Ross absolutely needs to read ANYTHING about toxic masculinity. I feel like this is a major root of many of his issues: his inability to understand Rachel’s professionalism and HER HAVING MALE FRIENDS, him freaking out about male babysitters or his son playing with barbies, etc etc
Completely agree, but to Ross’s defense, I think the driving force for him was having these ideals shoved on him during his formative years. He grew up quite bookish rather than athletic and was more feminine leaning (thinking of him dressing like his mum for a tea party). His masculinity has always been teased and in question, so his toxic masculinity mentality is rooted in fear rather than just “Ross is an asshole”
No, Ross didn't say Rachel not have a male friends (she still had a contact with Mark, even Ross not like him, and she was Joey's Chandler's friend, even Joe stole her bra), he understand her professionalism, e.g: was, when she wouldn't get out with him cause she occupied Mark's place, he said" work FIRST" despite the fact the" picnic basket" when go back home, he understood why Rach talked that way to him, despite in the middle of their discussion, he said "just a job" he proof weeks later, when give up a lifetime opportunity to care of her; Ross didn't had a "Toxic Masculinity" he had fragilities, based from his education to being a "real man", but he was way more sensible/toughful to women than others boys, e.g: about Carol and Susan, despite the fact their treated him like, "sperm donor", Ben didn't had his name, the moment Carol give up to marry Susan cause her parents, was he encourage her to did, and take her to the aisle; even "will won't or won't they" to Rachel, he insisted to broke up face to face to any girlfriend, except Janice, Mona and Charlie cause was them broke up to him, was him refers to Rachel, who was with Emily so that she had a chance to Joshua, when she was pregnant he accept that being her beck and call cause she was jealous, despise the fact she did that later what she demanded him not did. Was him who bought a bike to Phoebe knowing that she never had ,when she was a child, was him who loan some money to Monica pay the apartment's debt, despise that she never pay him back, reminder that his teeth whitening, tan, Joey's kiss to his casting, his bath, or phone call from mom, leather pants earring and compares himself to David Bowie ,etc etc etc etc
@@sorel7342 It's interesting, your comment made me think how that hasn't changed much in pop culture. It still seems like male TV characters (especially the stereotypical macho ones) are never shown as great readers. I suppose at least it was nice that Joey was shown to enjoy reading, and that he could bond with his female friend over a new experience.
For Monica, I’d love to recommend “All the rage” which explores the emotional and domestic labour of women in the context of the modern age - fierce text so a warning for a rage attack throughout reading!
This was so great Leena! I really enjoyed it, and those transitions were phenomenal. Would love to see a series on books you'd recommend for popular TV shows. Maybe Brooklyn 99, The Office or New Girl. Those sort of binge tv shows where you get to know the characters so well.
Yes, completely!! I'd be curious to see a compilation of what the Downton Abbey characters would read if they were living in the modern-day... Or something to that effect!
For some reason, I'm drawing a blank as to what book to recommend, but a book about being true to yourself is what I would give Phoebe. As much as she professes to have certain ideals, she'll abandon them when it suits her. She got angry with Rachel for buying from Pottery Barn, then decided it would be "a shame" not to buy the other furniture from the window display bc it looked so good with the stuff they already had. She was determined at first to donate her and Mike's wedding money to charity, only to ask for it back bc she *also* wanted a fancy wedding. She felt the guilty pleasure of wearing a fur coat, despite her beliefs about animal rights. She got a job with a corporate massage chain bc it paid well, but forbade Rachel to use her gift certificate for the place so she wouldn't be found out. I want Phoebe to learn how to reconcile her wants and needs with her moral beliefs, and to be able to decide, without shame, which hill she's actually prepared to die on.
Ross's issues around gender roles in soceiety is the most pressing problem for me! He freaked out when Ben wanted to play with a doll. He freaked out when Rachel wanted to hire a male nanny for Emma. Dude, guys can play with dolls and be nannies if they, like okay? I will need to have a think about books he shoudl ead to sort that shir out!
