What Makes Malcolm in the Middle Different
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
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Malcolm in the Middle: Life is unfair, especially on TV.
Malcolm in the Middle remains one of the most beloved sitcoms of the early aughts. It's also really unique, and the reason it stands out is both strange and perhaps entirely predictable. We'll explain in this Wisecrack Edition on the Philosophy of Malcolm in the Middle.
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00:00 - Intro
01:18 - Malcolm in the Middle
02:59 - Domestic Situation Comedies
05:00 - Children’s TV Advertising
06:29 - Disney Channel
08:57 - Materialism
10:19 - Conclusion
Written by Amanda Scherker
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Elizabeth Yarwood
Editing by Brian M Kim
Video Title Card by Amanda Murphy
Additional Production Assistance by Matias Rubio & Michael Luxemburg
Produced by Evan Yee
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#malcolminthemiddle #wisecrack #lifeisunfair
© 2021 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming
Part of what made Malcom in the Middle so great was how well it blended comedy with serious issues. It also didn’t pretend that doing the right thing always brings rewards. Often, doing the right thing only brought hardship, but it was still the right thing to do.
Thank you 👏 👏 👏
Not being the usual comment ass; not going to trash you for having a different opinions, but, I really never liked the show. To me, it was one joke after another about 'Haha, it's funny how this family treats each other like sh*t, and how miserable their lives are'. I don't mind that now and then, but, it was kind of 3/4ths of the show's central humor. Not bashing it. Not saying 'That is a bad show', I just never really could get into it.
@@Babbleplay okay, great contribution to the discussion, you gonna copy and paste that as a reply to everyone in the comments who doesn't like the show, or did you just find the first comment you could to give you're "eh, I don't really like the show" cold, irrelevant take?
@@iisgray This was literally the very first comment under the video at time I commented.
That's exactly what I like about Scrubs too.
Malcolm in the Middle is the ultimate early 2000s time capsule.
Very true
well said
I never watched it, but seeing just 2 seconds of always screams early 2000s lighting. Very golden-orange, slight soft focus.
The Office is a pretty good time capsule for the late 2000s too.
I've said the exact same thing. It is quintessential early 2000s.
However well informed it might be, It is with a great sadness that I say must say there is too litle Malcolm in the middle discussion in a video about Malcolm in the middle.
I was thinking the same exact thing. It was a good video, but the title was a bit misleading.
Yeah I felt the same. Towards the end of the Disney segment, I had forgotten I clicked on this video bc I thought it was about Malcolm in the Middle
I really did want them to cover the Malcolm in the middle aspect with a lot more in show examples.
i know right, like half the video was about not Malcolm in the Middle.
Agree. Their analysis is more context/history
The most relatable line from Malcolm: "I expect nothing and I'm still disappointed."
Lmao poor Dewey
"They're going to pay you what all jobs pay: less than what you're worth, and just enough to keep you crawling back for more."
I am so glad you included this quote from Lois in your video. It's so painfully real. Lois has got to be the most vocally pro-labor character I've ever seen in an American tv show.
The first sitcom to truly show working class life for what it is, nothing has come close almost two decades later.
@@jujuonthatqueef5043 Thats what I love about this show it shows the reality of being middle to lower class. Instead of some pitch perfect family were money is just never a problem.
Umm did we forget that Hal lead a literal labor revolt.
@@jujuonthatqueef5043 It wasn't the first. The Honeymooners was. Also, there was Rosanne and to an extent the Simpsons.
I loved Lois. To the kids, she sounds terrifying and tyrannical, but she's that way because she has to be, because she cares so deeply for the wellbeing of her family.
I think of “Everybody Hates Chris” as a Black cousin to “Malcom In The Middle”.
I really wanted to like EHC, I love the cast, the setting and the characters, BUT I feel they were ALL so underused throughout the show and could have done so much better with even more exaggerated characters, jokes that didn't require actual scenes, and maybe even overarching stories to look forward to.
It had a LOT of potential but upon rewatching just doesnt quite land, it is so close to making it if fustrating most episodes didn't get rewrites or just some more polish to be the must watch show it seems to be...
I'm surprised they didn't bring that show up because that's exactly what I thought of
EHC was an interesting show, but it wasn’t that funny. It was more of a drama show even though it was trying to be a comedy.
I miss both shows
Great comparison
Malcolm in the Middle was such a relatable show to watch growing up.
