Andy Griffith
- Thread starter Canglish
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MrFancyPlants
Well-known member
You are not seriously suggesting that the pre-Civil Rights, apartheid version of America is somehow its peak... or are you?
Nannymouse
Well-known member
Not i.
MrFancyPlants
Well-known member
Oh, good. Although it is very confusing that your post's title and image attachment are not related to the question asked in the post.
The country as a whole was certainly much more rural and untouched.
I remember growing up as a young child(think Opie’s age) in the sixties and being able to walk though wooded lands and playing in swamps and such without a care. The country is certainly a lot more populated and developed now. I’m not sure many places like that still exist.
And we have plastic.
I remember growing up as a young child(think Opie’s age) in the sixties and being able to walk though wooded lands and playing in swamps and such without a care. The country is certainly a lot more populated and developed now. I’m not sure many places like that still exist.
And we have plastic.
Canglish
Member
Was the show anything like normal life back then? Even just a little? Or is it a cartoon? I'm not American and have only recently discovered the show but I'm just charmed with it lol.
Switcher56
Comfortably numb!
I remember the sixties, I was born in '56. Yes people were more civilized with each other, and had more manners. You didn't dare tell a grown up to "fuck off", etc... Then again it was the dawn of the civil rights movement and, unfortunately although it got off the ground with some seriousness. Unfortunately, it was short lived. The " machine" ensured that it was not about to happen or take root and assassinated the lot.
Now! you clearly see the result of that decision, world wide. We are currently living on a chartered course of, me, myself and I!
Now! you clearly see the result of that decision, world wide. We are currently living on a chartered course of, me, myself and I!
HempKat
Just A Simple Old Dirt Farmer
I would say it was both like normal life and cartoonish. The things that went on in the background showing small town life were pretty close to real as was the depiction of Andy's home and family. What was cartoonish was Andy at work and especially Don Knotts and Gomer Pyle who eventually joined the military and started his own show. The thing to keep in mid though was that was only a fair depiction of rural life and more so in the mid west. Rural life in other parts of the country had similarities but also big differences and of course City life was nothing like Andy Griffith.
I kind of get the initial question too, life was in many ways more peaceful and enjoyable, more laid back and those days were a great time for young people growing up back then to go off and discover themselves which was represented by the whole hippie movement that happened around that time. Unfortunately it was not so great for non white people but that general time period brought about the civil rights movement which sought to make things more equal and more fair for everyone. Now if you were to ask someone that is a white supremist they would probably tell you "Hell yeah that was our peak of society" because white privilege was very much at play in those days and was more out in the open without anyone questioning it. Now if you were to ask a woman what she thought of that time period you would probably get mixed answers depending on the woman you asked. A lot of women probably miss the family values of those days especially if they have children and they probably miss how people were more neighborly but back then it was still a time of "A woman's place is in the home" and "Women should be kept barefoot and pregnant". Women has the right to vote by then but really not much else. The idea of a woman being career minded or being the main bread winner in a family had not yet emerged. There were a few exceptional woman, usually from powerful families that were able to achieve big things for a woman of that period but they were far and few between.
In a way it could be summed up like a well known book Charles Dickens wrote about the French Revolution called a "Tale of Two Cities" the quote goes as follows ""It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way"
Now see the funny thing about that quote is that it was appropriate about the time of the French Revolution and it was appropriate about the 50's and 60's in America and depending on who you speak to you might conclude it applies to today as well. It really boils down to a matter of perspective and what you're wanting out of life. Usually you'll find that younger people will side with the more modern times because that's all they've known, that's what they grew up in. Most young people these days would absolutely hate life back then there was no internet or computers for the average person, just the military and scientists. A computer with the capability of today's latest cellphones would take up the space of a whole home and cost millions to build and even then it wouldn't have all the functionality because back then programing was very primitive compared to today. Speaking of cellphones there were known of those, no laptops color television was the cutting edge of technology and not even the video game pong existed yet let alone anything like today's modern gaming consoles. Could you imagine a kid of today being happy in that environment? They would probably see it as utterly barbaric. Back then the only thing to do for fun were physical activities like riding a bike or fishing or skipping stones like you see depicted in the opening intro of the show. OF course there were many other activities but almost all outdoors and if they were all you knew or you have an open mind they were fun. If you wanted to be like today's kids and stay indoors the most entertaining thing to do was to watch tv, that is of course if your family was well enough off to own a tv. And since there were no cable companies yet and very few satellites all you had was tv broadcast thru the air by big antennas and at best that meant you had access to just 3 or 4 channels if you were lucky sometimes less if you were really rural. Also back in those days tv would go off air during the late night hours and come back on in the morning. I could go on I'm sure but I think you get the picture. Like I said before it's all a matter of perspective and who you talk to. Some will romanticize those days because of things that were abundant then but scarce now and others will see it exactly the opposite. Because after all....you have just crossed over to the, "Twilight Zone".
buzzmobile
Well-known member
I learned about courting a woman.
