Northern Exposure on racism

Bernard educates Maurice about the prejudices associated with King's English and is generally awesome

[@starlodear2987]

I love how they call each other racists without yelling at each other.

[@allyson1691]

Imagine if we could all talk through opposing views like this …

[@marsneedstowels]

Too many people not accepting that they're racist bigots these days.

[@xxmrrickxx]

God damn I forgot how brilliant this show was

[@TechnoHajikelist]

I just got season 1!

[@willg54]

Absolutely, this show was great, wish they could do some kind of a remake without ruining the original Integrity of the show.

[@TheMichaelBeck]

My all-time favorite TV show.

[@reason1925]

That last line, kills me.

[@djm122270]

This damn show always kept it real!

[@Greg-mu9kp]

When the theme music comes on my endorphins rush with amazing memories of my childhood

[@damiaoliver430]

I have kind of a Pavlovian reaction as well, endorphins pop out. I was noticing it today when watching a chapter of the series. All the best

[@Roudter]

This might have been the best show ever....Star Trek of the mind...

[@kalijasin]

This and Star Trek two best shows ever.

[@studa68]

I miss this show....

[@theoldfice]

"Star Trek of the mind" LOL - you win this thread ;)

[@redrick8900]

Star Trek is the Star Trek of the mind.

[@Mooseman327]

Funny thing is that Thomas Sowell has noted that using the word "aks" instead of "asks" is something that came from lower class Brits who came to this country and settled in the south. Southern blacks picked it up from these whites, along with a lot of other stuff. Fascinating.

[@Bolsty7]

Nobody says "aks" in Britain. So no.

[@Bolsty7]

I know that it didn’t come from England because people would still say it. That’s right I used my own logic, i know you aren’t supposed to do that anymore but I’m wild like that.

[@rahawa774]

I don't know where 'aks' came from, but it's definitely not from a trad British patois - as Sam says, it's an unheard of pronunciation for 'ask' in the UK. Perhaps it stems from a non-english speaking group, like the immigrant Louisiana French or the Choctaw, in which language percussive syllables like 'ks' and 'ts' figured significantly?

[@Jalu3]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWqmk2eHrNR2sNE I believe this is where he is quoted from

[@dixonhill1108]

@@Bolsty7 That's not how language works. Modern britian has a very different set of accents than it did 250 years ago.

[@allyson1691]

This show had so much wisdom and humanity in it - so well done

[@daviddavis3155]

I love this show

[@bgrigg07]

I miss this show.

[@amessenger3208]

priceless show...

[@NathanSmith-dd4fg]

Great show.

[@your_bases_are_belong_to_us]

missed this show. good ol nineties

[@redhorse8018]

Best show ever

[@HUSHMONEYBAND]

I cannot believe this came out in the early 90s

[@John-ct9zs]

Why? How old r u? People had thoughtful discussions about race and culture in the 1960s and 70s, so why they stop having them in the 90s?

[@chrisbeck7912]

This scene would NEVER fly in this politically correct time of 2022.

[@redrick8900]

This scene is more politically correct than anything on television today.

[@thenativist6330]

Lol

[@piratescove4]

​@@redrick8900 that's why this show and quite a few others are being held back by the public because of how accurate they are. PCU is another great one.

[@redrick8900]

@@piratescove4 No one is hiding Northern Exposure from you. I just watched it less than a year ago. PCU is just a lame movie. There is no conspiracy against it.

[@piratescove4]

@@redrick8900 you may have watched it on a disc, you didn't watch it on cable or a streaming service.

[@davew5511]

I. MISS. ALL THEM. GUYS. !!!!!

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

A beautiful scene

[@elisemueller9967]

thats why I loved that show

[@9er..]

THE BEST SHOW

[@piratescove4]

This scene and many others in it are why it is black balled and on no stream or cable service to watch. This show was so forward thinking its insane. Spot on too.

[@wolf-bearchief3705]

I was literally thinking about this show yesterday. It was highly intelligent and well written with great characters. I'm surprised it's not streaming on Hulu or Netflix. This little clip in itself is enough to destroy todays standards of writing

[@jeanettegirosky7735]

From my understanding it was the copyright/licensing hoops they had to jump through for streaming because of all the different music they played, not because of dialogue. Some great tunes on that show.

[@piratescove4]

@@M__1740 I have already bought the whole DVD set of it. It was at Walmart for $35.

[@piratescove4]

@@M__1740 I'm sure there is probably 1 or 2 scenes that have been removed from it before it went on Amazon.