Even to non American audiences
I thought 'Raising Hope' deserved a lot more recognition too, except I didn't like how it portrayed the Chance family as dumb. We have enough of the stereotype that working and lower middle class people are economically marginalized because they're too dumb to earn a living, make bad choices, or don't know how to manage their resources.
It hit a little too close to home sometimes though.
I love how the family is so dysfunctional like a lot of real families.
@@ab-hx8qe exactly a bit too real sometimes lol
I like the general theme of the video, but I think malcolm in the middle needs a deeper dive. A 12 minute video on it is nice, but you could probably do like 3-4 of these with all the different themes it has in it. Class and the dichotomy between it/ other sitcoms, it's take on the intersection between class and race, it's use of surreal juxtaposition of brands/ products to critique consumer culture, and the use of vulgarity to attack bourgeois morality are all really interesting bits from the show you could dive into. I like your video, I just wish there was more of it
There was a deep dive on it
th-cam.com/video/g1f3suKnAik/w-d-xo.html
I agree man. I want more deep dives into Malcolm in the middle.
I miss the recession era shows we got like The Office and Malcolm in the middle. They showed what reality is like for most average Americans. Not this Hollywood BS.
@@willhiggins9563 I was hoping someone would have already liked the Jose video!
This show also felt extremely Latin American, at least from my perspective, the family dynamics, the strong idea that family comes first, even all the screams and the way Lois behave are thing that I experience in first hand, and are really common in latin homes. I think that is the main reason it was huge in Latin America.
Yeah I noticed how big it is in Latin America. Always in TH-cam comment sections or comment sections on the former stars Instagram half the comments are in Spanish.
Well for many of us (People from Latin America) Malcolm offered another perspective from America, I mean I remember my sister dreaming with going to New York to be a fashionista, thinking that America was perfect, then I showed her the episode when Malcolm and Stewie went to the downtown by night, seeing all those beggars and the poverty in America changed her ideals forever.
My mom hates it because she thinks we will compare her to Lois, but the thing is we never have, like ever, even compared her to Lois.
She just identifies with the character and does not like what she sees, which I think is notable.
Indeed
I mean it’s still is lol. Channel 5 always would be airing Malcolm in the middle in mexico
Anyone remember watching this as a child and thinking Francis is so cool and the mom is a psycho. But now as an adult Francis is crazy and the Mom is a Saint with how these kids act.
110%
No, I still think the mom is a psycho; borderline abusive, when you think about it.
Francis was just a delinquent who matured out of said delinquency.
@@najadamu2724 that just means you're still young. Wait a couple years and rewatch them.
Disclaimer I haven't watched the show since it ended so my memory is almost certainly fuzzy on some of this details
I used to think when I was young that Lois was an insane abusive psychopath but now that I'm a bit older I wouldn't call her a saint because some of her actions, especially the way the series finale played out, were decidedly unsaintly but I can absolutely understand where she is coming from. She came from a family that was kind of useless and possibly abusive when she was young and now she is trying to keep her family together. On the other side Hal's family is insanely rich but wildly dysfunctional and seems to think Lois is beneath him and so pointedly has nothing to do with Hal when they certainly have the resources that would make a huge difference in the family's life. It is hard to raise a bunch of kids when there is no support network in place. I feel like if the boys had familial support, Francis especially, things would have been different (but there would also have been no show).
Incidentally I never cared for Francis and always thought he was a troublemaker who tended to dig himself into holes and then blame everyone else for his fuckups.
@@1313stjimmy lois isn't a saint but boy is she trying her best and at the end of a very fraid piece of rope
The entire family is equally dysfunctional, like Hal's crazy ideas and stuff
Growing up she's a monster, as an adult you realise the monster is the world they live in. Everyone is trying their best with what they have, struggling every day just to keep a roof and food
Yes she's toxic and abusive (they all are), but ultimately she does love her kids and they love her (see: Lois' birthday and the clown fight)
Tldr "life is unfair"
I'm re-watching it these days. Watching Francis at the military school is like watching a different tv show 😂
Following Francis was always a welcome side-trip, his shenanigans were always great
@@jackzhu7797 especially the ranch episodes. Otto and Gretchen are the best
As somebody who briefly went to military school, I can tell you one of the writers in that room definitely went as well.
The stories in the show are actually somewhat tame compared to the stuff that actually goes on in these places.
June 2021 here and I'm rewatching it too. Have you made it to his stint in Alaska yet?!
