Free Speech is Under Attack
If the Beverly Hillbillies were produced today-- CANCELLED
The Beverly Hillbillies, a beloved sitcom aired from 1962 to 1971, captivated audiences with its comedic portrayal of the Clampett family, a group of rural individuals who struck it rich and moved the Beverly Hills. I love how relatable the show is despite not all of us falling into the Clampett's good fortune; if any of us from where I come from struck it rich and moved to a "classy" place like Beverly Hills, we would be similarly out of place and possibly come across as uneducated.
With its light-hearted humor and colorful characters, the show garnered a significant following and high ratings (during its time); the series was so popular that the original fans shared it with their children, and the show remains iconic today. However, if the Beverly Hillbillies would be produced today, it would be canceled by far-left, woke activists.
The shift in societal norms affected audience preference, and the need for more inclusive and socially conscious programming changed television (probably for the worse). Woke writers write for inclusion instead of writing inclusively. I will never advocate that programming before the eighties was diverse. Still, if the program wasn't diverse from that era, the answer isn't forcing diversity and inclusion in modern programming: it should come naturally.
In today's television world, audiences crave more diverse and inclusive television, even if they have to force the series to be more diverse and inclusive at the stake of storytelling. Today, audiences would view the series as outdated and offensive for its portrayal of hillbillies; they would view the portrayal of the Clampett family as perpetuating stereotypes of caricatures of specific groups such as hillbillies. The show's depiction of the Clampett family as ignorant and backward would be seen as insensitive and disrespectful toward rural communities. People forget that back then, when technology was pretty new, it is believable that this family had never heard of the technological advancements until they arrived in Beverly Hills. The education opportunities available for them back in the Hills were limited. If they recreated the series today, the family would be portrayed as less ignorant because education is more accessible.
As I re-watch the series, I imagine if trans activists found the series, the show would be "canceled" because they didn't make Elly May a trans character when, in reality, she is a tomboy. That is what I am seeing within the activist communities. They want to transition anyone that doesn't fit the gender norm. A little girl who plays with action figures and a little boy who plays with Barbies are not trans-- they are kids outside of the box that society tried to push them into (and we fought to get rid of these boxes, but trans activists have brought them back for their own selfish purposes). I was a tomboy and always felt connected to Elly May. As I sit here re-watching the series, I can't help but miss how television used to be before politics got involved. This clever series remains iconic, and it is comical to watch folk who have to learn how to live in a rich man's world. Good comedy is always offensive to someone because every joke is at the expense of others. People are becoming too easily offended; at this point, offending someone is deemed worse than murder.
Protect our constitutional rights; believe in free speech because words can't hurt you!