[@CrowdPleeza]

Yeah I do say thang :)

[@johnyohann6946]

I think, in his clever way, that Bernard is saying that we're all bigots. Scary, but to some degree, may be true.

[@disoriented1]

To say that any one group of people is exclusively capable of 'racism'...is...correct me if I am mistaken..'racist'. If you rob any group of people of all virtue or all fault, you also rob them of their humanity.

[@Yodelinthegully.-]

Very true!!

[@Yodelinthegully.-]

disoriented1 😂 😂 Yeah... 😂

[@Wizardofgosz]

We're all born with biases. It's wired in our brains. But some people figure it out and are on the path to learning, and others don't and insist white privilege isn't a thing. Etc... Which one are you?

[@tenisfin]

I believe that our ancient ancestors were wired toward suspicion of different looking people for reasons of safety and that we retain some of that wiring.

[@kathrynchamberlin3405]

Best show ever!

[@anarchoaristocracy8368]

Wtf, I love this show now. W O K E

[@weezercoverafricabytoto5874]

milo Powers honestly, we need more shows like this today. this was such a gem.

[@anonymerbenutzer5574]

Centrists are LITERALLY HITLARRRRR!!

[@robcayman4040]

This show was woke before "woke" was even a thing.

[@reginaldsmithers3468]

Me too. E W O K

[@milesmayhem5440]

Woke without being hateful, violent, or dismissive. The characters may not have always agreed with each other, but on some level, they all cared about each other. Something that has all but disappeared from today’s society.

[@animaljustice7774]

Maurice was your classic good ol boy white Republican. But he’s right about how some black people speak although not all speak that way as he demonstrates

[@JohnBarrylizard]

Thoughtful writing and acting.

[@user-mm7xr8if1u]

He smashes the race card, and with CLASS.

[@thetechlibrarian]

can you see why we’ve moved on from being able to have this sort of conversation in popular dialogue I’ll be honest I’ve never really watch the show even though I’ve heard of it growing up so let’s just say the white gentleman was a sort of racist may be basing his thoughts on stereotypes but you see how the two of them are talking and having a conversation and learning to understand each other to the point where instead of him just basing what he knows off of a stereotype he’s actually learned something from a open and honest dialogue where they are able to speak without fear of massive repercussions, We’ve regressed so far today that just the last sentence when he said imperialism and slavery we’re not exclusive To the white race would be enough for people to call to get you canceled banned off Twitter job lost and the angry Twitter mob after you.

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

The only people who've regressed are right wingers, and they're done it to the extreme. Makes me think they were always that way but it took a fat orange moron in a diaper to bring it out of them again

[@davids2254]

I don't think you get this show

[@blackbird5634]

say it loud, say it proud!

[@fabianschaberl1795]

❤

[@blackrebelradio9879]

Hit, take it all my money, I will never give change again Amen, Carey on. Blexx

[@blackrebelradio9879]

You remind me, in fact.

[@debpatriot9557]

Maurice is not a racist!

[@kaguth]

Sure he is. He has a good heart in a way but there are several episodes that expose his racism. For example, when he discovers he has a Korean son he pretty much says to Chris that he doesn't like him because of his race. Of course, by the end of the episode, he comes to respect his son because he is open-minded enough to challenge his own beliefs, but that doesn't mean he is not racist just that he's working on it

[@blackrebelradio9879]

Talk to Al Sparptin, let explain oppression.

[@ram0166]

Speaking a language properly has nothing to do with race. It has to do with education and culture.

[@dietcokehead]

And perhaps that education could help to elucidate the reasons those factors have become inextricably linked in modern society

[@ram0166]

@@dietcokehead I’ve known people of all shades of skin who speak well and who have atrocious English. Some of the worst people in the world are very educated, supposedly, but so much of what they know just isn’t true.

[@colourfaze86]

What the fuck do you think culture results from? 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@daverychling2970]

All about dominence

[@Nebakrik88]

Way before WAP.😂

[@blondewriter99]

Imagine trying to show this scene now.

[@thetechlibrarian]

You couldn't just the last sentence alone would be enough for the mobb to try and get you cancelled.

[@redrick8900]

Nobody would care. It's white toast.

[@Kindred04]

So Black people say "thang" instead of "thing"? I guess he has never heard a white person from the south speak. I've always hated the ignorant idea that all black Americans sound/speak the same. No, we do not. Just like all white Americans don't sound the same. How a person speaks is greatly influenced by their environment/where they grew up as well as their level of education. I also think the idea that Black people say "ax" instead of "ask" is way overblown. No one in my family nor in my general circle of friends and colleagues says that. I've also never heard any Black person say "max" instead of "mask," nor does that appear to be an ongoing stereotype. But if we're simply incapable of making the "sk" sound, shouldn't that transfer to all other words with "sk"? The bottom line is some people tend to take any negative trait exhibited by any random Black person and foolishly attribute that trait to all Black people in general, as if we're one monolithic group.

