Top 10 That '70s Show Moments That Wouldn't Work Today
#10: Eric Gets Attacked at a Feminist Rally “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (2004)
Second-wave feminists in the 1970s introduced the now well-established “Take Back the Night” rallies in response to violence against women. While it’s great to see the show include this momentous movement, their portrayal of feminism relies on outdated tropes such as all feminists are angry, violent, man-haters. When the women attack Eric due to a misunderstanding, the so-called joke plays on the misconception that feminists have an ‘angry mob’ mentality and are set out to destroy innocent men. Sadly, even now the #MeToo movement has elicited similar responses from its critics showing just how far we still have to go.
#9: Donna Gets Fired “It’s All Over Now” (2005)
Jealousy rears its ugly head when the radio station hires a musically-ignorant intern nicknamed, “sizzling Sarah”. When Donna refuses to pose in a bikini to promote an event, Sarah steps up and Donna is fired on the spot. In today’s social climate this story would have been treated much more seriously. Not only is it a totally illegal request to make of an employee, but it is also an abuse of power that we're finally seeing get its comeuppance these days. With a little inspiration from Eric, Donna wins her job back and teaches her boss a lesson he will never forget.
#8: All the Shaming Various Episodes
Top 10 Teen Show Moments That Wouldn't Work Today
Considering the 1970s was the era of the sexual revolution, you would think that the show would reflect the contemporary issues of the time. Instead, sex and sexuality are often demonized for laughs, normally with a female character as the target of the joke, and that usually being Eric’s sister, Laurie. Although allowing women to explore their sexuality in the same way as do men is often still taboo in popular culture, slut-shaming at least has become a huge no-no. However, we imagine that if any of the guys were getting as much action as Laurie, they’d be celebrated rather than condemned. Talk about a double standard!
#7: Eric Cross-Dresses “Battle of the Sexists” (1998)
Top 10 Most Confrontational Eric Andre Show Interviews
If you thought an episode called “Battle of the Sexists” would be enlightening, you’d be bitterly disappointed. Eric feels emasculated when he keeps losing at sports to Donna, and even a very reasonable pep-talk from his mom doesn’t help. In a scene that painfully reinforces gender stereotypes, Eric imagines himself in a dress, complete with make-up and jewelry. Worse still, when he finally concedes that he’s fine with Donna winning, he grows a pair of breasts. Not only does this imply that women are the inferior sex, but in an age where we’re embracing the complexity of gender, a plot like this would never fly.
#6: Fez Gives Kelso Horrific Break-Up Advice “2000 Light Years from Home” (2005)
The portrayal of Fez as the “uncivilized foreigner” is SO problematic . . . but more on that later. In this episode, Kelso wants to break up with Angie, and Fez’ advice raises some serious alarm bells. He essentially suggests sexual assault, by saying that Kelso should make love to her in a dark room so that he can come in and “finish the job.” Sexual assault would never, ever be used as such a flippant punchline today, and it would certainly never be given the casual reaction that Kelso follows up with. Sadly, this isn’t the only incident where sexual assault is played for laughs.
#5: The Formans Meet Hyde’s Biological Father “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (2004)
We guess it seems at least plausible that a white middle-class family living in Wisconsin in that era could have lacked interactions with any African-Americans. However, these days, watching the Foremans meet Hyde’s biological father is quite painful. Once everyone gets past the initial shock of discovering that he is black, the insensitive comments and stereotypes begin. Nowadays, the media is being challenged for its representation of minorities, so we imagine this story would have been handled very differently. We understand that, as with so many of this list’s moments, it’s all supposedly in-jokes or satire, but these tone-deaf punchlines don’t quite fit the bill.
#4: Toxic Masculinity Various Episodes
Top 10 Toxic Cartoon Show Communities
This notion that there’s one right way to be a man is only recently starting to fade from canon, so much of popular culture is still inundated with these outdated gender norms. Take Eric, he’s bad at sports, in touch with his emotions and doesn’t look or act like a man allegedly should, which opens him up to ridicule. Whether it’s Red calling him a ‘sissy’ or the gang, Donna included, riding him for having a strong girlfriend, can you blame Eric for being confused about gender? And the idea that all men must conform to one mould of masculinity is actually incredibly harmful.
#3: Fez and Nina’s Relationship Various Episodes
Top 10 Things on Glee That Wouldn't Work Today
Viewers today wouldn’t bat an eyelid over an interracial couple, and it would be totally realistic to have a storyline where the parents object to the relationship. However, the plot-twist is hugely problematic as Nina reveals that she’s only dating Fez to annoy her racist parents; and this in itself is incredibly racist and offensive. Sure, we would totally understand if Nina dated Fez despite her parents’ objections, but the fact that she’s using him just to rile them up is hugely unacceptable. We’d like to believe that today, this storyline would be dealt with more sensitively and with the respect it deserves.
#2: Laurie Assaults Kelso “Red’s Last Day” (1999)
Laurie Holden's Top 5 Kick Ass On-Screen Women (Interview) - MojoTalks
Worryingly, we come to another example where sexual assault is played for laughs. When Laurie traps Kelso in his van, she completely disregards his objections and forces herself upon him. Even when he tells his friends that he “feels violated” and that she “took advantage” of him, the so-called comedy value of the moment trivializes the ordeal. Moreover, the show completely dismisses that men can also be victims of assault and Kelso’s flippant reaction undermines the trauma that follows an experience like this. Due to movements like Time’s Up, misconceptions about only women being victims of assault are being challenged, and we would never see it used as a punchline today.
#1: Fez, the Xenophobic Punchline Various Punchlines
Top 10 Saved by the Bell Moments That Wouldn't Work Today
Sometimes it feels like the show casually uses the ‘70s-era setting as an excuse to cover up their most racially and culturally insensitive moments. Fez’ background is ambiguous and his nickname, with a little creative license, actually stands for Foreign Exchange Student. Fez is portrayed as the uncivilized foreigner yet to learn the ways of civilized Americans. You’ll find it hard to come by even one episode where Fez’ accent, predatory sexual appetite or general behavior isn’t the butt of the joke. Considering the sensitivity currently surrounding immigration, there is no way that the barrage of jokes at the foreigner’s expense would ever fly today.
