It's kind of hard NOT to take it to heart when you or people that you know live in a similar kind of environment, Mr. Marshmallow. I know that the message is about turning your life around, and that's great because it DOES show that it's deeper than what some people might think at first and I DO take heart in that, but I also feel like it's supporting stereotypes at the same time. If you could just go on tv.com forums and see what some of the fans of this show have said about people like that there, then you'd see what I mean. Some of the comments were very hurtful and uncalled for (sometimes they weren't talking about just the characters, sometimes they'd even talk about those kinds of people in general). In reality, I wasn't really directing the comments toward anyone that likes the show on this forum, it was just toward those people.
Sure, the main character is a "trailer park hick", but that's a stereotype in itself there. Not all people that live like that are hicks to begin with and I would know based on experience. Not all people that live like that have bad lives, either or have commited "theft". It's just...I dunno...I just feel like that's what it's implying. That's the only point I'm trying to make. It's just a little bit of a dodgy subject to me, is all. It's actually not the show itself that makes me feel this way as much as it is the ideas that some people are getting from it (like I said, just look at tv.com forums).
I agree that it has heart and is very deep at times. That's one of the show's strongest points. Like I said, it DOES have good points. But it's also got bad points that I feel are sometimes unnecessary. I'm sorry if I sounded upset earlier. I really wasn't, it was just that there were things that I felt like needed to be set straight.
I wasn't trying to diss the show, it's just that it's easy for people to say those things when they aren't in a situation like that or don't know anyone that is. It just came across as being offensive toward some of my family members at first, that's all. But maybe I did overreact a bit.