FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime of not
having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the Los Angeles
Times in an interview.

"I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom interview
with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful
looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better
25 years ago."

FRIENDS documented the lives of six single people living in New York City. The
series, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004, became a worldwide
sensation and is considered one of the most successful comedies ever made. It
boasts 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and a host of other awards and accolades.

While several of the recurring roles included black actors, the six main
characters were all white. Kauffman regrets making this casting choice while
still saying she's happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox,
David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the series.

"I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish
Lisa was black?" she told The Hollywood Reporter prior to the reunion special
airing.

Now Kauffman is pledging $4 million to her alma mater, Brandeis University.
The money will be used for African American students specifically.

The Marta F. Kauffman '78 Professorship in African and African American
Studies "will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the
study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora" and
"help the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, map
long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for
students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship," per the university.

"It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic
racism," the alumna told Brandeis. "I've been working really hard to become an
ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could
participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective."

The FRIENDS co-creator also confirmed that any future projects would include a
more diverse cast.

"I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation,"
Kauffman told the publication. "I have to say, after agreeing to this and when
I stopped sweating, it didn't unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in
my next production I can do it right, it isn't over. I want to make sure from
now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color
and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act
differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened."

https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-creator-pledges-4-million-to-atone-for-lack-of-black-leads-on-the-series

On Wed, 29 Jun 2022 23:12:24 -0500, BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

>FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime of not
>having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the Los Angeles
>Times in an interview.
>
>"I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom interview
>with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful
>looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better
>25 years ago."

Guilt over reflecting the real world. While people in a major city
will tend to know people of all races they still tend to hang out with
people of a similar background. Often that means their close friends
will be of the same race. That's reality whether we like it or not.

>FRIENDS documented the lives of six single people living in New York City. The
>series, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004, became a worldwide
>sensation and is considered one of the most successful comedies ever made. It
>boasts 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and a host of other awards and accolades.
>
>While several of the recurring roles included black actors, the six main
>characters were all white. Kauffman regrets making this casting choice while
>still saying she's happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox,
>David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the series.
>
>"I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish
>Lisa was black?" she told The Hollywood Reporter prior to the reunion special
>airing.

How would Lisa Kudrow being black make things any better. Would she
have changed the character to reflect her black ancestry? That seems
likely to have lost the magic that made a character capable of coming
up with "Smelly Cat". If she didn't change the character other than
the race then people would have complained about her white washing the
character and not reflecting black heritage. So it seems to me that
the change wouldn't have gained anything and might have hurt the show.

>"It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic
>racism," the alumna told Brandeis. "I've been working really hard to become an
>ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could
>participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective."

I'm sorry but just because one show idea was built around a group of
white friends doesn't mean you can't come up with other show ideas
that have a mixed racial makeup. Now if she has had many project ideas
and none of them included a mixed racial makeup. Then that's on her
but I'm not going to hold one successful idea based on a group of
friends that happen to be white against her and I don't think she
should either.

>The FRIENDS co-creator also confirmed that any future projects would include a
>more diverse cast.
>
>"I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation,"
>Kauffman told the publication. "I have to say, after agreeing to this and when
>I stopped sweating, it didn't unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in
>my next production I can do it right, it isn't over. I want to make sure from
>now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color
>and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act
>differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened."

That's a bad idea. To me you should be hiring the best people you can
that fit with the parts. If they happen to be Black or Asian (of any
sort) then great. If the right people are all of the same race then so
be it. So long as you aren't intentionally blocking someone because of
their race I don't see where there is anything to apologize for.

>
>https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-creator-pledges-4-million-to-atone-for-lack-of-black-leads-on-the-series
>

On 2022-06-30 05:02:50 +0000, shawn said:
> On Wed, 29 Jun 2022 23:12:24 -0500, BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>
>> FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime of not
>> having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the Los
>> Angeles Times in an interview.
>>
>> "I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom interview
>> with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's
>> painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I
>> didn't know better 25 years ago."
>
> Guilt over reflecting the real world. While people in a major city
> will tend to know people of all races they still tend to hang out with
> people of a similar background. Often that means their close friends
> will be of the same race. That's reality whether we like it or not.
<snip>

Where are those who made the old all-black TV shows with their "guilt"??

