For those who may not know or remember, Good Times (1974-1979) was a television series from the 70s and was the first televised show about an African American two-parent family. Living in an apartment building in the ghetto side of Chicago, we watch the lives of Florida and James Evans, played by Esther Rolle and John Amos, and their three children, James Jr. “J.J.,” an artist and Cassonva played by Jimmie Walker, Thelma, the education-oriented dancer played by Bern Nadette Stains, and Micheal, the passionate activist played by Ralph Carter, as they try to work their way out of the ghetto. Throughout the six seasons, we also see characters like Willona Woods, played by Ja’Net DuBois, the noisy gossip family friend who lives across the hall; Nathan Bookman, the building superintendent played by Johnny Brown; Penny Woods, Willona’s adopted daughter, played by Janet Jackson, Keith Anderson, played by Ben Powers who is Thelma’s husband in the later seasons, and another array of characters who made this show so memorable.
The official trailer for Netflix’s animated adaptation of Good Times was recently released and is disappointing. Based on the trailer, it does not give the same feel, themes, and messages as the original series. Like many reboots of classical shows, the adaptation takes a modern approach to the Good Times formula. Instead of focusing on the main family from the series, this animated reboot follows the family of Florida’s and James’s grandchild. It would be fine if they had some aspects that made the original show so iconic instead of just reinforcing Black stereotypes in this reboot.
When looking at images released before the trailer, the immediate impression isn’t Good Times. It looked like a show meant to be based on Robin Harris’s 1992 animated film Bebe’s Kids with a little mix of the stop-motion show The PJs (1999). Outside the reboot animation, the characters’ personalities do not match up and are just Black stereotypes. Like one of the characters, Dalvin, who is the youngest in the family, is a drug-dealing baby who’s obsessed with women’s breasts.
This reboot is supposed to talk about modern-day problems facing the Black community, but that intent is not shown at all. What made the original Good Times so memorable and classic is that while highlighting the struggle of living in the ghetto, it found a balance between the drama of the living situation and showcasing the good and comedic moments. In this reboot, it seems like instead of having that balance, it’s trying to force the Black stereotypes being shown to be funny for its target audience.
Although this is only the official trailer, many things could be altered before the reboot’s release on April 12th on Netflix. Therefore, it is difficult to predict whether this reboot will be successful at this point in time.
Melanated Media 