Now, It’s Time to ‘Cancel’ Problematic ‘Three’s Company’
Collider dissects beloved '70s sitcom in a pitch-perfect woke parody
Any art made before May 21, 2023 can be considered problematic to the woke Left.
Even movies made a mere four years ago aren’t immune from the Woke Police.
It’s exhausting, of course, but it yields a never-ending stream of “think pieces” telling us why we shouldn’t enjoy films and TV shows that gave us pleasure for years, even decades.
Some of the woke Left’s favorite targets include “Friends,” “Seinfeld” and “The Office.” Even the show’s own stars won’t always defend their handiwork. How long will it be until problematic scenes are snipped to appease modern audiences?
Some could argue that’s already happened.
Now, it’s “Three’s Company” turn to be revealed as “problematic” and “cringe”-worthy.
The sitcom, which aired from 1977-1984, spun from the popular British show “Man About the House.” “Three’s Company” starred John Ritter as a straight, single chef living with two beautiful women (Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt) to make ends meet.
To appease the landlords, Ritter’s Jack Tripper character pretends to be gay. Wacky high jinks ensue, often fueled by misunderstandings and misheard comments.
The show made stars of both Ritter and Somers, spawned the unsuccessful spinoff “The Ropers” and brought sexually-charged comedy to viewers each week.
The sitcom wouldn’t make sense today for many reasons, including a loosening of sexual mores, and some of the gags represented the repressive culture of the time regarding homosexuality.
It wasn’t mean spirited, just typical of the era.
Enter Collider.
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The woke site describes the series as both beloved and genuinely funny … but there’s a catch. The show, as seen through a modern woke prism, is problematic to the core.
Some of the cultural observations are obvious, although unnecessary. The various landlords panicking over Jack’s “gay” persona wouldn’t fly today, or even make sense.
It’s similar to a 21st reaction to the 1983 comedy “Mr. Mom.” The Michael Keaton-Teri Garr film’s premise wouldn’t make work today given the rise of stay-at-home dads, but it doesn’t mean the film isn’t still warm and winning.
Collider bullies past those obvious differences, attacking the show for utilizing the “male gaze,” tired gay tropes and more.
We’re treated to a cultural X-ray of two episodes, including “… And Justice for Jack” with this observation.
The dialogue not only goes through the hetero-centric humor typical of Jack and Larry, but it also applies the homophobic landlord slurs that are natural to the show’s ebb and flow at this point.
Is hetero-centric humor not allowed in 2023? We missed that memo, apparently.
Even the show’s marketing material in which Ritter’s chef character fed his female roommates in a potentially suggestive fashion triggered the critic.
…there’s an equally unfunny and uncomfortable feeling that’s present within the picture, and it must be acknowledged. [emphasis added]
Really? Why? Is there a law of some kind demanding that?
Farcical.
The column ends by allowing fans to still enjoy the series while mocking them for doing so.
None of this is to say that Three’s Company doesn’t have its place within television history, nor is it to discredit its fandom. Everyone is entitled to the things they like and there is certainly still an audience for the series … [the show] is incredibly flawed and problematic in retrospect and as an audience, we’ve grown past it.
Who’s “we?” Must we grow past all the content from our youth, the stories that gave us joy and memories that linger to this day?
These insufferable think pieces won’t stop, of course, and since the article lacks a comments section we won’t see Collider’s readers knocking on its door in collective mockery.
Goerge Orwell would have warned everyone about America’s descent into Fascism (see::targeted attacks,physical and otherwise on the usual suspects:Blacks,LGBTQAIs,immigrants,workers’ and women’s reproductive rights,both ‘legally”i.e. legislation passed to curtail voting and reproductive rights and gender equality and physical attacks on such folk ala the Jacksonville and Buffalo anti-Black hate murders.)
It’s funny you mention “Friends” because one of the creators said three years ago she regretted casting no non-Whites on the show. She may as well have said, “If it’s not broke, fix it”.
So, Keith Diggs wants to kill people for expressing opinions he dislikes?
This guy is truly fascist.
We see revisionist Disney re-write sexuality for the Woke degenerate Groomers. I feel sorry for the PC generation who don’t know the truth, just what Homosexuals in Hollywood tell them, this is what Woke has become.
