Comedies either reflect the current trends or they are cutting edge, taking people where they’ve never been. Friends was the former. It was a show about young, entitled white kids that never grew up, so entitled they let a rent controlled apartment go at the end. Who else could live in Manhattan with barely no income? It was a way for th…
Comedies either reflect the current trends or they are cutting edge, taking people where they’ve never been. Friends was the former. It was a show about young, entitled white kids that never grew up, so entitled they let a rent controlled apartment go at the end. Who else could live in Manhattan with barely no income? It was a way for the rest of us to mock people like that. That’s what made the show funny.
Friends took everything going on at the time and essentially mocked social trends, from clothing to coffee shops to the trend of extending adolescence. It even added an intelligent black character near the end. If you stop and think for a moment, there was another side to each character that made their contradictions interesting and allowed them to mature into better people as the series matured.
Joey may be a goofball but he was loyal and had an I ate wisdom.
Chandler was the one who found a job he was good at and then made wise choices to support his family.
Monica was the opposite of Chandler and part of the reason he grew up.
Phoebe was honest and always knew the right thing to do when no one else did.
Rachael was independent and ambitious but also found her opposite and balanced her independence with a focus on family.
Ross was accepting of others and listened to their opinions,Malaya’s there to give support. He also never gave up on his dream.
There are two,sides to every coin. Nearly all comedy mocks something. At best you can speculate whether Friends was the chicken or the egg, and if a television show like Friends can have that much of an influence on our society we are all doomed.
I remember “All in the Family” that had a curmudgeon live with a hippy daughter and her husband. We had “MASH” that not only made us laugh at war, but also understand the pathos. There were many more, but they were much earlier than “Friends”.
Comedies either reflect the current trends or they are cutting edge, taking people where they’ve never been. Friends was the former. It was a show about young, entitled white kids that never grew up, so entitled they let a rent controlled apartment go at the end. Who else could live in Manhattan with barely no income? It was a way for the rest of us to mock people like that. That’s what made the show funny.
Friends took everything going on at the time and essentially mocked social trends, from clothing to coffee shops to the trend of extending adolescence. It even added an intelligent black character near the end. If you stop and think for a moment, there was another side to each character that made their contradictions interesting and allowed them to mature into better people as the series matured.
Joey may be a goofball but he was loyal and had an I ate wisdom.
Chandler was the one who found a job he was good at and then made wise choices to support his family.
Monica was the opposite of Chandler and part of the reason he grew up.
Phoebe was honest and always knew the right thing to do when no one else did.
Rachael was independent and ambitious but also found her opposite and balanced her independence with a focus on family.
Ross was accepting of others and listened to their opinions,Malaya’s there to give support. He also never gave up on his dream.
There are two,sides to every coin. Nearly all comedy mocks something. At best you can speculate whether Friends was the chicken or the egg, and if a television show like Friends can have that much of an influence on our society we are all doomed.
I remember “All in the Family” that had a curmudgeon live with a hippy daughter and her husband. We had “MASH” that not only made us laugh at war, but also understand the pathos. There were many more, but they were much earlier than “Friends”.
All wonderful, classic shows. MASH was also a lesson in management for any businessperson. And let’s not forget Seinfeld!!!