The prevalence of these TV shows may explain why so many Americans remain convinced of the prospects for upward mobility.

  • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The only prestige show I can think of off the top of my head that shows average americans struggling is Breaking Bad, the whole plot crux of the show is about how everyday people cannot afford healthcare and how crime pays a lot better than a day job.

    • riley
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      deleted by creator

        • catposter [comrade/them]
          ·
          3 years ago

          "stay working because eventually you will either have a drug overdose and die or get shot by someone for dealing meth"

        • DragonNest_Aidit [they/them,use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          A lot of Breaking Bad fans really got. that message though, which is why they found the final acts of the story shocking. Like a lot of them hated Skyler because she's the party pooper mean lady who keeps getting in the way of Walt's fun, until the final act where people goes "holy shit Skyler is right all long".

          • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
            ·
            3 years ago

            BB is difficult for its fandom because it took a sympathetic protagonist and turned him into an unsympathetic villain over the course of several seasons without a giant flashcard popping up to say "Walt is the bad guy".... despite the fact that it's in the title. whatever poor analysis we imagine is being done by the teeming hordes of sigma grindset weirdos comes from this and their own preloaded ideology, not the show's presentation of the world.

        • riley
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          edit-2
          1 year ago

          deleted by creator

      • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Yeah that's true. Walt becomes a multi-millionaire basically through hard work and determination, only it's cooking meth and killing rival dealers and not being a plucky upstart on Wall Street or something.

    • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      It's important to note that Walt's pettiness & pride are the things that makes his situation different from his old partners.

      He left Grey Matter because he felt too proud to be Gretchen's peer, and later refused financial assistance from her and her husband because this made him feel inferior.

      Breaking Bad still showcases how shitty these things are, but Walt is not an everyday people.

      • dismal
        ·
        3 years ago

        shameless is probably one of the only shows to ever be genuinely funny vs being “”funny“” in a mega contrived or just flat out cringe way

    • UlyssesT
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      edit-2
      2 months ago

      deleted by creator