My half asleep ass completely missed the joke at the beginning and spent half the video thinking 'for someone who's never watched friends Leena seems to know a LOT about it...' 😂
LEENA DID YOU JUST RECOMMEND MY BOOK TO MONICA? In case I don't say it enough, I love you. Also Monica is my favourite, so I'm not sure where the irony is in this but it's there somewhere
haha THAT I DID. Thinking about that question is opening a hole in the space time continuum so let's not go there 😂 can't wait to have pizza with you when all of this is ... over???? faded??? something like that x
This is such a creative way to present book recommendations because we all probably have a character from the show we can relate to in some way. Also, I agree on making Ross read Untamed SO MUCH! Although, it's definitely longer than 18 pages (front and back) so he might have some trouble actually finishing it lol
This is an awesome and interesting way to talk about these issues and books and... just generally great video Leena. I'm trying to think of other characters you could do this for. Perhaps Mean Girls? You could possibly broaden it to tv, podcasts etc. too.
Fun fact: According to reliable sources (another RUclips video I watched 😁), David Schwimmer, who played Ross, was the person involved with friends who was the most bothered by the "whiteness" of the cast. He apparently strove to get some diversity and hence at least a couple of non-white cast members with short story arcs. I wouldn't say the decade was specifically problematic, I'd just say it was part of the progression towards more realism, inclusivity and understanding. In a few years, we'll probably look back and see how we could have done better now.
phoebe is awesome but she needs a book on true allyship + effective activism! she quickly drops causes (wears fur, works at massage chain, loves pottery barn, etc) and i think she needs something empowering to let her know that she can enact change for the causes she believes in.
My favourite episode of “Friends” is the one where Joey and Rachel exchange their favourite books. Putting books you can’t immediately deal with in the freezer is brilliant. Especially scary books!
A thing I don't like about phoebe is her tendency to believe conspiracy theories and mistrust science (and maybe a little bit of dunning cruger effect), in one episode she said she didn't believe in evolution for example
Such a well made video, such a good idea. I also love how you didn't jump on the hate bandwagon; you were super gentle to the fans while still calling out some things which could be improved on!!
I'd love you to do a part 2 and tackle some of the side characters. E.g. Gunther probably needs some help with confidence, or Emily (definitely needs some help in relationships), or Janice etc.
Ross: The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs by Steven Brusatte Monica: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo Phoebe: The Idiot by Elif Batuman or something by Miranda July Chandler: The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe Joey: The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier Rachel: Yes or No The Guide to Better Decisions by Spencer Johnson Janice: Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge Richard: Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman Paul (Bruce Willis): Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker Charlie: The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking Ursula: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb Mike: The Power of Commitment: A Guide to Active, Lifelong Love Book by Scott Stanley David: A Field Guide to Lies by Daniel J. Levitin
And Monica learning about Marie Kondo is gold 👌🏻 i can imagine the transformation in her house after reading it, and try to incorporate it as well in the others friend's places
@@aless.andra9620haha! I knew I missed someone! I just edited that in! I decided to go with Yes or No: The Guide to Better Decisions by: Spencer Johnson
@@InfiniteText great choice! My personal pick for Rachel would be My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. This one is not for happy and bubbly Rachel, but rather for angry and disapointed Rachel who had bad experiences with toxic boyfriends, had rich upbringing and extensive daddy issues, and was let down by her colleagues and clients in fashion industry. I honestly think that the protagonist of this book is very depressed and nihilistic version of Rachel.
Pretty great recommendations! I love the image of Joey with the duck reading about climate change and the light bulb coming on--just spot on. I am going to check out the Caitlin Moran essays myself. As a bit of a Monica, I think this would be a great read for me. Thanks Leena!
I find it so interesting that FRIENDS is so popular in other countries whereas for me growing up in the US (same age as Leena) it was a bit before my time and none of my friends or I even watched it.
Yesyesyes! I think this makes much more sense than the Marie Kondo suggestion, which would make her go overboard again: "Does this spark joy to you Chandler? Does it? Which one of these brings you joy, Chandler? Come on, you have to pick the one that sparks the joy!" So yes, Brené Brown is a must for Monica! Great idea!
Brilliant. You made such good choices! I also love how kind you were about the issues of Friends - we should look inwards when criticising it with today’s lens.