Even Big Bang that was about socially awkward male geeks and one hot girl has turned into Friends. Notice how frumpy Penny became? CBS was forced by feminists into giving girls a bigger role so now the geeks are getting more sex then the jocks. If the girls are so interesting, why not give them their own show?
Now we have the feminists and Homosexuals fighting over a once all male buddy show, this is what Hollywood has become.
F-Liberals. Wake me when you’re serious about going to war and killing these pieces of satanic filth. Until then, cope harder.
I wish Collider would be both defunded and striped of access.
Can’t we put them back into the closet?
It’s time to cancel the cancelers!
Wait until they see “All in the family”…
Some even go after Lucy because in the original show RIcky treats her like a child. Which he did. Who cares? Lighten up! This was the 50s!
The Left can’t complain about the Right wing banning of books when they are trying to do the same thing. (Or “sanitizing” books to prevent “hurt feelings”.) Grow up!
@PP
Define woke.
Woke: A term applied by the Left to mean “awoken” to cultural discrimination and injustices. In reality, an excuse to impose the Left ideology, forcibly if necessary, on an unwilling public.
Like all terms originally coined by the Left, Communist, Socialist, Liberal, Progressive, etc. When the public show the inevitable disdain of these ideologies and the failures they create, opponents of the Left use these terms as derogatory and in some cases, insulting! Then the Left hides from the terms claiming “we were never like that!” of “we never used that term” when we all know they were and they did! Claiming these terms were “made up by the right”!
@Clifra Jones
Incorrect. Decades ago, African Americans coined woke as a slang term, which simply meant to not fall for media narratives.
White Leftists hijacked the term and redefined it as being synonymous with Leftist ideology, which often leads to racial injustice. White conservatives then embraced the Leftist redefinition of woke instead of doing in-depth research into the slang’s origins.
This was not wise since conservatives wind up looking foolish. A great example is conservative media’s take regarding the blockbuster film, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
“It’s a Blow Against Wokeness!”
https://redstate.com/bradslager/2023/04/10/hollywood-wokeness-takes-another-hit-as-the-super-mario-bros-movie-has-explosive-opening-n729169
“No, It Pushes Invisible Wokeness!”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/the-super-mario-bros-movies-invisible-wokeness
I shake my head at conservative pundits getting this worked up over a cartoon plumber fighting a fire-breathing turtle.
I agree, Woke simply meant to not fall for media narratives. The decline of our country has started with the full attack from Democrats. Woke is a radical, anti-Christian, anti-Semite, anti-capitalist, anti-American, Alt-Left Socialist-Democrat Party.
We were the Greatest country and Greatest Generation.
Personal Responsibility
Integrity
Humility
Work Ethic
Financial Prudence
Faithful Commitment
Choke the Woke!
Woke ain’t woke.
It’s zombified. Just march along not thinking.
Looks like he did. Woke is a progressive fantasy that is neither fun, inviting, or creative.
No respect for the dead.
The public already responded by rejecting Woke content. They want a return to the 80s style programming that really works. 80s music has returned. Studios are remaking 80s content despite audiences rejecting the Woke versions. The audience knows what works.
Woke is a progressive fantasy that is neither fun, inviting, or creative. It’s drab communism and nihilism. And those studio executives are still not in jail for their crimes.
Nothing the Left does is fun, inviting, or creative. You actually have to have a sense of humor or be creative, something the Left just isn’t. They are dower, sad, mostly mentally ill people whose primary motivation is making everyone as miserable as they are.
If Woke Content was popular Disney wouldn’t be scrounging for money by pulling unsuccessful (and woke) shows like Willow from D+ or shuttering the unprofitable Galactic Starcruiser hotel based off of characters from the woke Disney sequel trilogy instead of the classic characters. I fully expect the upcoming Indiana Jones and The Unsufferable Feminist to flop horribly too.
George Orwell at this point is saying in the afterlife “I warned you all”
He is indeed.
.
Also, Collider is a site where hack writers who can’t step outside “group think” and come up with anything original go to die. Anyone that writes for the site lacks the bascis of journalistic integrity and even the simplest of writing skills.