Family Television Review- Golden Girls
One of my favorite memories growing up was watching the Golden Girls with Mother every Saturday night with my mother. This show originally aired from 1985-1992 but can still be seen on Hallmark every week. The show is based on four middle aged women roommates Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia who are different in almost every way. Today as I watch the episodes the jokes that once went over my head now have taken on new meaning. When I was younger I did not realize how many controversial topics the show covered.
Dorothy is a sarcastic high school substitute teacher. Her persona comes off as her intelligence makes her superior to the other women in the house because they do not have as much papered education as she. I do not believe if you have more education than someone else you should be mean to another. Rose, is the exact opposite of Dorothy. Rose was raised in a small farm town named St. Olaf, with not much education. She is always telling goofy stories about where she grew up, most of the time the women become irritated with her and treat her poorly. Blanche is open with her sexuality which the other girls did not approve of. You could tell by the way the women were always teasing her about which suitor she brought home and the “welcome matt at the foot of her bed”. Sophia is a first generation immigrant from Sicily. Even though Sophia could be crude at times she had a certain way of making others look at difficult situations in a loving yet humorous way. The other women looked up to her as a mother figure because of her age and wisdom.
Each of the characters in the show has to face major human problems such as Homosexuality, adultery, harassment just to name a few. Each character uses their high moral values toward each problem they face. In an episode Blanche’s brother wanted to marry a man, she was having a hard time accepting her brother wanting to marry a man. Sophia pointed out the heart loves who it loves no matter what is on the outside. “What may be right for us who are Heterosexual, may not be for those who are Homosexual.” (Season 4, Episode 85) Blanche was following her upbringing of how only a man and a woman should be married, yet it took Sophia to show compassion and acceptance. Watching this episode reminds me of how my mother raised me to be patient, open minded and compassionate with people’s feelings.
These women are friends who have become family. They show viewers family does not have to be biological, if you truly care for your friends they too can be your family. The show’s theme song, “Thank you for being a Friend” describes how each they feel regarding the friendships they have built together. They are best friends who have grown to love each other creating an unbreakable bond. My very best and oldest friend which began the same year The Golden Girls first aired also watches this show on reruns. She and I have an extremely strong bond just as these women do and often point that out to each other. We both realized that no matter the issue faced by these women they handle it together as a family bouncing their solutions off of each other making sure their solutions are correct.
I choose to write about the Golden Girls because I have not found a comedy show on today that fits my personality and sense of humor. If I had to choose which worldview these women share it would be Christian. Their love for each other and value of family is how I was raised by my parents and how I am raising my children today. The Golden Girls have always brought me such joy over the years watching it with my mother. Watching this show makes me feel close to my mother as if we were still sitting on the same couch watching it together. I also enjoy learning the lessons presented in a specific episode I missed when I was a child and remembering the ones that were taught.
Reference:
http://www.tv.com/the-golden-girls/show/131/summary.html
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/goldengirlslyrics.html