I loved this so much! I am in the middle of a Friends marathon because my mental illness is in a shitty place right now, so this was just perfect. I'm so glad you recommended a trans author for Chandler - he definitely needs some Juno Dawson in his life. I think a good follow-up read for him would be 'Trans Power' by Juno Roche. I also immediately thought of 'The Mental Load' for Monica, because I felt so incredibly seen by that book and I think she would too.
Though I find Ross the most problematic of the Friends, he can be seen in Season 3, Episode 13 read Race by Studs Terkel, so hopefully, he would find something of value in your recommendation! Also, can we just talk about Monica discovering and reading Marie Kondo? All these recommendations so really interesting and I look forward to checking some out myself 💕
Love the approach, some great recommendations, the outfits and transitions are splendid--all reasons I appreciate this video and love your creations. Great job!
I would love to see some sort of video about how to communicate critically analytical ideas about race, gender, sexuality etc etc. with family who are perhaps less educated and who are working class and turn off when you try to talk about things - perhaps they see it as criticism or that you think you're better than them. Or is it just me who needs this?!
no one likes a lecture, even (especially?) from a loved one. i think leena's idea of giving them gentle intro books on the subject so they can mull it over in their own time is a good one, but i think you have to be prepared that they might never change and what that would mean for your relationship. pushing them when they don't want to be pushed can damage the relationship and the ability to discuss the topic at all.
I have read a few of the books on this list and I agree. I also added the Monica books to my TBR because I am the Monica and it's like getting tailor made recommendations.
Everything in your videos is pure perfection 😻 from perfect English to the choice of themes for books, references and positive yet realistic cook aunt vibes... We are here for it 👏
Such a great idea Leena! Love how much thought you put into your recommendations and how kindly you explained them. I really am in two minds about Friends, I enjoy it and find it really comforting on days when I'm struggling, but at the same time so much of the humour is sooo problematic. On that note, I'd recommend any book on toxic masculinity and homophobia to - well all of them.
This was so fun to watch, and all your recommendations are really spot-on! At the beginning with the different cutaways I was thinking "omg is she dressing up like the characters??" - amazing outfits, really recognisable! I especially loved your Phoebe look :D
I remeber a couple times the show mentioned that Phoebe had a Britta Perry- esque slacktivism to her, so any good books about going past performative activism would be good for her
Oooh my first Patreon early access! I love the image of Joey reading Greta Thunberg whilst holding chick and duck. :D Now going to immediately add all of these to my TBR...
I posed a Friends question on Facebook last year: "Who is your least favourite Friend, and why is it Ross?" Rachel definitely should've stayed on the plane and made him drag his selfish ass to Paris.
I don't know an example but I think that the way they discuss Monica's weight when she was growing up is huge. I'd love for her herself and for her friends to read something about body acceptance
My immediate (and not very imaginative) thought was to recommend Monica the poetry collection 'Hera Lindsay Bird' by Hera Lindsay Bird, more specifically the poem "Monica" . It's about, among other things, her, as in the character Monica of the show Friends. It's very good.
Wow I loveeee this video! As someone who has always loved f.r.i.e.n.d.s as a comfort show but also recognizes the huge gaps -- this was such a wonderful take on it,and now I have a bunch of books on my TBR list too :')
Apart from how the show was written and the time it was, it is said that Ross actor was the one asking for more diversity on it and this is why we see the themes of race and sexuality in his girlfriends.
@@ariannelg Yes, I have also heard David Schwimmer talk about this. He really fought for Ross' girlfriends to be more diverse, so I think Schwimmer would agree in the book choice for Ross
I‘m going to read all of these to get rid of the daemons the nineties and noughties hava put into my head. As a lesbian and autistic person I feel an incredible dissonance to this time period in my life. Watching friends now is a roller coaster. I grew up with these characters and how they act and talk wasn’t out of the ordinary. The show still feels a bit like home and at the same time I‘m so shocked about the racism, sexism, fatphobia and homophobia. A general lack of kindness, appreciation of diversity combined with a lot of entitlement.
