A Girl Who's Trying

An SDSU Senior Child Development major who's trying to get by in life with her internal monologue as her trusty sidekick and a knack for Broadway Musical knowledge and memorizing lyrics. Runs her own Minecraft realm but is always too busy to play. I'll be here all night, folks.

[marathenerd]

If Seth Macfarlane doesn’t take over for Hugh Jackman in the Music Man revival for at least a short run, I’m suing

[marathenerd]

The Thing About The Good Place

is that it presents itself as a cute, quirky, playful comedy about the afterlife that’s actually deeper than one would expect at first glance. The show goes into the deep end on what would qualify someone as “good” vs “bad.” The pure definitions of the terms vs. the raw reality of privilege, big business’ outcomes in society, and child development. Along with this, The Good Place also tackles the concept of soulmates and what each member of Team Cockroach represents in terms of morality.

Privilege is concept that Michael Schur definitely did not overlook in the process of determining how one could be considered a good person and the overall message of the show in regards to Team Cockroach and Michael trying to change how the whole system works. People of lower socioeconomic status are probably more likely to eat foods, shop brands, etc.,  that are unethically sourced. Due to this, they are earn less points due to the negative affects that supporting the brand will cause, even if it’s not intentional of them. Even eating a candy bar might lead to negative points due to potentially supporting child workers, etc. People of higher socioeconomic status will be able to afford organic products and brands that are of higher quality and status due to paying workers well or made in the United States, vegan, not animal tested, etc. This concept is related to the one of Big Business and its effects in society. Also of course, privilege in general might lead to the less of a possibility of committing a crime, effects in mental health, etc. Privilege as a concept in the show also relates to how the characters view themselves as belonging or not belonging in The Good Place. Chidi and Tahani grew up in well off homes. They thought they belonged in The Good Place, while Eleanor and Jason knew they did not belong because of they stuff they have done/resorted to, which stemmed from not having certain privileges in life and its effects on their mental health.

Big Business, aka Capitalism, is a big topic in The Good Place, as discussed in season 3. As mentioned in the show, people used to go to The Good Place until about roughly 500 years ago(?). Now these days, as The Judge learned, society is too complicated. There are now too many negative effects for doing literally anything. I do believe this is why Mindy St. Claire did actually go to The Medium Place. I always thought it was weird that in 500 years, Mindy was the considered the best person. I mean realistically there should be more people probably. Anyway, I do believe that Mindy got into The Medium Place because she lived enough to do the really good deed, but died before the negative effects hit, causing those effects to hit the person (her sister? I forgot who) who took over and actually started the foundation in Mindy’s name.

Child Development and the concept of secure attachment and resilience is important in the show. Eleanor’s parents clearly did not know how to interact with children in a healthy fashion. They hated each other, forgot about Eleanor’s existence many times, and eventually got a divorce. Alcohol was constant in the home and Eleanor had to support for herself mentally and financially, resulting in her emancipation. Jason lived a rough life as well. His father, Donkey Doug, treated him like a boi rather than his son. This resulted in a weird father-son relationship that was not healthy for his development, especially of maturity and life aspirations. Jacksonville is… Jacksonville. Gang life was obviously a normal part of his childhood, as well as crime, in order to make a living.

In regards of the concept of soulmates, Michael, pairs Eleanor and Chidi along with Tahani and Jason. In the show, each person cannot stand the person they are paired with. Michael confirms later in the season 4 that soulmates, if they exist, are not found, but made. In every reboot, Eleanor and Chidi’s relationship grows as they study ethics. They, along with Tahani and Jason, are almost opposites. As described by the Youtube channel The Take, all four characters represent four main things that make up a well-rounded, moral person. Chidi is described as The Conscious, the little voices in our heads trying to decide on what’s the most ethical and moral decision we could do. He is constantly missing The Will to do so, which describes Eleanor. As leader of the group, she has The Will to make decisions on the spot and effectively help her team move forward. Throughout the show, she tries to learn how to make conscious decisions, which she lacked, through Chidi. Tahani represents Kindness on a Community Scale, which is why she’s all for the good of helping society in a large matter, like her donations, galas, and doing her best to always cheer up the neighborhood. Jason represents Kindness on a Personal Scale, which is how he cared for Janet on a personal level that no one showed her when she rebooted for the first time. He also showed this same care to Tahani whenever she was in need. What Tahani lacked in personal kindness, Jason came forward with his expertise, and vice versa.

I just really like this show, okay?

Side note, I really appreciate that Eleanor noticed and told Chidi that him trying to save his parents’ marriage through a lecture was not something to be celebrated and was not healthy. Good stuff.