• bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    > live in a big house

    > three teenage boys crammed into one small bedroom

    Nah I think they were definitely struggling a bit.

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      There’s a few episodes that actively showed gow much they struggle. Like one of their biggest vacations is going to a waterpark in a car that has the heater on full blast so it doesn’t cook the engine. They only eat super cheap food and mystery meat. They lived in a camper because they could barely afford to get termites removed. Hal has no money to go to a dentist. As soon as hal lost his job they are cooked. They lived paycheck to absolute paycheck. They never pay all their bills. I would say they struggled a lot. They struggled more than al bundy.

      • Spiralvortexisalie@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        In the Flashback episode it is noted their house is smaller then their previous apartment. It also shows how they went from comfortable/upscale living to cheaper conditions with each additional child, specifically stating they had less money with each birth.

      • EnderMB@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I distinctly remember an episode where Lois was watering down their orange juice, and realising that it was becoming more water than juice. They were definitely poor, and decidedly trashy for their neighbourhood.

  • Delphia@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Anon is such a sperglord that they dont understand that all experiences are subjective. Also that its a prime time sitcom.

      • Delphia@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        The “Reece gets groomed by a predator” and “Deweys leukaemia diagnosis” story arcs werent appropriate for 7:00pm.

  • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    A lot of those shows have aged pretty badly in terms of what “struggling” looks like. The idea of a boring office job being some awful fate is also kinda dated.

    At least shows like the Simpsons were self aware about this.

    • BluesF@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      A boring office job is an awful fate, we should bring that perception back!

    • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The Bundys had a one income household, where dad was working minimum wage at a shoe store and he could feed and clothe his kids, have a big house, a car, and all the adventures they pulled. You couldn’t even feed yourself on that income these days

  • jqubed@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Someone who’s life is really not that bad whining because they think it’s terrible? That sounds pretty common to me, especially for suburban teenagers

  • Fartmaster@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    The show treated his attitude as a huge flaw. I interpreted his character in earlier seasons as despite being a genius in many ways, he was still an immature child. He was often ungrateful for his parents’ sacrifices and unempathetic to those around him, like a lot of kids his age. He even had trouble making friends because others found him difficult to be around. As annoying as he could be, I think it also made him a more realistic character and set him up for later character development.

  • Codex@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    genius IQ

    Many studies show that having a higher intellect correlates with higher unhappiness. In many cases, the text of the show itself is explicitly about how Malcolm’s intellect either makes him a target or itself causes problems.