As a whole I thought the show was progressive for the 90s. It opens with themes of a lesbian ex wife whose pregnant, clearly her and her gf aren’t keen on gender stereotypes. Phoebe had a husband who she married to hide that he was gay but he was only pretending to be gay because he was an ice-skater and they flip the whole coming out story on its head to be like “I’m straight and I was born that way.” Chandlers dad being a trans show woman with this kind of back and forth with Chandlers mom about who has more plastic surgery. Being open about two characters having infertility issues. I watched this show from a very young age and I tend to leave it on in the background when I’m up at night. My parents in general were always very supportive of lgbt, so having this subtle exposure to queer relationships as adults was really helpful. No one was hostile to these characters, mostly it highlighted how relationships will always be messy, especially if you try to live by a societal standard you don’t fit into.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Ross absolutely needs to read ANYTHING about toxic masculinity. I feel like this is a major root of many of his issues: his inability to understand Rachel’s professionalism and HER HAVING MALE FRIENDS, him freaking out about male babysitters or his son playing with barbies, etc etc
Completely agree, but to Ross’s defense, I think the driving force for him was having these ideals shoved on him during his formative years. He grew up quite bookish rather than athletic and was more feminine leaning (thinking of him dressing like his mum for a tea party). His masculinity has always been teased and in question, so his toxic masculinity mentality is rooted in fear rather than just “Ross is an asshole”
Oh yes, definitely!
No, Ross didn't say Rachel not have a male friends (she still had a contact with Mark, even Ross not like him, and she was Joey's Chandler's friend, even Joe stole her bra), he understand her professionalism, e.g: was, when she wouldn't get out with him cause she occupied Mark's place, he said" work FIRST" despite the fact the" picnic basket" when go back home, he understood why Rach talked that way to him, despite in the middle of their discussion, he said "just a job" he proof weeks later, when give up a lifetime opportunity to care of her; Ross didn't had a "Toxic Masculinity" he had fragilities, based from his education to being a "real man", but he was way more sensible/toughful to women than others boys, e.g: about Carol and Susan, despite the fact their treated him like, "sperm donor", Ben didn't had his name, the moment Carol give up to marry Susan cause her parents, was he encourage her to did, and take her to the aisle; even "will won't or won't they" to Rachel, he insisted to broke up face to face to any girlfriend, except Janice, Mona and Charlie cause was them broke up to him, was him refers to Rachel, who was with Emily so that she had a chance to Joshua, when she was pregnant he accept that being her beck and call cause she was jealous, despise the fact she did that later what she demanded him not did. Was him who bought a bike to Phoebe knowing that she never had ,when she was a child, was him who loan some money to Monica pay the apartment's debt, despise that she never pay him back, reminder that his teeth whitening, tan, Joey's kiss to his casting, his bath, or phone call from mom, leather pants earring and compares himself to David Bowie ,etc etc etc etc
I agree with you 💯% with you on the books that Ross needs to read.
to be fair i think all the men on that show need a book about toxic masculinity
To be fair, Joey read and was deeply moved by Little Women.
It’s so weird to look back now at how much that was played as some kind of totally absurdist joke like “LOOK MAN READ GIRL BOOK HAHAHAHAAA”
@@sorel7342 It's interesting, your comment made me think how that hasn't changed much in pop culture. It still seems like male TV characters (especially the stereotypical macho ones) are never shown as great readers. I suppose at least it was nice that Joey was shown to enjoy reading, and that he could bond with his female friend over a new experience.
he also read, i want to say, the shining (?) his level of stupidity wavers throughout the show
@@ClashxCityxRocker you're completely right, I think he reads it every year. I think over the seasons they dumb down his character.
He also reads the entire encyclopaedia for the letter V 😅
This was a great idea. A very kind way of talking about the limitations of the characters and the TV show.
Idk why I almost cried at the Phoebe section, she deserves all the modern inner child healing the 21st century allows
This is how you make topical "content" for a channel about a "niche" topic. Amazing work. Just purchased two books from it. 👌
Such a cool idea! It would be so cool to see a similar style video for Sex and the City!!
YES!!! Samantha would love some gender & sexuality theory
Or for New Girl!!
