Despite the thrill of millions when Netflix announced that the beloved sitcom Friends would be uploaded to the streaming service, there are some who have managed to point out some offensive details.
A great number of us grew up with Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, and Joey, and their relationships, babies, and break-ups. And with all those rib-tickling situations, what’s not to love about the series?
Apparently, a lot, if you look at Twitter.
Some of the viewers, for example, have found one particular scene very offensive. It’s about the scene where the gang watches a video of Monica’s prom, and Joey says: “Some girl ate Monica!”
While Courtney Cox did have a slim figure throughout the show, some viewers can’t help but notice how her character’s palls regularly bring up how large she was during her teens.
“The fat shaming of Monica in Friends will forever be problematic – she’s not even that ‘fat’ in it for f***s sake,” writes one viewer on Twitter.
Another added: “The fat shaming in this Friends episode is unreal. I still love Friends. I think it really shows how much we as a society have accomplished and changed since then! But DAMN.”
Another label that the show has received is being homophobic and transphobic.
For those of you that watched the sitcom, you must remember the scandalous relationship between Chandler’s dad and the pool boy. While the gang never lets Chandler forget that, his disdain for his father gets even worse when he meets him in drag in Las Vegas.
In an article in New Statesman, writer Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin says: “Chandler’s dehumanizing contempt for his queer father, which mutates into a loathing of any kind of effeminacy or gender nonconformity, in himself or anyone else.
“Plenty of people will tell you that this gay panic was ‘of its time’, but frankly that only makes it more sinister.”
In addition to this, there are some scenes like when Ross freaks out when Ben is seen playing with a Barbie doll, or when Rachel hires a male nanny – immediately assuming that the childcare worker must be gay.
Another accusation from the viewers is the writer’s producing a lack of diversity throughout the regular and recurring cast members.
It’s worth noting that the show first aired more than 20 years ago and that a lot of modern-day viewers are bound to brand the show as offensive. However, it’s also worth noting that despite being a show aired at that time, it did feature a same-sex wedding between Ross’s ex-wife and her partner, resulting in being banned in parts of the US.
In the end, as the Washington Post highlights if you watch Sex and the City or Seinfeld¸ you will find a lot of gags or jokes that can easily set the social media alight in 2018.
Perhaps the best thing to know is that we are evolving in consciousness and we should quit with the judgmental character that has brought all the issues of our society to life in the first place.
In the end, sit back and enjoy a good laugh. Don’t think too much about it, and live your life the way you prefer it.
Source: LadBible
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