@@jamesmcmurray451 yes! Lavernia constantly torturing Francis is hilarious
As dysfunctional and over the top as "Malcolm in the Middle" Was, it felt more realistic than say the Cosby's or anything on Disney
Well to be fair, the Huxtables were meant to be a positive take on an upper middle class black family while MITM was meant to be a relatable take on the working class white family.
I would say The Cosby Show was relatable for its time, despite being much more of an escapist show than MITM. Both of them did their job well all things considered.
@@tariqthomas9090 Malcolm in the middle was never even exclusively about a white family. It was just about low income, hard-working large families struggling to make ends meet and dealing with shenanigans various members of the family go/put themselves through. What really made it great was that their situation and problems were relatable in general and not exclusive to just race and the like. All the while bringing situations some of us have done or dreamed of doing or imagined as kids AND adults (Hal skipping work every Friday, the slingshot, shenanigans in military school, rebelling against overbearing mother, dealing with your parent's favoritism and weird cultural traditions in Louis' case, etc.).
It was great because people CAN see themselves dealing with the truth and hardship of life like on the show and understand how unfair life is. How we tend to feel undervalued and underappreciated when we're the smartest or hardest working. How extended family may belittle and look down on you no matter how hard you try to gain their approval. And how no matter how dysfunctional your family might be, you still look out for each other and will not tolerate anyone messing with your own if you can help it. All the while maintaining the light-hearted and comedic value that makes people laugh and enjoy the show when watching.
The creator of Malcolm in the Middle based a lot of the early season stuff on his own life growing up (the joke with Hal being shaved because of his hair was based on his own father). Most of the over-the-top things people remember didn't happen until the later seasons when the studio basically pressured them to up the ante every season to keep the viewership going.
Cosbys. no apostrophe.
"Red things go with RED THINGS!"
The episode "Chad's Sleepover" made me realize that I have an issue (OCD) at a young age & simultaneously diffused thoughts about it being "not okay" when Hal show's him the dictionary (encyclopedia's?) he's filled in, because he also has it.
Talking as a foreigner and a teacher: it took me three class to explain this to my class. Consumerism in TV portrays an America that simply does not exist to the vast majority of Americans. They believe that the avarage family lives like those characters in a sitcom and that money problems only exists to a few that do not or can not work.
Huh, I didn't even think about how people from other countries would perceive it. I guess it serves two purposes: Consumer Marketing and American Propaganda. Poor kids think if they come here a run a sandwich shop things will be awesome. hahaha
@@benjaminfletcher6632 I was in Tunisia some years back, where the average person makes 8 euros a day. They thought that life in America was like American Pie and these High School movies. I was trying to explain that the movies are not an accurate reflection because even the "poor" kids in such shows and films are much richer than the majority of people. They didn't seem to get it though.
@@TheJeremyKentBGross There was a meme making the rounds in Mexico a while a go where they'd show an architectural map of Malcolm's house, and the point was that it is huge compared to poor houses in Mexico. And people would either go "Oh so they're not that poor then!" or realize that poverty in the USA is different.
@@missnoneofyourbusiness this brings up an interesting point about how bad housing has become, working class people used to still be able to afford a home, but just 20 years later a house like this is a commodity only middle and upper class can afford
I think you can also chalk the whole mantra of "if you don't go to college you're a loser" mentality back to these kind of shows, and I was on the receiving end of that even AFTER college. All I had for it was debt and no career until much, much later in life and said career isn't paying so hot.
7:26 And, to Disney's credit, it realized that a significant percentage of those girls advertised to will one day become mothers who will teach their children to aspire and consume. It's brilliant and gross, and so good for the company.
As much as I try to fight it, I got my 1yo a Pikachu pillow yesterday, despite him having no idea what a Pokémon is. It hurts, but it's so true.
And that's why boomers hate millennials, we didn't grow into good lil consumers despite everything thrown at us growing up
@@WolfgangDoW to a degree we have though, we are just more aware of our behavior, but still giving Disney, Nike, and these other brands tons and tons of our money.
As a kid, I alway found Malcolm so much more relatable than any of the flashy Disney crap. It's sad nothing similar has been done ever since.
"the middle" reminds me a bit of malcom in the middle... not only because of the name tho xD
@@Prizma69 lol
Exactly even tho the show can be very over the top it’s still more realistic than those other shows because it’s relatable
None of those Disney shows are relatable, those characters and sets feel so flashy and fake. Characters have this fake shallow personality, not well rounded people.
@@Prizma69 I do agree, it does give off a similar vibe probably cause the family actually is middle-class. The characters seem relatable and not as well Disney like.