YES!!!!!! Leena pls do this
Yesss please!!!!¡
YESSS
For Monica, I’d love to recommend “All the rage” which explores the emotional and domestic labour of women in the context of the modern age - fierce text so a warning for a rage attack throughout reading!
That sound's fascinating, I would love to read it, who's the author?
Similarly, "Invisible Women" would be a good book to read about the work women do but don't get credited for
@@maidenrohina Darcy Lockman 😃
@@clairepaley6735 Thank you, that's really helpful as there's surprisingly a lot of books with the title 'All the rage' :)
@@maidenrohina happy to help! Hope you find it as powerful as I did - I was fuming for a week after haha
This was so great Leena! I really enjoyed it, and those transitions were phenomenal. Would love to see a series on books you'd recommend for popular TV shows. Maybe Brooklyn 99, The Office or New Girl. Those sort of binge tv shows where you get to know the characters so well.
Yes, completely!! I'd be curious to see a compilation of what the Downton Abbey characters would read if they were living in the modern-day... Or something to that effect!
Omg new girl would be great
For some reason, I'm drawing a blank as to what book to recommend, but a book about being true to yourself is what I would give Phoebe.
As much as she professes to have certain ideals, she'll abandon them when it suits her. She got angry with Rachel for buying from Pottery Barn, then decided it would be "a shame" not to buy the other furniture from the window display bc it looked so good with the stuff they already had. She was determined at first to donate her and Mike's wedding money to charity, only to ask for it back bc she *also* wanted a fancy wedding. She felt the guilty pleasure of wearing a fur coat, despite her beliefs about animal rights. She got a job with a corporate massage chain bc it paid well, but forbade Rachel to use her gift certificate for the place so she wouldn't be found out. I want Phoebe to learn how to reconcile her wants and needs with her moral beliefs, and to be able to decide, without shame, which hill she's actually prepared to die on.
Ross's issues around gender roles in soceiety is the most pressing problem for me! He freaked out when Ben wanted to play with a doll. He freaked out when Rachel wanted to hire a male nanny for Emma. Dude, guys can play with dolls and be nannies if they, like okay? I will need to have a think about books he shoudl ead to sort that shir out!
My half asleep ass completely missed the joke at the beginning and spent half the video thinking 'for someone who's never watched friends Leena seems to know a LOT about it...' 😂
same same same ! had to go rewatch the beginning because I thought 'huh?!?!' ahahaha
Me too 😂
I.....same
Ok thank god I was searching for this comment cause ME TOO
Same
LEENA DID YOU JUST RECOMMEND MY BOOK TO MONICA? In case I don't say it enough, I love you. Also Monica is my favourite, so I'm not sure where the irony is in this but it's there somewhere
haha THAT I DID. Thinking about that question is opening a hole in the space time continuum so let's not go there 😂 can't wait to have pizza with you when all of this is ... over???? faded??? something like that x
This is such a creative way to present book recommendations because we all probably have a character from the show we can relate to in some way. Also, I agree on making Ross read Untamed SO MUCH! Although, it's definitely longer than 18 pages (front and back) so he might have some trouble actually finishing it lol
It’ll help put him to sleep 😴
This is an awesome and interesting way to talk about these issues and books and... just generally great video Leena. I'm trying to think of other characters you could do this for. Perhaps Mean Girls? You could possibly broaden it to tv, podcasts etc. too.
SATC?
Rachel also meets Paolo during a NYC blackout, so that recommendation is even more perfect !!!!!
Fun fact: According to reliable sources (another RUclips video I watched 😁), David Schwimmer, who played Ross, was the person involved with friends who was the most bothered by the "whiteness" of the cast. He apparently strove to get some diversity and hence at least a couple of non-white cast members with short story arcs.
I wouldn't say the decade was specifically problematic, I'd just say it was part of the progression towards more realism, inclusivity and understanding. In a few years, we'll probably look back and see how we could have done better now.
phoebe is awesome but she needs a book on true allyship + effective activism! she quickly drops causes (wears fur, works at massage chain, loves pottery barn, etc) and i think she needs something empowering to let her know that she can enact change for the causes she believes in.
I'd recommend Little Women for Joey because he put the book in the freezer and never finished it!!!