The "Policitically Correct" idiocy has gone way past any common sense
level and deep deep into lunatic territory. X-(

shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Jun 2022 23:12:24 -0500, BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>
>> FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime of not
>> having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the Los Angeles
>> Times in an interview.
>>
>> "I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom interview
>> with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful
>> looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better
>> 25 years ago."
>
> Guilt over reflecting the real world. While people in a major city
> will tend to know people of all races they still tend to hang out with
> people of a similar background. Often that means their close friends
> will be of the same race. That's reality whether we like it or not.
>
>> FRIENDS documented the lives of six single people living in New York City. The
>> series, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004, became a worldwide
>> sensation and is considered one of the most successful comedies ever made. It
>> boasts 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and a host of other awards and accolades.
>>
>> While several of the recurring roles included black actors, the six main
>> characters were all white. Kauffman regrets making this casting choice while
>> still saying she's happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox,
>> David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the series.
>>
>> "I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish
>> Lisa was black?" she told The Hollywood Reporter prior to the reunion special
>> airing.
>
> How would Lisa Kudrow being black make things any better. Would she
> have changed the character to reflect her black ancestry? That seems
> likely to have lost the magic that made a character capable of coming
> up with "Smelly Cat". If she didn't change the character other than
> the race then people would have complained about her white washing the
> character and not reflecting black heritage. So it seems to me that
> the change wouldn't have gained anything and might have hurt the show.
>
>> "It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic
>> racism," the alumna told Brandeis. "I've been working really hard to become an
>> ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could
>> participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective."
>
> I'm sorry but just because one show idea was built around a group of
> white friends doesn't mean you can't come up with other show ideas
> that have a mixed racial makeup. Now if she has had many project ideas
> and none of them included a mixed racial makeup. Then that's on her
> but I'm not going to hold one successful idea based on a group of
> friends that happen to be white against her and I don't think she
> should either.
>
>> The FRIENDS co-creator also confirmed that any future projects would include a
>> more diverse cast.
>>
>> "I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation,"
>> Kauffman told the publication. "I have to say, after agreeing to this and when
>> I stopped sweating, it didn't unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in
>> my next production I can do it right, it isn't over. I want to make sure from
>> now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color
>> and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act
>> differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened."
>
> That's a bad idea. To me you should be hiring the best people you can
> that fit with the parts. If they happen to be Black or Asian (of any
> sort) then great. If the right people are all of the same race then so
> be it. So long as you aren't intentionally blocking someone because of
> their race I don't see where there is anything to apologize for.
>
>>
>> https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-creator-pledges-4-million-to-atone-for-lack-of-black-leads-on-the-series
>>
>

Well said.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

>. . .

>Now Kauffman is pledging $4 million to her alma mater, Brandeis University.
>The money will be used for African American students specifically.

14th 1/2 Amendment baby!

>The Marta F. Kauffman '78 Professorship in African and African American
>Studies "will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the
>study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora" and
>"help the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, map
>long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for
>students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship," per the university.

Ok. That doesn't appear to violate the 14th Amendment. I assume Brandeis
can't violate the 14th Amendment having accepted federal funds, which
would be a Title VI Civil Rights Act violation.

However, lady, you should have given monies to an HBCU since they have
relatively nominal funding versus Brandeis and probably do a better job
educating black college kids.

>"It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic
>racism," the alumna told Brandeis. . . .

She's drunk the Kool-Aid.

On 6/30/2022 2:13 AM, Your Name wrote:
> On 2022-06-30 05:02:50 +0000, shawn said:
>> On Wed, 29 Jun 2022 23:12:24 -0500, BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>>
>>> FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime
>>> of not
>>> having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the
>>> Los Angeles Times in an interview.
>>>
>>> "I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom
>>> interview
>>> with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy.
>>> It's painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that
>>> I didn't know better 25 years ago."
>>
>> Guilt over reflecting the real world. While people in a major city
>> will tend to know people of all races they still tend to hang out with
>> people of a similar background. Often that means their close friends
>> will be of the same race. That's reality whether we like it or not.
> <snip>
>
> Where are those who made the old all-black TV shows with their "guilt"??
>
> The "Policitically Correct" idiocy has gone way past any common sense
> level and deep deep into lunatic territory.  X-(

Not new. PC has courted lunacy since well before it became an acronym.

'Friends' was lightning in a bottle, and should be analyzed as such (if
analyzed at all), not retrofitted with, e.g., White Man's Guilt. I'd
guess black viewers enjoyed it as much as I did, since, but for skin
reflectance, *I* have nothing in common with those characters either.

atropos@mac.com wrote:

>FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman is planning to atone for her crime of not
>having enough diversity on the hit NBC comedy series, she told the Los Angeles
>Times in an interview.
>
>"I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman said in a Zoom interview
>with the publication. "Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful
>looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better
>25 years ago."

Umm, wasn't this in the Babylon Bee a year or two ago?
I swear I have read this before!

--
Let's go Brandon!