Fav moment from the show is when Dewey says “The future’s now old man!”
i love that i immediately knew exactly what you were talking about lol
There’s always one more thing you didn’t realise was ruined by Ronald Reagan.
do you check under your bed and in your closet for ronald reagan every night as well then?
On the contrary, I consider that one of the few good things he ever did.
I just made the connection between the change in cartoons during my own growing up years and the change in laws. I was born in 1970 and looking back, it was a pretty jarring line.
@@darwinxavier3516 lol I was just thinking. Imagine if we still had those stupid restrictions
@@darwinxavier3516
Why so? Having been a child in the 70's and a teen in the 80's I found the move from TV being an actual source of learning to just another way of getting to my cash, via children, quite disgusting. Most of us didn't have cable in early 80's. Broadcast was it. So suddenly having 4 hours of heavy commercial programming beamed into your house after school made a notable difference.
As a middle class Latin American, this show was WAY more relatable to me than Disney shows.
"What makes Malcolm in the middle different?"
I don't know. Can you repeat the question?
Yes...No...Maybe?
YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME NOW!!
And you're not so big
Life is unfair
lmao!!! very clever
A subtle note is also, that dewey has a "Dinosaurs" poster over his bed. A 90's Sitcom that was strongly focused on criticizing capitalism.
Dinosaurs has anti-capitalist messages?! Now that's an interesting topic for a video. 🤔
@@mhawang8204 As a joke on all the Dinosaur merchandise and shows. Here they just call it Dinosaur as if that is the name of whatever show that was.
I just think they're neat.
@@mhawang8204 yes. The show always sees a working class dad being abused by his boss and the dinosaurs literally end because capitalists mismanage and destroy natural resources, leading to the death of all beloved Characters at the end of a children's TV show.
@@karlfranzemperorofmandefil5547 what really killed off the dinosaurs: a meteor or late stage capitalism? Lol
You know, I thought about it a bit and Everybody Hates Chris, in a lot of ways, does the same things. And also a very underrated show for it's time.
VERY underrated. I think it wasn't that popular because it's clear from the beginning that it's for and about black people in the USA, and the experiences are very specific, but then again MITM is wildly popular in Latin America where growing up is a very different experience and it still hit.
Edit: I finished watching this video, felt the urge to watch Francis singing Candy Man, stumbled across Hal singing with the Gentlemen Carers and...It means something that Hal's only friends are all black yet wealthier people, right?
Malcolm in the Middle, It's Always Sunny, Freaks and Geeks, and Everybody Hates Chris are, to me, the most realistic sitcoms.
I think it was just the placement and the timing of the show what made it underrated. I remember Malcom was being aired on Fox with the Simpsons and other shows. I don't even remember what network aired EHC.
4:19 The Nanny's designer clothing came to mind. We're constantly told she's tacky while she's wearing Chanel and Moschino and also looking bomb.
Helps that one episode reveals she has a shopping addiction
@@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254 Maybe. Although, I remember her complaining about her salary being too little but I can't remember her complaining about debt. It would make perfect sense if her credit card was up to the sky with charges and if that was the case she'd 100% be speaking about it on every oportunity. Perhaps she shoplifts O.o
Malcolm in the Middle has been of my favorite shows for years. And I agree. I don't like the upper middle class shows much. It's boring. It's like Oh no. What am I going to wear to the school dance. Instead of like....how are we going to squeak by this month. To me that's way more interesting. However, people do use TV as an escape from life. Unfortunately, people begin to believe that the escape is the reality. Or some reality to strive for even if at the time, it is not feasible.
Malcolm in the Middle was one of the most relatable shows I have ever seen, that is why it is special to me.
Malcom in the Middle felt real. It felt like a caricature of real life, while being totally spot on. It's uncanney to me how much depth the characters have and how much it feels like their problems actually existed, when I was growing up.
Unpopular opinion: Brian Cranston best role was as hal.
I agree.
@Addmix nah mah dude, Hal was a Stone cold Bad ass bar fighting and motorcicle ganga riding later tamed by lois.
Walter was a Smart by the book man that Made Bad busines desitions.
Get your Malcom in the middle lore straight son.
@Addmix there is a TV commercial that shows both Hal and walter doing illegal activities for a tv special they had on breaking bad and malcolm in the middle, but I can not remember the channel it was on
it’s a more difficult role to play i think, it doesn’t seem like it at first but there is so Many subtle nuances; his physical Humour is top tear acting. A great example is when he knocks the fire alarm of the Ceiling there is so many subtleties in his Facial expressions and how he puts the ladder back after.
