REVIEW: This is NOT Us
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EDITOR’S NOTE: ‘This is Us’ is one of the most popular shows on television right now and while many Idahoans have fallen in love with the program, our own Ronda Hobbs has a different opinion.
So I might just be the only This is Us hater in the United States. But, after reading my reasons why, there might be a few of you who agree with my perspective and come to what some would consider the DARK SIDE.
I, like many of you, was caught up in the marketing hype weeks before the first episode of the first season. There wasn’t one commercial break during The Voice that didn’t include a trailer making this new series out to be the must-watch show of the season. I fell for it, I admit, but it didn’t take three minutes for me to turn my back just as quickly as I was sold in the beginning.
When that bare butt stared me straight in the face during the first scene, first episode, first season, I said, “Nope, not gonna do it!” and I didn’t.
UNTIL everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, ranted and raved about how emotional it is, how they cry in every episode, how relatable it is, how it “mirrors my life.”
I thought, “maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance. Afterall, everyone says there hasn’t been a bare butt since.”
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So, once again, the season 2 hype begins during my favorite show, The Voice.
I decide to give it one more shot. What the heck.
I made it through one entire episode (Season 2, Episode 4) but was so worked up thinking about the HORRIBLE parenting modeling AND the disgusting way they treated the people they are supposed to love the most that I said to myself, “NOPE! I’m done!”
It would now take a completely different team of writers with me on the editing board to convince me otherwise! I’m done!
And here’s why:
1) The way those parents introduced racism to their adopted African American son was the poorest excuse of parenting I’ve seen on TV in a long time. I’m not saying the grandmother is a saint. What I’m saying is let the kid be a kid while the adults handle the adult issues. Don’t introduce hate and bigotry to an innocent child who was happy just being who he was until the parents sat him down and told him the injustices he was suffering – that he hadn’t even noticed at that point! DISGUSTING as far as I’m concerned. The kid was just happy that he had a grandma. If the grandma can’t figure out how to love that kid before he gets old enough to ASK about why he’s treated differently, deal with it then! Those parents prematurely filled his head with perceived injustices that very possibly could have been resolved without him EVER knowing. And then when the Grandma truly put forth an honest effort, it was received with less than appreciation and acceptance (much less)! A HORRIBLE mixed message! Here, my fellow countrymen, is the perplexity of racism. We try to fight it with the exact attitude we claim is racist – lack of tolerance and hate. These parents were no more tolerant and loving to the grandmother than she was to them or their children. Trying to fix hate with hate never works and that is exactly what these parents modeled for their children.
2) If what these parents did with their black son was in the name of protecting him, why didn’t they sit down and have the same conversation with the chunky little girl or handsome little boy and tell them how mean their grandma was being to them without them even noticing? If you ask me, it’s the parents who are racist.
3) And what about the adult plus-size female (I won’t even get into the moral issue of living together before marriage). If she’s trying to make positive changes in her life, why is she not involving the man she claims to love? She’s mean, secretive and stubborn. Looks like a recipe for relationship disaster if you ask me. Run boyfriend! Does he even know she’s pregnant? The whole thing just stinks to high relationship heaven!
4) Lastly, Mandy Moore’s hairstyle is ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE. If you existed anytime near the timestamp of the 80s, you’d know that there’s a problem with how her hair is portrayed. If you agree with me on nothing else, this is an obvious reason to rethink how you spend your downtime.
Hate me all you want but, honestly people, this is not the Brady Bunch so quit pretending it is!
CLARIFICATION:A previous version of this article used a racially insensitive term. That has since been changed. EastIdahoNews.com apologizes for the comment.