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Originally Posted by
gbrice75
Just curious as to what people think about this show. Note - if you've never watched it, please keep your opinion to yourself - because it has no validity IMO. You can't judge something you haven't seen for yourself. My thoughts...
I just started watching recently, mainly out of boredom (none of my shows are on right now), and for the obvious reason... to see another white trash train wreck. What can I say, simple things entertain me.
After having watched quite a few episodes, I've somewhat changed my mind about these people. While many of the elements I expected to see are present (illiterate, uncouth, relatively bad hygiene, many of the other 'hillbilly redneck' traits, etc), there were some unexpected pleasant surprises. They are without a doubt a loving family. It just becomes obvious very quickly that there is a lot of love there, they care about each other, and in many ways they have their priorities straight. There's nothing wrong with that. The child pageant thing is kind of strange IMO, but the show is HARDLY about that - it's a very small part of the big picture. One thing that I've noticed missing from their lives (at least what's portrayed on the show) is drama - They're simple people living a simple life. They don't seem to fight (beyond normal bickering over arbitrary stuff) or have a bunch of 'crap' like so many other families I see.
My final word - it's ironic how people will look at other shows like 'The Real Housewives of <Insert name here> or the Kardashian's and consider them upscale, sophisticated 'normal' people - yet their lives seem to be full of drama, hatred, jealously, and pain. Then you look at these 'poor slobs' and what you'd expect to be dysfunctional - turns out to be a really normal family (granted, with all their warts and flaws, like anyone) with a lot of love for eachother.
Haters, bring it on!