You can never be too harsh on Disney, it's an empire of evil.
I also really appreciated how MITM depicted high intelligence. Malcom's IQ did not save his family from hardship, which his family expects sometimes. It also does not mean he has great impulse control, almost like he was still a kid!
I was actively discouraged from watching this show growing up in the 90s and into the 2000s. The dysfunctionality of their family was "dangerous" to my parents. My folks, rather unconsciously, seemed to worry that I would be exposed to a "toxic family ethos" that would change how I saw the world. Many years later, I realized I was allowed to watch plenty of other shows in that same genre, that simply portrayed stable working class families, rather than focusing on struggles (Home Improvement, Family Matters, or The Fresh Prince, although, certainly not working class in nature). All of these shows dealt with things like drugs, cheating on homework, lying to your parents (ethical subjects for kids), but MitM did it in a way that wasn't polished for capitalistic morality's sake. MitM was gritty and dirty and sort of gross, but that is EXACTLY what lower-middle class life is like, and my parents worked too hard to let me then turn around and consume that as media.
I love Malcolm in the Middle, but I definitely see your parents' side as well. I can see why they didn't let you watch it. So many times the boys engaged in outrageously inhumane acts, and they hardly ever learned any lessons from their consequences. That type of show can either exposed you to more toxic traits of dysfunction or just reinforce it, normalizing it instead of breaking away from it.
On the other side, it is entertainment, and it's the parents/guardian's job to teach their children the difference before they find themselves so heavily influenced that they blur entertainment and reality together. I know that, for me, Malcolm in the Middle is one of my favorite shows.
I’ve let my daughter watch gory horror movies since she was old enough to talk. When she was old enough to ask me why, I told her frankly “Because you’re a girl. And the real world can be stranger than fiction. These movies are fake, but the scenarios aren’t. Out of a 1,000 men, at least one would hurt you if given the chance. And this city has tens of thousands of men in it.”
@@kourtneyr.scruggs0988 Her future therapist thanks you.
@@pizza87760 If she does need a therapist, it won’t be for that. I taught her caution, not fear. I don’t believe in shielding my kids, because the world is gonna happen to them eventually. The sooner they’re prepared for it, the better. Because I was a grown man when the world happened to me… and I’ve never recovered. I don’t want that for mine. I want them at least aware of what awaits them when they finally jump off the porch to live on their own.
In the same vein, I talk to my son about prison a lot, because as a black male, society would feel better about him if he was behind bars. My son needs to be aware of that reality, in order to guide his walk towards avoiding situations that would lead to that reality becoming his reality. And no, it doesn’t just mean “don’t commit crimes. It also means “ don’t make white people nervous.
I don't think that the MIM family was "dysfunctional". They were just messy. The parents were realistically overwhelmed and doing the best they can. Lois' approach was overly sometimes overly harsh or borderline cruel, but she genuinely wanted the best for her children and would go to bat for them, she was trying her damnedest to make them the best possible person they could be and toughen them up for an existence that she knew was not going to be an easy ride, and did so the only way she knew how. She sometimes lacked compassion, but she was never unconcerned or disengaged. Plus, Hal and Lois had a very stable marriage and loved each other very much. A lot of the tv families labeled 'dysfunctional' aren't "dysfunctional" but just realistic. In fact, I think basically every working class tv family was labeled "dysfunctional" by the media commenting on them.
Started watching in the early 2000s in russian, continued in german and rewatched the complete series in english several times! Great childhood memories.
It took watching this for me to really appreciate the tasteful subtext of class in the US that Malcolm In The Middle had. No wonder the shock many economies are experiencing regarding the state of poverty nationally and globally is so visceral. The facade of mass media pivoted towards consumerism and the casualty was nuanced reality.
But Destiny doesn't think it's a problem that so many billionaires exist.
@@romanski5811 Scary hours.
@@khulekanimagubane9153
What do you mean by that?
Never caught the new episodes but I did watch the re-runs everyday after school. Given we're a big family, the show was def different than the others in that our lives were not exact but similar. I'll never forget the sick intro.
Ill always remember a line from the first episode of the first season.
Mom: drink your milk!
Dewey: my milk is lumpy...
Mom: then chew it!
Oh how that resonated with me
This is the wisecrack episode I never knew I needed until now
The Smurfs is a Belgian comic from 1958, the Hanna Barbera series from the 80s is the expanded product here.
