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I grew up watching Nick at Night, and I wish we still had shows like that today. They were idealized versions of Americana, but I think it was closer to what vi

I grew up watching Nick at Night, and I wish we still had shows like that today. They were idealized versions of Americana, but I think it was closer to what viewers wanted believed about America. I wish there were more shows today about rural communities, it might help us understand one another better.

floren 6y ago
> I wish there were more shows today about rural communities, it might help us understand one another better. You'd have to get TV writers that want to understand rural communities first, instead of painting dumb-shit broad strokes from fuzzy memories of watching Green Acres as a kid. Mostly, though, they just do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9_N4k5IQI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9_N4k5IQI
Apocryphon 6y ago
There was Parks and Recreation, I guess.
litoorachure 6y ago
Oh, this sounds like fun. It depends on how you define 'rural', but off the top of my head: Parks & Recreation, Schitt's Creek, Breaking Bad, Ozark, Sons of Anarchy, Dallas, and that's without even looking at the Discovery Channel. IMO we need to talk to each other more if we want to understand each other better, though. Not through dehumanizing screens, but in person and in good faith. When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with a stranger in a train, airport, store etc?
- philwelch 6y ago
  Breaking Bad takes place in Albuquerque and I’m pretty sure Dallas takes place in Dallas. Those are cities.
  - litoorachure 5y ago
    Yeah, they're not perfect examples, but those shows' characters live in the suburbs and spend most of their time even farther afield. The cities seem to serve as somewhat jarring juxtapositions to the places where the action and drama occur.
    - philwelch 5y ago
      Most people in American metropolitan areas live in suburbs. Suburbs are not rural.
  - watwut 5y ago
    Dallas is not city show. They live in houses in the middle of nowhere. They are outside all the time. Like, you have to read wiki to know Dallas is city.
mbg721 6y ago
I don't know that something like Green Acres (complete with climbing the telephone pole to make a call, and one of the most influential local citizens being a pig) is going to build bridges of understanding. It's a silly show that's more about putting a rational main character into a setting where nothing makes sense. If anything, the laughs are because the universe of the country rubes is so ridiculous, yet so readily accepted. (Similarly, my Appalachian grandmother really did not think the Beverly Hillbillies was funny.)
- skynet-9000 5y ago
  I agree, but when compared to Andy Griffith (the country rube sheriff?), and everything just seemed more "wholesome"; perhaps an idealistic tale of days gone by, but also perhaps an aspirational tale for those who might value the community sometimes found in small, rural places.
  - Simulacra 5y ago
    For some reason your comment reminded me of something I read about the Simpsons. Every single episode, no matter what, they're always a family in the end. I think what is missing is more television programing that aimed to be an aspiration to others in their community. The Jeffersons, Andy Griffith, even to include The Wonder Years. Perhaps has another commenter noted, the writers would first have to understand that dynamic, and to do so would be a major shift at the moment.
mikestew 5y ago
They were idealized versions of Americana... Idealized by city folk, maybe. As one who grew up in a rural area, when I watched the shows it was more "let's make fun of the simple country folk and their strange ways". There was no idealization, most of it were television shows that looked to be written by city people that have never been past their city's beltway, who imagine what country life might be like. Poster children include Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies. I do miss Hee Haw, though. R. I. P., Messrs. Owen and Clark.

floren 6y ago

> I wish there were more shows today about rural communities, it might help us understand one another better. You'd have to get TV writers that want to understand rural communities first, instead of painting dumb-shit broad strokes from fuzzy memories of watching Green Acres as a kid. Mostly, though, they just do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9_N4k5IQI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9_N4k5IQI

Apocryphon 6y ago

There was Parks and Recreation, I guess.

litoorachure 6y ago

Oh, this sounds like fun. It depends on how you define 'rural', but off the top of my head: Parks & Recreation, Schitt's Creek, Breaking Bad, Ozark, Sons of Anarchy, Dallas, and that's without even looking at the Discovery Channel. IMO we need to talk to each other more if we want to understand each other better, though. Not through dehumanizing screens, but in person and in good faith. When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with a stranger in a train, airport, store etc?

philwelch 6y ago
Breaking Bad takes place in Albuquerque and I’m pretty sure Dallas takes place in Dallas. Those are cities.
- litoorachure 5y ago
  Yeah, they're not perfect examples, but those shows' characters live in the suburbs and spend most of their time even farther afield. The cities seem to serve as somewhat jarring juxtapositions to the places where the action and drama occur.
  - philwelch 5y ago
    Most people in American metropolitan areas live in suburbs. Suburbs are not rural.
- watwut 5y ago
  Dallas is not city show. They live in houses in the middle of nowhere. They are outside all the time. Like, you have to read wiki to know Dallas is city.

mbg721 6y ago

I don't know that something like Green Acres (complete with climbing the telephone pole to make a call, and one of the most influential local citizens being a pig) is going to build bridges of understanding. It's a silly show that's more about putting a rational main character into a setting where nothing makes sense. If anything, the laughs are because the universe of the country rubes is so ridiculous, yet so readily accepted. (Similarly, my Appalachian grandmother really did not think the Beverly Hillbillies was funny.)

skynet-9000 5y ago
I agree, but when compared to Andy Griffith (the country rube sheriff?), and everything just seemed more "wholesome"; perhaps an idealistic tale of days gone by, but also perhaps an aspirational tale for those who might value the community sometimes found in small, rural places.
- Simulacra 5y ago
  For some reason your comment reminded me of something I read about the Simpsons. Every single episode, no matter what, they're always a family in the end. I think what is missing is more television programing that aimed to be an aspiration to others in their community. The Jeffersons, Andy Griffith, even to include The Wonder Years. Perhaps has another commenter noted, the writers would first have to understand that dynamic, and to do so would be a major shift at the moment.

mikestew 5y ago

They were idealized versions of Americana... Idealized by city folk, maybe. As one who grew up in a rural area, when I watched the shows it was more "let's make fun of the simple country folk and their strange ways". There was no idealization, most of it were television shows that looked to be written by city people that have never been past their city's beltway, who imagine what country life might be like. Poster children include Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies. I do miss Hee Haw, though. R. I. P., Messrs. Owen and Clark.