MovieChat Forums > The Wonder Years (2021) Discussion > Combining nostalgia and racist discrimin...

Combining nostalgia and racist discrimination is not going to be easy

posted 3 years ago by alv790 (87)
19 replies | jump to latest

You can make a show about growing up being a victim of racial discrimination. You can also make a show, like the original Wonder Years, that depicted the experience of growing up in the 60s in a warm, nostalgic way, depicting social changes but from a safe, fond perspective.

But trying to combine those two things in the same show? That's going to make for some difficult tonal shifts, and every time you focus on one of those themes you are going to undermine the other.

I'm a big fan of he original show, and I'm watching this and hoping it will be good, but I have my doubts. Let's see how they handle it. I think it was a mistake calling this The Wonder Years. Those are big shoes to fill, and this show would have a better chance to succeed if it finds its own vibe, instead of trying to fill them.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Yup. The whole thing about the first was that it was a coming of age story set to the backdrop of the 1960s. It didn't really preach. It didn't have an agenda. It mixed in historic and cultural issues but did so sparingly.

Race was not an element.

I didn't like the first episode of this at all.

[–] WickedStorm (405) 3 years ago

It was what I expected it to be. Every white person - "prejudiced." Black people - "justified" in whatever they did. I saw enough.

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 3 years ago

Not really. Today's culture warriors and propagandists yearn for the days when racism truly had a significant impact on people's lives. Now they have to turn trivial incidents into major statements on race relations, or just make them up altogether. It'd be a lot easier for them if racism today really did impact the ability of black Americans to live the lives they want. This show could be popular among those who really really really want that to be the case.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

Oh, come on. Racism didn't magically disappear after the civil rights movement ended. It's still very much around today. Racism was very much a part of normal life for black people in that time and that place----that was real-life and real history back then, and that's what the show deals with. Guess what? Racism is still around today, because white people are still perpetuating it. What the hell do you think the BLM movement was all about? It exposed and forced all facets of society to come to term with the subtle or sometimes blatant racism that still determines whether black people get certain jobs, whether they're able to get a decent price when trying to sell a home, whether they get promoted at work, and whether they get stopped by the police for nothing in certain areas, but simply because they're black. Only idiots like you think racism disappeared since you never have to deal with it. Racism still impacts the lives of black, brown and other people of color in society today. Just because it dosen't effect you, that sure as hell dosen't mean that it dosen't impact anyone else.

And there have been shows that dealt with the subject of racism before in a drama or sitcom context, so claiming this show won't work simply because you don't like the fact that it deals with racism. Because it obviously does, and it hasn't been the subject of every episode, anyway. So get off hat nonsense, please.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

Racism today is committed mostly by black people. So, yes, it is alive and well today.

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 3 years ago

Notice how all the "Stop Asian Hate" rhetoric disappeared real quick once it was clear that is was always black people beating the crap out of random Asians for no reason. Just a couple days ago an Asian woman was shoved to her death in front of an oncoming NYC subway train. Guess what. Black guy perp yet again. BLM, the Democratic Party, and their media enablers have a lot of racism to answer for. All their bigoted anti-white and anti-cop propaganda has consequences.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

Did you see the latest video of a black man taking a bat to the head of an elderly Asian? Then he went for a slice of pizza. She is alive. That's the only good thing.

What is it about black people attacking elderly Asians?

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 3 years ago

"What is it about black people attacking elderly Asians?"

It's because of systemic racism and historical oppression.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

Oh, boy. You're that same old lying racist troll who loves popping up on this board only to bash black people as usual. Your lying racist ass knows damn well that it was not only a few black people attacking Asian-Americans---plenty of white people were doing that same s***. Funny how you two trolls forgot to mention that crazy white boy who lost his damn mind and murdered eight people in a massage parlor, six of them Asian-American women---whom he admitted to wanting to target in the first place. You racist trolls need to go somewhere else and go fck yourself with this racist bull****. And trying to drag BLM and the Dems into something they have nothing do with is pure bull****. Just cut the racist bull**** please.