I would LOVE to see more of these as a series! Like Sex and the city, mean girls, parks and rec, anything and everything!
I'd love a series of this with other tv series and giving book recommendations!!!
My favourite episode of “Friends” is the one where Joey and Rachel exchange their favourite books. Putting books you can’t immediately deal with in the freezer is brilliant. Especially scary books!
A thing I don't like about phoebe is her tendency to believe conspiracy theories and mistrust science (and maybe a little bit of dunning cruger effect), in one episode she said she didn't believe in evolution for example
Agreed, and also making sometimes insensitive jokes about suicide? Which also seems to be her way of coping?
I don’t believe in evolution. There’s nothing wrong with that
Such a well made video, such a good idea. I also love how you didn't jump on the hate bandwagon; you were super gentle to the fans while still calling out some things which could be improved on!!
All of friends need every book on fatphobia that exists in print. The fat suit. I cant.
I legitimately screamed when you said Ross would wear the huge hair clip because that's SO SPOT ON
I'd love you to do a part 2 and tackle some of the side characters.
E.g. Gunther probably needs some help with confidence, or Emily (definitely needs some help in relationships), or Janice etc.
I know Monica would love herself some Marie Kondo
I mean obviously The Outfits but THE TRANSITIONS
Ross: The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs by Steven Brusatte
Monica: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Phoebe: The Idiot by Elif Batuman or something by Miranda July
Chandler: The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe
Joey: The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
Rachel: Yes or No The Guide to Better Decisions by Spencer Johnson
Janice: Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge
Richard: Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
Paul (Bruce Willis): Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker
Charlie: The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking
Ursula: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
Mike: The Power of Commitment: A Guide to Active, Lifelong Love Book by Scott Stanley
David: A Field Guide to Lies by Daniel J. Levitin
Your Janice recommendation hahaha, this is perfect :)
And Monica learning about Marie Kondo is gold 👌🏻 i can imagine the transformation in her house after reading it, and try to incorporate it as well in the others friend's places
Rachel?
@@aless.andra9620haha! I knew I missed someone! I just edited that in! I decided to go with Yes or No: The Guide to Better Decisions by: Spencer Johnson
@@InfiniteText great choice! My personal pick for Rachel would be My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. This one is not for happy and bubbly Rachel, but rather for angry and disapointed Rachel who had bad experiences with toxic boyfriends, had rich upbringing and extensive daddy issues, and was let down by her colleagues and clients in fashion industry.
I honestly think that the protagonist of this book is very depressed and nihilistic version of Rachel.
Pretty great recommendations! I love the image of Joey with the duck reading about climate change and the light bulb coming on--just spot on. I am going to check out the Caitlin Moran essays myself. As a bit of a Monica, I think this would be a great read for me. Thanks Leena!
I loved everything about this!! All your recommendations were so thoughtful and intentional and SPOT ON. Would love to see other videos like this!!!
You addressed everything I was thinking about during the reunion...with books. Genius.
I find it so interesting that FRIENDS is so popular in other countries whereas for me growing up in the US (same age as Leena) it was a bit before my time and none of my friends or I even watched it.
I feel like Monica needs “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown
Yesyesyes! I think this makes much more sense than the Marie Kondo suggestion, which would make her go overboard again: "Does this spark joy to you Chandler? Does it? Which one of these brings you joy, Chandler? Come on, you have to pick the one that sparks the joy!" So yes, Brené Brown is a must for Monica! Great idea!
I am obsessed with the idea of Joey and Greta being BFFs
Brilliant. You made such good choices! I also love how kind you were about the issues of Friends - we should look inwards when criticising it with today’s lens.
This was such a cool and unique idea!! I love it!
Would love to see this become a series! I really enjoyed how you broke everything down! Loved the outfits too 😄
I loved this so much! I am in the middle of a Friends marathon because my mental illness is in a shitty place right now, so this was just perfect. I'm so glad you recommended a trans author for Chandler - he definitely needs some Juno Dawson in his life. I think a good follow-up read for him would be 'Trans Power' by Juno Roche. I also immediately thought of 'The Mental Load' for Monica, because I felt so incredibly seen by that book and I think she would too.
