ABC ‘General Hospital’ (GH) spoilers reveal today’s episode took a bit of a serious turn. And we’re not talking about near-death drama with Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard), or the baby plot Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) are involved in. Let’s take a look at what happened and why we think they made a mistake.
ABC ‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: The story
So, ‘General Hospital’ spoilers indicate today’s episode had several scenes that dealt with racism and the police. While Jordan Ashford (Brianna Nicole Henry) and Portia Robison (Brook Kerr) spoke about Cameron Webber’s (William Lipton) actions, the conversation turned to the hope they once felt and how their children now have to say their lives matter. This was a direct reference to current events, and we think that’s not always the best idea.
For one, TV is supposed to be about entertainment and escapism. At least, it used to be. Now, it seems like shows are more worried about sending a message than focusing on a story. This has led to franchises like Doctor Who losing fans by the droves, because of the heavy-handed nature.
Why? Because so many people see these issues in their faces every day. Every time they see a news broadcast, for one. And try to engage in social media without coming across stories about race, climate, health.
We personally think a lot of people are on overload. And given the challenges being faced by those who have suffered mentally under the strain of current events, this is just another reminder/trigger to avoid. But there’s another reason as well.
ABC ‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: Unintended consequences?
This isn’t the first time GH tackled race recently. A little while back, TJ Ashford (Tahj Bellow) had a conversation with Stella Henry (Vernee Watson) about his inter-racial relationship.
Granted, we hadn’t been watching their whole relationship, but from when we started watching, we didn’t remember seeing this come up with them at all. It felt a bit off to us and seemed like a message getting shoe-horned in inorganically. While some argue the need for raising awareness, we think there’s a bit of a danger as well.
We’ve seen how nasty the internet can be. People don’t always look at the person on the other side of the screen as a real human with real feelings.
Especially if one happens to disagree about almost anything with that other person. In a time when we’re “all in this together” and we’re supposed to be inclusive, it feels like focusing on our differences to the degree we’re seeing online is counter-productive.
We feel like it’s important to get true empathy and understanding for each other not by focusing on one’s differences, but at looking to what unites us. The feelings and basic needs that are universal regardless of what group one belongs to.
The way we form bonds with others, enjoy entertainment, love a favorite food. It’s sometimes easy to overlook all that when we’re living in such polarizing times. Just take a look at fan reaction…
ABC ‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: The reaction
The reviews are in, and they’re definitely mixed. Fans took to Twitter to discuss the episode, and it seems there’s a pretty even divide that gets worse when looking in specific online groups for the show. Here are a few of the reactions on Twitter.
One fans said, “General hospital pushing racist anti white propaganda is this a soap opera or a political show on msnbc this show is starting to become unwatchable the ratings are going to plummet if this keeps up #Abc #Generalhospital”
On the flip side, another wrote, “As a longtime fan of @GeneralHospital and a black woman I appreciate today’s episode.”
“I really love the tasteful scenes between Jordan and Portia today talking about current relations with police. It’s a “hard truth” that kids of America face certain circumstances interacting with police, depending on their skin color. Great job!” agreed another fan.
But the negative response continued with, “I have been watching #generalhospital for over 40 years. I never planned to stop. However, after today, I might. If the writers insist on shoving this race crap into to show, I will stop watching. I get enough of this garbage on the news and everywhere else. Don’t do it. #GH”
We find it interesting that one fan pointed out the problematic timing of their messaging by writing, “Pretty hypocritical and bad message @GeneralHospital in one scene you have a damaged mentally ill person running around working unofficially as a faux cop and in the next scene you are trying to tackle today’s racial issues and questions #GH #GeneralHospital”
We’ve had concerns about Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) being fit to return to work, and it was nice to see this pointed out. Especially in the light of the message the show was trying to send. Our take?
Sometimes it’s best to focus on Love in the Afternoon, schemes, and over-the-top drama than trying to send a message. Not only do you alienate part of your fanbase, but you sometimes contradict yourself in the process.
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