Guess which character taught me that.
Guess which character taught me that.
St. Phatty
Well-known member
We have Bob Odenkirk.
And Cheech.
And Chong !
And Cheech.
And Chong !
Great post
- . Could you imagine a kid of today being happy in that environment? They would probably see it as utterly barbaric. Back then the only thing to do for fun were physical activities like riding a bike or fishing or skipping stones like you see depicted in the opening intro of the show. OF course there were many other activities but almost all outdoors and if they were all you knew or you have an open mind they were fun. If you wanted to be like today's kids and stay indoors the most entertaining thing to do was to watch tv, that is of course if your family was well enough off to own a tv. And since there were no cable companies yet and very few satellites all you had was tv broadcast thru the air by big antennas and at best that meant you had access to just 3 or 4 channels if you were lucky sometimes less if you were really rural. Also back in those days tv would go off air during the late night hours and come back on in the morning. I could go on I'm sure but I think you get the picture. Like I said before it's all a matter of perspective and who you talk to. Some will romanticize those days because of things that were abundant then but scarce now and others will see it exactly the opposite. Because after all....you have just crossed over to the, "Twilight Zone".
Kids still like outdoor fun. Problem is no adults to do the things with, or places to do them at. I have fallen into the wonderful retired life of being buddies with a 7 year old tomboy girl that my friend (her grandfather with full custody) let's me "kidnap". We fish a lot at my pond, ride 4 wheelers, shoot BB guns at targets and turtles, garden, explore nature, work the worm bins and compost, rides along while I mow, all in my yard. When I go do redneck farm things, like go get fish at the fish truck, I bring her along, and she goes up on it and looks in the tanks. She doesn't watch much tee vee, but somehow picked up on the difference between dirt and soil. I up-potted her little flower she raised from seed in a tiny pot into a gallon of living soil with worms, and the growth was explosive. True soil accolyte now. She loves gardening and being outside. Remember the sunscreen and water.
In my opinion.... The biggest difference between the black and white tee vee daze of the 50s and 60s, and today, is the money isn't worth anything anymore. It is too crowded, too expensive, and people are living shoulder to shoulder like sardines. Mothers had to get jobs instead of stay home and raise children starting in the 70's (inflation), and now the kids are raised by the propaganda on the tee vee's that "parents" park the kids in front of so they can do something else. Or on the street. Or in school or daycares, run by control freak lib commies. My little buddy gets kicked out, cause she refuses to be bullshitted.
When I was a kid growing up in SoCal, I was free to roam, and roam I did. Yeah I got hurt, but that was part of growing up back then, as a free-range kid.
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Hee hee
Yup. She even likes to hold hands when we walk. Had her going underwater today, and learning how to swim. Drop her off back home in the evening, resume my low life wayz. I wouldn't trade her for Opie.
Life is good. What are they complaining about on the tee vee, or speakers corner lately?
Canglish
Member
Huh, it's a time capsule, unalterable. The show itself is even more fascinating to me now, I had zero idea it was riddled with this sort of contention but I do now. Thank you for your considered response I read it twice.
Gry
Well-known member
Take a walk to Andy Griffith's Mayberry in Franklin Canyon
You don’t have to visit Mayberry to pay homage to the late Andy Griffith. You can do it locally. Much of “The Andy Griffith Show” was shot in Los Angeles.
The bucolic scenes featured in the show’s opening credit sequence –- Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie, poles in hand, heading out for a day of fishing –- were filmed at a man-made reservoir in L.A.’s Franklin Canyon.
Place still looks much the same today, as it did then.
https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/franklin-canyon-park-lake-loop-chaparral-trail/
You don’t have to visit Mayberry to pay homage to the late Andy Griffith. You can do it locally. Much of “The Andy Griffith Show” was shot in Los Angeles.
The bucolic scenes featured in the show’s opening credit sequence –- Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie, poles in hand, heading out for a day of fishing –- were filmed at a man-made reservoir in L.A.’s Franklin Canyon.
Place still looks much the same today, as it did then.
https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/franklin-canyon-park-lake-loop-chaparral-trail/