I watch friends when my mental health is bad too. Hope you feel better soon
Though I find Ross the most problematic of the Friends, he can be seen in Season 3, Episode 13 read Race by Studs Terkel, so hopefully, he would find something of value in your recommendation!
Also, can we just talk about Monica discovering and reading Marie Kondo?
All these recommendations so really interesting and I look forward to checking some out myself 💕
Love the approach, some great recommendations, the outfits and transitions are splendid--all reasons I appreciate this video and love your creations. Great job!
I would love to see some sort of video about how to communicate critically analytical ideas about race, gender, sexuality etc etc. with family who are perhaps less educated and who are working class and turn off when you try to talk about things - perhaps they see it as criticism or that you think you're better than them. Or is it just me who needs this?!
You can’t force people to listen to you, perhaps with time they’ll be a bit more willing?
no one likes a lecture, even (especially?) from a loved one. i think leena's idea of giving them gentle intro books on the subject so they can mull it over in their own time is a good one, but i think you have to be prepared that they might never change and what that would mean for your relationship. pushing them when they don't want to be pushed can damage the relationship and the ability to discuss the topic at all.
I have read a few of the books on this list and I agree. I also added the Monica books to my TBR because I am the Monica and it's like getting tailor made recommendations.
Everything in your videos is pure perfection 😻 from perfect English to the choice of themes for books, references and positive yet realistic cook aunt vibes... We are here for it 👏
Such a great idea Leena! Love how much thought you put into your recommendations and how kindly you explained them. I really am in two minds about Friends, I enjoy it and find it really comforting on days when I'm struggling, but at the same time so much of the humour is sooo problematic. On that note, I'd recommend any book on toxic masculinity and homophobia to - well all of them.
Would absolutely love to see this as a series for other characters from pop culture!
This was so fun to watch, and all your recommendations are really spot-on! At the beginning with the different cutaways I was thinking "omg is she dressing up like the characters??" - amazing outfits, really recognisable! I especially loved your Phoebe look :D
These. Transitions. Are. Everything. 🙌🏽. Also, I love how you diversify your content. (Please know that I am screaming all of this lmao)
I would love if you did this with the show Living Single- the show that friends is based one.
I remeber a couple times the show mentioned that Phoebe had a Britta Perry- esque slacktivism to her, so any good books about going past performative activism would be good for her
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!! The style, the organisations, the jokes, the BOOKS and all in all you Lena :) so thank you and carry on lovely.
Oooh my first Patreon early access! I love the image of Joey reading Greta Thunberg whilst holding chick and duck. :D Now going to immediately add all of these to my TBR...
omg I am obsessed with this idea, and put some of these books on my own tbr myself!
these are amazing, I feel like you got all of them on point! I already have both of Phoebe's recs on my tbr
I feel SO SEEN by this video! Such a cool and creative video idea and I always love hearing the thought behind book recommendations
I am but one reading vessel is now my favourite quote haha loved the video!
I posed a Friends question on Facebook last year: "Who is your least favourite Friend, and why is it Ross?" Rachel definitely should've stayed on the plane and made him drag his selfish ass to Paris.
I just love this. The recommendations are so on point.
Tiny beautiful things is my favourite book of all time, it's helped me so much 💗
Love this video!
I'm only halfway through the video but this is already a favourite! Very original concept and wonderful recommendations! (Especially with Ross haha)
I love this! Like the doctors prescription of books! I'd love to see more videos of your recommendations for other characters/people 💚
I don't know an example but I think that the way they discuss Monica's weight when she was growing up is huge. I'd love for her herself and for her friends to read something about body acceptance
My immediate (and not very imaginative) thought was to recommend Monica the poetry collection 'Hera Lindsay Bird' by Hera Lindsay Bird, more specifically the poem "Monica" . It's about, among other things, her, as in the character Monica of the show Friends. It's very good.
I loooove how you coordinated your outfits with the characters😃😍❤️ Thank you for the lovely video!
PS. Where did you get the Rachel lipstick😂💕?
