out and aren't always just being "the gay couple".
I'm super gay and I like Modern Family. And Mitch and Cam can be stereotypical but very relatable as a couple.
I never claimed Friends is a very diverse show, quite the contrary, but there are some on this thread claiming there were zero POC on this show or that they only have "tokens" and that's just a complete lie.
The characters in the periphery to the main cast (excluding family, obviously) I'd say we're close to being as diverse as NYC is. Whether they have big roles or not is another matter entirely.
To be fair, Jerry was always portrayed as a very successful comedian from the beginning of the show. I recently rewatched an early episode where Elaine doesn't have $ 5,000 to make a deposit on an apartment, and Jerry just has it laying around to lend her.
How the hell does Kramer have money is what I'd want to know, lol.
At some point you have to let nit picks like this go. It's TV/movies ... if the characters have an apartment in New York, it's simply not going to look like what it would in real life. People don't want to see "real life" in sitcom's or many movies.
It's not a Friends or Seinfeld thing exclusively by any means.
I think Kramer is even sort of a jab at that trope. A man who never seems to be employed or doing anything productive with their life, but who can somehow afford a Manhattan apartment. They poke fun at the fact a whole bunch of times!
Incidentally, I just remembered that Monica's apartment is inheritance from her grandmother, which makes that one a bit more believable (and also perhaps explain why that apartment has so much nice furniture and a cute paint job while the one across the hall is a dump).
Rachel made out with Chandler before Ross, and Joey after. She also made out with Monica to get their apartment back.
Everybody pretty much hooked up with everybody in that series, including brother and sister Ross and Monica, in a dark room on Ross's college dorm, where they didn't realize who they were kissing.
But hey, I'm not judging! Just pointing it out. It's even kind of a running gag in the show.
(But yeah, sex wasn't part of the deal usually.)
That's a waste of University resources. No wonder tuition keeps going up.
Eh, Rachel and Joey made out. Even by high school standards that doesn't count as "hooking up" let alone for grown adults.
It was an illegal sublet after their grandmother moved down to Florida. Phoebe was also living with her grandmother, though she died during the series.
Chandler/Joey were always portrayed as needing a roommate (at least until Joey gets his fulltime gig back).