Yes ! It's clearly a mistake on Wisecrack's side. The Smurfs really didn't start as a "commercial" product at all. It's a series among lots of others series of French-Belgian comic tradition, in the tracks of Tintin, Asterix, Lucky Luke, and many others.
The Smurfs' original author also wrote several series of comics in the same style with varying characters and settings (medieval adventurers, average joes in a futuristic setting, etc)
Thank you for that bit of knowledge. Never knew that.
@@Otso_66N Fer realz. A popular show with merch is not the same as product placement disguised as a show.
@@Otso_66N although less old, but don't forget Suske & Wiske! :)
“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” basically rather than establishing, reflecting, and transforming the lives/fears/ideas of the working class, the upper class establishes, reflects and transforms it's own class and the classes of others. that's why a show not only targeted at the middle class, but accurately DEPICTING and thus representing in an accurate way the interests of the working class is not only rare, but goes against the constraints of that era of television, and being subversive whether it intended to or not.
As a Marxist who loves Malcolm in the Middle, it is absolutely shocking to see this Marx quote here. Our movement is growing!
@@pjweiner8700 just discovered marx, and while i have more to learn, he explains many things.
@@pjweiner8700 excellent
@@pjweiner8700 Cringe. People's neurons generate their thoughts after reading a little Marx and suddenly think they understand the world. Marxism is a cancer.
@@dejankojic4293 i don't seriously think that we will successfully implement a post capitalist world in my life time, especially since full blown soviet Russia couldn't do that either. also any type of socialism if it does take hold, will also be marred by corruption and incompetency. however, that system would still be better than the system we have today, and thus is worth fighting for. and yes it would be ironic, considering the US was and is one of the greatest counterrevolutionary forces on this earth. i'm not sure how successful this current iteration of socialism will be, but that it can reemerge at all in the USA is a testament to the tenacity of socialism.
Finally some malc content
: *SAY MY NAME*
: H....Hal
: You're goddamn right
*K... Kid Charlemagne
Lois: *SAY MY NAME*
Hal: Lo....Lois?
Lois: *YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT*
@@mocisme Get along.
Great show. Still remember the giant firework (the Komodo 3000?) blowing up and turning the whole street to daylight for a couple seconds while they stared in at it.
This was a good show. I remember watching it when I was in middle school. I always liked how Malcom talked to the audience, breaking the fourth wall.
Yes ,no maybe I don't know
@@sagarrajan7385 Can you repeat the question?
>Are we being too hard on Disn-
No.
No.
Never. Don't you dare even imply that such a thing is possible.
lol yes please.
Wisecrack, this vid was too much about the Disney Empire, which you’ve covered, and not enough about what made MITM different, like a show within a show (Francis), Lois the Uber-Mom, and The Tao of Dewey!
"have we been to hard on Disne" "No"
No such thing as being too hard on that horrible company.
The world absolutely needs more shows like Malcolm. Smart and not selling bs
What I also love about the show is that even when Malcolm dreams about having a rich, intelligent family, that ideal usually comes crashing down when the few intelligent or rich characters he does meet are either isolated assholes or pretty abusive control freaks (the best example of this being the episode about Hal's rich family and how they treat Lois) making Malcolm in the end feel that much closer with his family, cause even when the times get tough because of their class position and they bicker with eachother a lot, they still have eachothers back.
Just got my siblings into this, Im 15 and watched this showed tons of times over and over for the past 5 years, I relate to it so much it's astonishing and hate that I never hear much on it anymore
Grew up as lower-middle class American suburban kid in the 90's-00's, two parent household, and youngest of four brothers; so I always found "Malcolm in the Middle" the most relatable TV show I ever watched.
Greeting from Bulgaria,
This show was one of the best things in my childhood...
Very interesting and amazing video, never thought about it. It specially makes sense since here in México Malcon in the Middle is one (if not) the most popular sit com
Thank you so much for doing a video on this show! I grew up with it and (at the time) strongly related to Malcolm. I rewatched the show recently and it holds up extremely well and rings so much more true than most other sitcoms.
Also it had a banging sound track.
Maybe this is why Malcolm is really big in México, it has been airing on open TV for maaany years now
Guys on the internet: "Wow girls like some really dumb crap, why don't they have taste?"
Also guys on the internet: "Wow transformers and TNMT are so cool!"
Old marketing/sales execs on the internet: "Heh"
Yes, Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles
i have every tmnt movie even the new ones and bad cgi ones so its been working for 30 years
Dewey was the best, loved the episode where he makes friends with the old lady
Remember when he got put into special ed for Malcolm's fault and he just wanted to help out every neglected kid stuck there? The show was never cheesey, all the characters were flawed, but they acknowledged how screwed up the lives of people around them were and empathized with the struggle.