[@John-ct9zs]

It's interesting that the way American black people speak is both ridiculed and admired i.e. thought of as hip, cool, authentic all at the same time. It's derided as not proper English, but also it's cool to say something like "ain't no thang big dawg to be givn' a shout out to my OGs from the 90s and watchn' Northern Exposure in da house of 2024, no cap fool!" White kids today say "dem hands 'bout to be goin' up, about to see some smoke!" if they see two guys about to fight, and it's always been this way, since like the 1950s, maybe as far back as the 1930s. Black English is ridiculed and cool at the same time, but I guess it has to be ridiculed first to BE COOL. The same way Elvis was the devils music, and that made him cool.

[@kalijasin]

LOL

[@vectorm4]

No one said superior breeding, just sounding a certain way. Bernard assumed that Maurice meant superior by "not sounding black."

[@robertm.speiser3878]

I think he is referring to how stereotypes or cultural ideas begin, where they come from. Maurice did not say that, no, but somewhere along the line this was explicitly connected, and then inferred, as well.

[@robertwaid3579]

That Clip? Was just absolutely Brilliant in it's place and in say that Episode Thirty years ago Now? Now I'd Really like to See something similar presented or Said in Today's given, & more ugh 😩 biased, & quite ugly environment. WTF Would or Could they Do with it???. Here I'm Lol, and calmly thinking that these over zealous, BLM people Out there? Are going too pick this type of Clip Up. Take it & Media Hyper Magnify it too Their Needs, Ideas, or Ideals and Their Screwy rationalizing of it. Till they Can then Throw it Back at the World. With a Completely WTF, different Level of Prejudice thrown in to Make Their Sides Decisions & Counter Arguments More Acceptable too those, & Everyone they Feel. They Need to Turn or Convince of Their POV. Anyways as Always Thanks for the Memories & Reminders 🎗️🎗️🎗️🎗️🎗️. NEXP was a Fantastic Program with Brilliant 💡💡💡& illumination.

[@Pnanasnoic]

They're both right. Yaknow, we had very little racism in the '90s. They couldn't have that though, if the people started getting along too well they might get together and start to notice things.

[@gaamatsu4dewin]

It's funny that he used the word ghetto incorrectly trying to explain an -ism. A ghetto is not an American English dialect, it was an isolated Jewish community during the 1500s.

[@Tb40556]

“Ghetto” has been adapted to describe impoverished Black areas in the United States. It’s become an adjective used to describe aspects of Black culture that the white upper class looks down upon like hair or in this case: speech. While historically derogatory, some Black people have reclaimed the word, claiming it epitomizes the friction between Black existence and white expectations. I think that’s what’s going on here.

[@truepeacenik]

Words change. It’s the same idea. In Venice (originally), Jews were strangers within, and kept in certain geographic and economic strata of the town. I’d say classism, capitalism unleashed and racist attitudes, along with the history or segregated towns does the same across the US.

[@milesmayhem5440]

@@Tb40556 they have claimed the word. To reclaim it would suggest that they originated it. No matter. They have rightfully claimed it.

[@redrick8900]

You don't get to define Ghetto for the world.

[@missladyanonymity]

And this is why i hate the 21st century use of the w word. Because what dummies call the w word has always existed in film and tv. Sometimes it was a 1 off sweeps week very special episodes and sometimes julia sugarbaker or dorothy zbornak or nell carter were saying 'w' things on a weekly basis. Female cops and detectives. Capable. Persons of color addressing this stuff. Ugh people are stupid.

[@Phoenix-zy1cx]

You just reminded me of some of my favorite classic shows. 😊

[@u.s.militia7682]

I’ve always wondered why we never hear Native Americans screaming racism? I mean, we literally tried to commit genocide on them and the U.S. still treats them as second class citizens to this very day.

[@Kindred04]

This is an extremely ignorant and short-sighted view. Perhaps you should research Native Lives Matter and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Just because you aren't aware of their efforts, that doesn't mean they aren't "screaming racism."

[@robinblankenship9234]

An overly sensitive, even paranoid black man.

[@Tb40556]

Ah yes, his calm and thoughtful demeanor is definitely the symptom of irrational paranoia.

[@crimsonmask3819]

Exactly what he wasn't.

[@redrick8900]

No. He's a really patient guy dealing with a condescending bigot.