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 3 years ago

"knows damn well that it was not only a few black people attacking Asian-Americans"

Exactly. It was a whole lot of black racists targeting Asians during covid times. Why do you think the media dropped the issue so quickly? Duh.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

What a stupid, clueless, ignorant-a** thing to say. It's white people who have always kept racism alive and well in this country because it's always benefitted them, period. You racists just love making up stupid, dumb-a** lies to justify your racism---it's laughable and real fucking pathetic. Go take a worthless maga hat and go shove it straight up your stupid racist a**.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

You are partially right. White liberals need to keep racism alive. Because they use it to win elections. They tell black people they are victims of racism and only the Dems can fix it. Just vote for them. The rest of us realized long ago that racism in action is against white people. Black people have zero problems saying anything negative about white people. They have zero problem ignoring all the hate crimes committed by black people. Two years ago, they burned hundreds of buildings to the ground and it was called mostly peaceful. How many people were killed?
Just recently, black people have thrown a woman to her death in front of a train, murdered two young girls at work, taken a baseball bat to an elderly woman and it's a miracle she survived.
You know how bad it is? If you say the word 'ni' you may get fired.
The NBA features players who wear shirts that say 'Built on Black History'. Imagine for a moment if white players wore shirts that said 'Built on White History'. Riots? Looting? Murder?
And black people are even more guilty of enslaving people than anyone. They still practice it to this day in Africa. America fought a civil war to end it. Then they gave black people rights that are better than most white people's. It's called affirmative action.
So, yes, racism against white people is thriving in America. And it's destroying it.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

You are so full of s***. White people literally started racism in this country, and enslaved black people for most of its history. White people commit crimes all the damn time, and almost every damn day----stop trying to fckg ignore that, and trying to pretend that white people are the victims of anybody when in this country, they have always been the damn victimizers of everybody that isn't white from fckg day one. American history alone proves that s*** to the max. And stop trying to act like only black people commit crimes---that's some bull**** right there. First of all, whole cities were not burned to the damn ground during 2020 riots and protests. That just right-wing bull**** hype.

And every damn protest did not end in a fckg riot---that's another lie the right loves to promote. Right now the republicans are using critical race theory (which is not even racist itself, it's a look at how deep racism is embedded in our societal institutions) which they don't even understand, but they sure as hell are using it to get almost any book that discusses race banned from school. Which means damn near any book that is about African-American history---because, they claim, they "don't want little white kids to feel bad about themselves." Um, what the fck? And black history in this country is American history, you little stupid racist idiot. Right now, these racist repubs are trying to take black history out of the schools, and of course, they don't give a damn about that is going to affect little black kids when they can't access anything that's about them in school libraries. Tired of dumb-ass little racist like you spewing these fake-a**, bull**** self-serving narratives trying to claim white people are the victims of racism. That's the dumbest, most ignorant s*** I've ever heard, because you know damn well that isn't true. Black American history is not about "riots, looting and murder"----that's basically the history of white people toward black people in the South.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

You are living in the distant past. Welcome to 2022. It's not the same as it was in 1922.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

Racism still exists here in 2022. It didn't magically vanish even though laws were passed against it. Wake up.

[–] TheArgentinian (7061) 3 years ago

that user is evidence that there's such thing as white privilege. he lives in a bubble where racism is gone.

[–] nufsaid16 (685) 3 years ago

Exactly. It's always been easy for white people to claim racism dosen't exist, because they never have to deal with it.

[–] Burgershmurger (1360) 3 years ago

People are mean to other people irrespective of their race. People are fleeing their home countries to avoid mistreatment and persecution by people of their own race. Yes, racism does exist but it's not the law in any country anymore. Huge difference. Slavery and segregation are no longer legal in the USA.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (7146) 3 years ago

I don't necessarily agree with that premise because you see this in film all the time. The Help, Remember the Titans, To Kill A Mockingbird, Hairspray, etc. Can this particular show achieve the same thing? Maybe not, but that's not because it's all that difficult to achieve.