Does anyone remember that episode of Hey Arnold that first introduces Lila as this perfect girl, only to find out her dad lost his job at some point, they basically have no money, and are down to a single can of beans (that he ate for lunch). That episode hit hard.
i friggin love malcom in the middle i would always get my hopes up when i saw the middle on the channel guide but it was this beautiful gem, 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Yeah it was always some other weird show that no one loves!
I'm surprised there was no mention at all of Married with Children in this video. It's the closest comparison to MitM and was a big inspiration for the show.
Good point. Forgot about that one.
I'm firmly convinced that this show is the best thing to ever happen to TV comedy. Its social commentary is on point
Malcolm in the middle, Everybody hates Chris and George Lopez were great shows about a working class family
While I grew up in a middle class family, my family had much more in common with Malcolms family. We still had our struggles during the economical downturns in Europe.
I have a few personal 10/10 shows and movies and this is one of them. Such a good show, loved it through and through. Also, if there's a Hall of Fame of TV-moms, Lois is an obvious member
This video barely even talks about Malcolm in the middle 10:19 lol
'We just have to hold on a little bit longer'. This.
I grew up working class in the UK and this show showed me a reflection of what it was like at the time. We struggled most of the time, other times we caught a break and things were fine for a bit. I was lucky enough to be able to go to university and my life has only just started to get better from that baseline existence. It sounds like empty promises to some people and that leads them to giving up.
Keep going.
We just have to hold on a little bit longer.
Great video! I'm giving it a few more rewatches.
There’s been some good videos about this show coming out recently, I hope it acquires the legacy that Friends and Seinfeld have.
A lot of us related to Malcom: smart awkward kid trying to hide intelligence to pretend he is cool. It's not like I was a supergenious like him, but I remember feeling ashamed of being good at math and even failed some exams on purpose just so my friends (specially girls) don't believe I was big nerd lol
Thanks Wisecrack, great as always. We should start teaching this in our schools!!
MOTM needs a full podcast
Wouldn't this apply to Married with Children too? I always thought Bryan Cranston's performance was a big reason for the show's success.
This just reminded me that I need to re-watch that entire series
Amazing and very informative video! Initially I clicked cause I love Malcolm in the Middle so much, but it ended up giving me some great information, especially with me being a Marketing major.
“The time is now old man”
I was literally dust.
Raising Hope is a good "sitcom with people that aren't rich" as well, and has some of the cast of Earl, which is also in this vibe.
My absolute favorite show of all time. One of those shows I can just put on any episode.
Married With Children was also about the struggles of a lower middle class family and started way back in 1987.
There's a few things that makes Malcom in the Middle special to people. I am not even from the US (I am from England) and the show pretty much sums up my family when I was growing up during the 80's and 90's. That's how relatable Malcom in the Middle is. Then there's the fact that there's no canned laughter. The show relied purely on the skill of the writing and this is hard to do which is why most sitcoms rely on a canned laughter soundtrack. Then there's the nostalgia factor ofc. The early 2000's seems like a golden age compared to today. The last 15 years or so has been nothing but doom and gloom e.g. war, economic stagnation, culture wars, identity politics, a steep decline in living standards, stagnation in culture itself as can be seen with the music/movies, social media poisoning everything etc. Malcom in the Middle takes us back to a time before Western civilisation fell off the cliff.
"Today in Wisecrack: Malcom in the Middle....so disney is washing our brains to buy shit"
I really liked the video, but you gotta admit less than 50% was about MIM 😂
You deserve way more views. Always great content 👌
I loved this show. I saw my family in Malcolm's family and in their situations. And we could relate to everything they would go through. Growing up, thus was the one show that really brought us all together. I also saw it in Spanish since that was all we had available while I was growing up. I was a lower class family.
Malcolm in the middle is one of my favorite shows ever. Everything about it was perfect and it was a great part of my childhood
When I got older I did realize what made the show different and popular and I loved it more because of it
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Smurfs were comic books firsts, they were adapted for television.
God Damnit! Now I have to watch the series all over again with that in mind! I think you guys just found out why I love this series so much.
That is one part. This show has resonated hard with countries, third world countries, far from America too.
The trope of the scary mother, the aloof father, siblings love-hate relationship and the sheer brilliance of the scripts in which all of Malcolm's family are both heroes and villains (depending on the episode) made it so the show resonated with a lot of people.