Such a cool and interesting idea for a video! And just at the right time for me too because I'm rewatching Friends :)
This is possibly your best idea yet
LOVE this format. I’d like to see more of your recommendations for characters!!!!
Wow I loveeee this video! As someone who has always loved f.r.i.e.n.d.s as a comfort show but also recognizes the huge gaps -- this was such a wonderful take on it,and now I have a bunch of books on my TBR list too :')
Such a good video! I'm curious about a lot of these books now. Also special appreciation for the Friends like music and transition shots xx
Leena, this is everything I’ve ever wanted in a video lol. Thank you!
This was an amazing video, even from someone who has never seen friends XD I also loved the outfit changes to match the character's styles, GENIUS! :D
Please make this a series!! Great suggestions
This is wonderful. Thank you for the huge amount of effort you put into making these kinds of videos!
This is such a cool vid concept and the recs seem so interesting !!!
Gunther: anything on the harmfulness of incel culture
You're the best. I'm telling it to myself every single time I watch your videos !
In her defense, Rachel read little women, a classic 😂 Great video idea!
Apart from how the show was written and the time it was, it is said that Ross actor was the one asking for more diversity on it and this is why we see the themes of race and sexuality in his girlfriends.
@@ariannelg Yes, I have also heard David Schwimmer talk about this. He really fought for Ross' girlfriends to be more diverse, so I think Schwimmer would agree in the book choice for Ross
Leena your channel gives me so much serotonin
This was so clever! Well done, it was a really enjoyable video to watch. I need to rewatch Friends now!
Genius idea and video! Also that Monica look... I blush.
Ross needs to read The Second Sex. Let's not coddle him, he's got a phd, he can handle it.
Haha well said!
Your Joey outfit has such Janis Ian from mean girls vibes 😂 love it
I enjoyed this enormously - as always, thank you Leena!
Ahhhh this video is just perfection! I hope you do more like this in future
The outfits are amazing!
I particularly liked the iconic "red jumper"
The best idea for a video! It was a lot of fun to watch!
absolutely loved this video!! this would make such a cool series 👀
I‘m going to read all of these to get rid of the daemons the nineties and noughties hava put into my head. As a lesbian and autistic person I feel an incredible dissonance to this time period in my life. Watching friends now is a roller coaster. I grew up with these characters and how they act and talk wasn’t out of the ordinary. The show still feels a bit like home and at the same time I‘m so shocked about the racism, sexism, fatphobia and homophobia. A general lack of kindness, appreciation of diversity combined with a lot of entitlement.
Yep, totally agree the re watch can be very shocking / confronting
This was such a clever video idea (thoroughly enjoyed! 😁)
Never watched Friends but was an interesting watch! I'll have to check out some of the books you've recommended.
I really love that you matched your tongue with your nails. Style queen!
hahah I want to say it was a style choice but I really just fancied some sweets half way through filming
As a whole I thought the show was progressive for the 90s. It opens with themes of a lesbian ex wife whose pregnant, clearly her and her gf aren’t keen on gender stereotypes. Phoebe had a husband who she married to hide that he was gay but he was only pretending to be gay because he was an ice-skater and they flip the whole coming out story on its head to be like “I’m straight and I was born that way.” Chandlers dad being a trans show woman with this kind of back and forth with Chandlers mom about who has more plastic surgery. Being open about two characters having infertility issues. I watched this show from a very young age and I tend to leave it on in the background when I’m up at night. My parents in general were always very supportive of lgbt, so having this subtle exposure to queer relationships as adults was really helpful. No one was hostile to these characters, mostly it highlighted how relationships will always be messy, especially if you try to live by a societal standard you don’t fit into.
Your content is so wholesome! Great idea and editing, again!
Well done Leena - what a smart video👏👏👏
Also... perhaps some recommendations for myself 😜
your videos never fail to make me smile :') god i would love chill with Joey chatting about the climate crisis
Could this video BE any more brilliant?
hahha excellent
This is amazing! Such a good video idea and really well executed
your monica outfit is so spot on!!!
Why thank you!
Immediately putting all of these on my TBR!
this is such an amazing video ❤️ from concept to execution 🙏🏻
This would be such a wonderful series for old sitcoms