Matthew Perry’s sudden demise shocked and threw an entire community of fans of the timeless, famous American Sitcom Friends under a range of grief, filled with nostalgia and memories of their character Chandler Bing. The globally acclaimed and loved show also boasts a huge community of fans in India – which with every year keeps increasing, as every year a new generation of young adults binge on this timeless show. Social media was flooded with scenes, quotes, and BTS videos of Matthew Perry and his moments from the show shared by people between the age group of early teens to those in their late 40s.
Taking a few moments back in time, one would realize that when Friends was first aired in the year 1994, the show was not easily accessible to the Indian audience until 1999, nor the final season until 18 months after its conclusion. Indian millennials, who were teens back then would find various methods to download this ‘comfort watch” and watch it as leisure and community viewing with friends and same-aged cousins back home. However, I unfortunately hoped on to the series only during the lockdown along with my partner and truly, madly fell in love with it.
I realized how millennials and the GenZ Indian population today, dream and are unknowingly carving trends that match those showed in the show back then and finally living the aspirational, fulfilling life set in the show today.
My 16-year-old cousin told me in 2018, that she longed to stay with her friends and find roommates rather than stay with elders – a cultural phenomenon that is gradually finding its way into homes amongst teenagers and millennials who are finding comfort aging with a ‘selected’ set of friends over family – mainly due to a match in sensibilities and lifestyle choices. Recent surveys have highlighted that In 2001, 51.2 million single women were living in India.
By 2011, this number had risen by 39 percent to cross 71 million, while another report issued by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation last year showed the disinterest among young, educated adults in marriage. Indians are slowly discovering solace in community living, traveling, and aspiring for newer adventures in life that go beyond settling in matrimonial engagements.
Young Indians are now seeking compatibility wrt to political opinions, food & lifestyle choices, career aspirations, digital engagement, and other aspects; triggers that were unheard of in the late 90s. The surge in the number of community travel groups, entertainment and leisure groups, and hobby forums – has paved the way for young adults to seek companionship with friends and like-minded peers over an engagement that includes wedding nuptials.
Hustle Status, Career Diversions & Parenting
The show’s other characters – each very distinct from the other – portrayed very mature and diverse career professionals – things that we read and hear from the working professionals around us. Racheal Green’s career trajectory started with serving coffee to then becoming a fashion professional – these are things that are now getting formally accepted and embraced by the working sector in India.
We see people taking breaks from their routine jobs to pursue their passion projects in teaching, learning music, pursuing theatre, shooting documentaries, taking up a baking course, and more. This is also backed by greater wealth creation in families, and higher salaries that are now allowing Indians to go off track and not live their lives from one paycheck to another.
One also sees souls like Joey, who are hopping, and hustling continuously to make a life out of a creative career. Everyone had a very different career path and that was fleshed out with humor, statistics, sarcasm, and intelligent wit – something we are gradually observing in our circles wherein not every individual is an engineer or a doctor. We are now talking about different career choices and diversions more positively today.
The show also showcased three very contrasting choices of parenting made by couples and single women – the conversations around surrogacy, adoption, co-parenting with a homosexual partner, and single motherhood were concepts that were woven very intricately into the episodes.
The show’s treatment of concepts of dating, sexual freedom, bromance, evolution of digital tools, and lifestyle choices is being loved, and absorbed and will somehow sow its seeds of cultivation in every new generation that watches the show – which is now accessible on OTT platforms at very reasonable pricing – making it even more accessible.
As Indian youth continues to embrace more contemporary, nuanced notions of work, styling, lifestyle and living; they will continue to shadow the choices shown by the show years later and also continue to identify with the six characters of the show on and off screen – the idea behind establishment of The Matthew Perry Foundation and Perry’s thoughts on leaving behind an appropriate legacy have resonated with the young Indians – who continue to seek inspiration from the forever lasting vibe the show has created for itself.