Here we have a non-virtuous family getting in and out of the cruelest and dumbest of situations due to their faults and somehow surviving all of it. A single episode presents Malcolm's family with more misery than most other shows in Disney's channel had through their entire lifespan. It's comforting to see because you realize there's more people other than you going through all kinds of trouble.
Come on, be real, the dream of owning a wood-chipper came from Fargo.
"We're not here to demonize advertising" (youtube adertisement comes up on monitized video) "we just think it's a little weird." I don't think it's weird at all. It's part of life.
I think that line was specifically about lifestyle advertising to children.
I was going to go into advertising as an art director but something didn't feel quite right after doing some projects, my job was an art director and you think that art is generally some representation of life, well art in advertising is a representation of a distorted consumer reality. I could not bring myself to use my creativity for such purposes because it clearly felt like it would kill my creative drive in its entirety in only a few years. Doing it in school was fine but the stuff does real damage when its let in to the world.
Advertising has it's place, people always will want to buy things and to do that they must know about things but a lot of the job is psychological masking to sell a shit product to somebody who said product isn't going to actually help. Some products are good, some are bad, but both the good and the bad are portrayed if they're the answer to everything, the 'best ads' elicit powerful emotional responses like art does. One project I worked on was for a shitty fast food hot dog brand yet my job was to make them seem irresistible, but again at a fundamental level the hot dog chain was shit. This disconnect is rife, like when Advertising agencies used to sell cigs/tobacco they knew would kill people.
The Advertising industry should be demonized and critiqued until it's more honest, but a lot of the executives working in the industry are just sleazy and do not have the slightest care about the morality of what they sell. It's entirely about helping your client sell as much as possible through absolutely any means necessary short of breaking the law like most corporates settings.
They truly work you like a dog and it seems toxicity work habits are encouraged become normalized culture, one agency I was talking too before I graduated held it like a badge of honor that one of their interns was so 'driven' to work for them that they drove up to the city they were in an slept in their car (for shitty minimum wage) until they got a full time job. Shits dystopian, that's not something to brag about, not being able to even help the people that work for you at the ground floor, if they had decided they didn't need the intern that person would have been entirely fucked.
So yeah, please demonize advertising it needs to be even if it is a necessary evil. Sorry for the paragraph rant on a TH-cam comment lmao.
@@Sam-iu8nb it was. Advertisement reaches all areas of life. I was a kid. I remember the exact advertisement he's talking about.
A tiny little correction: 'The Smurfs' was originally a comic (in Belgium), the toys, movies and animated series came from that.
Thanks for this vid really needed a dose of happiness
Honestly such a great show, you can rewatch every episode and notice new jokes. Except the last few seasons when it’s all about how Malcolm is horrible person, but still great
I loved the Malcom references in wandavision 😊
I love how the first shot of the show in this video is from an episode I literally watched about an hour ago, it would have been airing on my TV about the same time as this video went up
Malcolm in the middle is to this day, still a masterpiece
Best goddam show ever made !
I'm going to comment FIRST! You're not the boss of me now!
As someone who grew up upper middle class I never could relate to the struggles of the family. But I did find it funny for the sort of off-beat, nihilistic humor it implied. A staple of my childhood to be sure.
Michael awesome video but i gotta ask: where is your accent from? Are you from Chicago?
Malcom in the middle was great in that the characters felt like they were going through real struggles and situations families could relate to and feel like they were trudging through situatuons they might find themselves in....it doesnt sugar coat some of the the ideas of american daily lives and even introduces some ideas that regardless of intelligence such as malcom, there will always be societal and class structures that will make it harder for someone like malcom to earn higher and more acclaim despite his enviornment and situations....the show also likes to subvert peoples moral expectations of the show often depicting and letting situations play out which allowed viewers to get a more subversive view of the world and see how actions carry weight sometimes...it tells it real and it doesnt try to pull some punches sometimes.... and makes it humorous in how the peoples situations and decisions often have a cascading effect on the rest of the characters....instead of living their own lives....everybody hates chris was great at presenting these situations as well....smart, undervalued kid in a community where everyone is trying to survive and thrive often stepping on each other to make it to the top
This stupid vid was BARELY focused on Malcolm in the Middle
This show was so similar to how I grew up and it felt great to see it on tv. I would love for there to be more. The Middle was like this too
I hear Brian Cranston is working on a reboot. Malcolm in the Middle sounds like a good campaign slogan for someone named Malcolm who is running for office.