Jennifer Aniston admits 'Friends' might offend today's kids

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I never liked Friends that much and I was in my early 20s when the show was on.

But I can already hear the boomers loudly complaining about snowflakes and wokeism.

Most American sitcoms have only white people or black people as main characters, even when the show takes place in a city known for its diversity. I only really remember two sitcoms that had diverse main characters. Meanwhile, Asian or Latin people are virtually non-existent.

The USA is racist, it's as simple as that. All humans are racist. Doesn't make it acceptable, though.

I strongly disagree and take issue with the notion that "boomers" are anything. It's ageist, first of all. And it's a very multifaceted demographic with lots of different points of view.

there's obviously a strong desire among many Americans to bring back "authentic" casting. the argument is that there has been an overcorrection in increasing representation to appeal to a broader audience. As the population in the English speaking world has become more diverse there has been an attempt to broaden the casting to include diverse cast members.

But sometimes even to progressives like me it comes across as weird. When watching the "Rings of power" on Amazon I naturally want to be teleported to a mythical world that tolkein created set in medieval times. But my brain has trouble processing seeing black, pacific islander and Indians elves, dwarves and village folk in middle earth which (I hate to say it) kind of ruins the experience for me.

As for Friends, the concept would never really fly today because NY is multicultural and it looks suspect if in a building that has multiple ethnicities that "friends be only white". But if you notice the shows that came after that attempt to emulate the formula but change the context. Examples
Suits - has minimal diversity because its high end corporate law offices
Emily in Paris - takes place in high end fashion houses in Europe
twighlight - set in regional America where we know diversity still isn't a thing
Selling Sunset - High end real estate - dealing with rich/wealthy

But other popular series/movies that take place in New york or LA must have diverse cast. Sci-fi is the same, in space you can't have a sea of white faces (a small problem George Lucas realised when he had to introduce Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu).

I remember when Joey was doing dancing lessons with a guy and Monica asked him if he was "gay yet"

that didn't age well

there was a lot of cheesy skits and yes, 1990s a lot of stuff flew under the radar. Seinfleld's handling of native americans was not that funny when I look back, but at the time Kramer's racism didn't age well either (at least not for him) especially when he self-saboutaged his stand up career

Zoey Daschanel starred in a recent sitcom that seemed to be the deliberate antidote to "Friends" showcasing her with a multihued cast of friends. The show didnt last long.

And the actual "Friends" was predated by "Living Single"...an all Black show. Arguably both Friends and Living Single were more realistic than the Daschanel show because Americans do tend to sort each other out by race and class etc.

Friends tapped into a market of viewers who wouldn't watch Living Single. Although entertaining, many of the cultural references in Living Single and humour was never going to be relatable to mainstream 90s audiences. So Friends was the "antidote" plus bonus of bringing in advertisers who wanted the "younger white market" on mainstream tv before the age of netflix. this also explains why white "clones" of the Cosby show came out after 1984.

More simply put, it didn't reflect real life. "Sorting each other" isn't just an American thing. My office buddy whom I share workspace with has a collection of photos from his wedding and other events in his life on his pinboard. Despite working in a multicultural environment, having a home in multicultural suburb and being what i would call a liberal/left, his photo collection has around 100 people other than himself - not one "diverse" person in his personal life.

People still like Friends, because it resembles their own personal lives.

I do have some hope that kids are becoming more tolerant and accepting of different races, genders and abilities, but they'll very likely forget that as they get older because it's happened with every generation. People change as they age, their minds and bodies get weaker, it's a sad fact. Just look at all the hate crimes happening right now in the world.

My mom is in her early 70s, but I don't think of her as a boomer. She's possibly the most accepting person I know. She accepted ME, for one thing. But my mother is one of those rare people. But I do think she's in denial about the climate crisis.

Slowly transitioning

Huh?
Are hate crimes only committed by "weak old folks"?

Friends is one of those shows that it seems like most people seem to like or adore. I have never watched it. I've watch How I Met Your Mother, which my son says, tongue in cheek, is just like Friends. I still refuse to get dragged into watching the show.

I think the reason is I have this social stubbornness about watching things that are "Everybody" says is "the greatest" or "the best." "Everybody" also likes reality TV. This very likely a flaw in my character. On one hand, it is a mentality that kept from going to the bar every Friday night, or to drug parties in the '80s. I think that is a good thing. It also kept me from seeing the original Star Wars with it was released.
Someday I may watch Friends because I'm sure it is funny.

Watching Friends now will be different to taking a time machine and watching it in the 1990s. the dated references, lack of sophistication in scripts, plot lines which have likely been used as a formula in any number of subsequent tv series will make the impact less.

Having said that, there is a nostalgia factor for older folks which I also get from listening to 80s/90s music. Some dramas take advantage of this element, setting storylines in the 80s/90s like Marvel and Netflix Stranger things. It's likely when Disney's Star wars "Skeleton crew" is released it will appeal to 80s audience who grew up with the Speilberg's Goonies.

Are you telling me I won't be compelled to get the Jennifer Aniston hair cut? (I would look TRUELY hideous)

As an aside, who else thinks Rachel and Joey should have ended up together?