Let me try one more time

       I’ve been trying for like two weeks to deal with an oral presentation related to entertainment that I had to do at the Institute where I’m studying. However, for several reasons I wasn’t able to do so due to a sequence of unfortunate events (such as bad internet connection, or my computer did not match the projector’s USB port, among others). So, as I am a big fan of this TV Series and I feel that I owe it to it; I will try to talk about it here and to tell you why it is so important for me.

       I’m talking about FRIENDS. For those who don’t know, Friends is an American Tv Series which hit the screen in September 22^nd in 1994 and it lasted 10 seasons, releasing the final episode in May 6^th in 2004. The series final was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fourth most watched series finale in television history and the most watched episode of the DECADE!

       In the first episode called “The Pilot”, Rachel Green (portrayed by Jennifer Aniston) flees her wedding day since she realizes she doesn’t want to get married and she seeks out her childhood friend Monica Geller (played by Courteney Cox), who’s now a professional chef. They become roommates and Rachel also becomes friends with Monica’s. Monica’s social circle consists of Joey Tribbiani (Matt Le Blanc), a struggling actor, womanizer and a food lover; business professional Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), who has a really sarcastic sense of humor; professional masseuse and eccentric musician Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), and newly divorced paleontologist Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), who’s also Monica’s brother and has a huge crash on Rachel. The six of them usually spend time at Central Perk, a coffeehouse or at Monica and Rachel’s apartment. Episodes usually depict the romantic adventures, family and career issues of the characters and how they face them.

      When I was younger, I couldn’t go to a private institute to study English since I went to a double-shift school, so I didn’t have time. So all I did was watching movies, listening to songs in English and watch TV series so as to grab new words or english terms. Friends was really helpful for me since the language they use is obviously “street language”; the language they use every day, the kind of language English native speakers speak, which differs enormously from the language we learn at school, for instance. So not only did I have fun watching Friends but also I learnt a lot!

Another reason why I love FRIENDS, it’s because it depicts really controversial issues but it does it in a funny yet respectful way. For instance, Ross used to be married to Carol who later on finds out that she is a lesbian and starts dating another woman. They both rear Ross and Carol’s son and they get married. In the 90s, there were Anti-Gay politics such as no gay person could take over any political position and obviously they were not allowed to get married. Also, in 1998, 21-year-old gay university students Matthew Shepard was beaten into a coma and tied to a fence, where he would not be discovered for 18 hours. Shepard’s skull had been cracked and he never regained consciousness and died a few days later due to his severe injuries. Hence dealing with same-sex marriage on a Tv sitcom was very controversial. However, since it was treated from a funny viewpoint and it was dealt very respectfully, people were not reluctant to watch FRIENDS and they did not even criticize it.

 FRIENDS not only makes me laugh and teaches me English, but also teaches me that:

-we need friends to grow with and to learn from. When Rachel first arrives to the city she is very spoiled and self-centered but her friends teach her that she is not daddy’s girl anymore, that she is and adult and that she needs to work to become more independent. That’s what friends do, they take care of us;

-no matter how many weaknesses or flaws we may have or how many good or bad choices we make, a true friend will always BE THERE FOR YOU;

-the companionship, comfort and support you get from your friends are the perfect antidotes to the pressures of life.

So I’m very lucky that I have the best friends anyone could ask for! Dani, Cinn, Vani and Cin.. I love you and thank you for accepting me the way I am and for helping me to be a better person. Cinn and Cin, I will love you even more if you start watching FRIENDS ;)

Information retrieved from:

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends

_http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/how-america-got-past-the-anti-gay-politics-of-the-90s/266976/

Pictures retrieved from Google.-