Ever since 1994, FRIENDS, a TV show showcasing the lives of 6 best friends living in New York,
has been a show that teenagers and adults alike have enjoyed. Fans love this show for many different reasons and everyone you talk to probably has a character they relate to the most.
However in the media recently, FRIENDS has been scrutinized for being homophobic, transphobic,
and sexist. The three main male characters, Joey, Chandler, and Ross, constantly make punchlines
towards the women in the show and even their own masculinity. For example, in one episode, Joey and Ross take a nap together and despite the fact that they enjoy cuddling with each other, they turn into a big deal because they are guys.
Ever since news outlets starting discussing these “problematic” issues, viewers and critics have been exploding with their opinion about whether this show was actually controversial. The big issues that people are discussing is the lack of diversity within the show and the treatment towards Chandler's’ dad throughout the show. First, there were only two people of color throughout the 10 seasons of FRIENDS. Both were only on the show for a short amount of time as they appeared as Ross’ girlfriends until their relationships ended. Second, Chandler and his friends repeatedly made jokes about his transgender father. She is the headliner in a burlesque show in Las Vegas and ever since she left Chandler and his mother, it’s been difficult for him to adapt to his mother's lifestyle. She is referred to using the wrong pronouns, made fun of for wearing dresses, and mocked for being transgender.However, if you consider the 90’s and the era that the show was created in, these really are not
“problematic” issues. Let’s not forget that this show first started in 1994. In the 90’s, racism was
still dividing our country and creating problems with the law enforcement, ranging from Rodney
King to the trial of OJ Simpson. Keeping that in mind, it’s no shocker that the cast of FRIENDS
was majority white. How can you expect diversity on a TV show during times like that? And yes,
Chandler did make a lot of homophobic jokes, but FRIENDS also made strides in the LGBTQ
presence on television. Not many shows included LGBTQ characters, they still do not today.
However, FRIENDS featured two, Susan and Carol, and even created a whole episode surrounding
their wedding. Even towards the end of the show, Chandler goes to see his father and finally uses the
right pronoun, showing how much his character developed throughout the show.
Instead of criticizing the show for it, does it not teach us how times have changed? TV shows these
days include many diverse characters and have little, if any, homophobic punchlines. Although, that
does not make it okay that these jokes were included in the TV show, FRIENDS is about so much
more than that. This TV show gives us struggles we can all relate to. Whether you can relate to Chandler’s sarcasm, Monica’s OCD, Ross’s marriage troubles, or Joey’s career, we can all find a part of FRIENDS we can relate to. This show teaches us about real experiences that 20 year olds genuinely go through. These experiences include Rachel raising her baby while working, Phoebe dealing with her mother’s suicide, or Chandler finally getting over his women issues. FRIENDS may have it’s issues but at the end of the day, it’s just a TV show and not real life.
Works Cited:
Videos, Favorite. “Friends - ‘Best Nap Ever’ Ross & Joey.” YouTube, 15 Oct. 2016, youtu.be/1rI-kg2IGAI.
PureBloodPaul. “Friends - HD - Chandler's Dad.” YouTube, 15 Feb. 2014, youtu.be/AnWHiOZOEFU.
This show was made in the 90's so a lot of the controversial issues that people and critics can be voided because in the 90's there wasn't a lot of problems like there are today.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we cannot blame the producers or anyone involved, since at that time, it was not an issue to people in the past
ReplyDeleteWhat may be considered questionable to put in a TV show today may not be the same as in the 90s. Plus, many shows today also have homophobic and sexist content despite the change of social norms. I also agree that FRIENDS, despite some finding it offensive, is about relating to the characters and the relatable aspects of their lives.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through the blog post and the other comments, I agree that controversial issues that the show touches upon may not be the same today in 2018, but I would like to point out that I think shows like this in this time help led to the point we're at today. There may be more of a correlation between the two time frames than we think. While the content of the controversial issues of the times may not be identical, the cultural topics discussed in Friends helped pave the way to how controversial topics are discussed in today's pop culture artifacts.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your opinion, I watched friends twice through and now I totally can see how people might be upset by this show. They hit almost every touchy subject like characters on the show being lesbians and on the show they make it seem like it is really weird and a bad thing. So many people have watched that show so I feel like they could have made a more positive impact with their messages so I agree with you completely.
ReplyDeleteI agree that little could have been expected from the 90's in regards to diversity and acceptance, but they still knew that those things existed; they just didn't want to push for them too much. Regardless of how the industry has changed, FRIENDS has had a powerful impact on that change. At the end of the day, we all still watch it, even if it's a little problematic.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with your view point of the controversy behind friends. The highlight of this show is that since it did last for a long time, as times changes so did it. It may have made many incorrect jokes, but as you mentioned as time went on they did go and provide some positive episodes regarding topics such as sexual orientation. This does not make all of the jokes in the show okay, but it does reflect America's slowly changing view on the subject.
ReplyDeleteI was actually watching the show as I was reading this. I never really thought of it this way and I have watched it many times. I was confused at first but when you said a few examples I started to see how people could be upset by it.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of this since i started watching friends when i was about 8 years old and after watching every episode at least 10 times, i never got back to it. Now that i am reading your blog i see that you have a lot of valid points. There was not much diversity, the crew always made fun of Chandler's dad and did not respect his decision, but i am glad that towards the end of the show this tendency started to change.
ReplyDeleteEven though the jokes were disrespectful towards chandler's dad i have to say that they were pretty funny.