Friends Reconsidered: Cultural Politics, Intergenerationality, and Afterlives. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cobb, Shelley; Ewen, Neil; Hamad, Hannah
• Is Part Of: Television & new media. Volume 19:Number 8(2018)
• Page Start: 683
• Page End: 691
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Friends -- television -- generations -- cultural politics -- Gen X -- Millenials; Télévision -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Télévision -- Aspect économique -- Périodiques; Médias -- Publics -- Périodiques; Civilisation -- Histoire -- Périodiques; Television broadcasting -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Digital media -- Periodicals; 302.234505
• DOI: 10.1177/1527476418778426
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1527-4764

Abstract

With the passing in 2014 of the twentieth anniversary of its debut episode, the iconic millennial sitcom Friends retains a rare cultural currency and remains a crucial reference point for understanding the concerns of Generation X. This special issue, therefore, interrogates the contemporary and historical significance of Friends as a popular sitcom that reflected and obfuscated American fin de siècle anxieties at the time, and considers the lasting resonance of its cultural afterlife. Its abiding impact as millennial cultural touchstone can be seen in its persistent ability to find new generations of viewers and its manifest influence on myriad extratextual phenomena.