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The Take by ScreenPrism Hey Can you do a vid about how tv shows meeting up places and changed with the times? Before it was just the living room, then turned into bars/restaurants and i swear the 90s was all about the coffee house. from cheers to fraisier and then friends.
I knew there would be a comment like your because IT'S TRUE! Who can say he's not living his life just the way he wanted to? No one got to know him outside the cafe, maybe he does have a happy life in his own way...
@Michael Freed, Friends was about people in their late 20s to their late 30s. You really should change a lot in that age range in all avenues. Gunther had zero growth as a character that was the same age as the other characters. The Takes, take is correct. He is a cautionary character.
I really think we as a society shouldn't be so hard on people who find a simple life (like serving coffee) fulfilling. A good, well run coffee house is a blessing. Gunther's shop is well run, clean, consistent, welcoming and comforting. There is a reason the Friends keep going there. Gunther is doing good work. We shouldn't assume he is unfulfilled (well, except about Rachel). Rachel wasn't fulfilled and she was terrible at it as a result. Clearly, that is not the case with Gunther. Cheers to Gunther. You and people like you deserve more respect.
Yeah, if I ran a small business and said business was appreciated enough to attract a bunch of regulars and be consistently full of customers, I’d be pretty ecstatic. It means your establishment is LIKED. Does ScreenPrism know how hard it is to be genuinely liked in this world?? Hell, I get super excited whenever someone wants to buy something I’m selling online, because it means they like my taste and chose to spend their money on it.
@@hollywoodshopaholic One of my jobs is basically trying to help struggling bars succeed. Having regulars is a great thing! Especially in a city where you can be replaced within two months. He had a coffee shop in the East Village that lasted over a decade and became a centralized institution. He should be damn proud
Way to miss the point there. The tragedy of Gunther is not that he finds a simple life fulfilling and people are beating up on him because of that. No, the problem is that he is very clearly UNFULFILLED with what he has. It's easy to tell that Gunther is someone who has very little zest for life left in him, and it's not just about Rachel. He doesn't demonstrate any joy or self-confidence, which is something fulfilled people have in abundance. The problem is not his external achievements, it's his internal attitude towards life. He obviously wants more than what he has but he lets fear, inertia, self-doubt or whatever else it might be get in the way of pursuing what HE HIMSELF wants, not what society thinks he should want. He COULD be fulfilled with what he has, but he's obvously not, because HE wants more, but he doesn't go after it.
@@nerdstuff1294 I was taking issue with the section where they claimed he was unfulfilled professionally- we really don't have any evidence for that, and the implication that a simple life is inherently unfulfilling and a life serving coffee is synonymous with failure is insultingly incorrect. I said "except for Rachel" because the show did make it clear he was unfulfilled romantically because of her.
Maybe he doesn't realize what he has? He runs a successful business, owns an apartment, is cute, has interesting stories to tell, but he keeps wanting other people's lives. Also, can we stop demeaning servers? We all drink their coffee but we see them as "unfulfilled" and sad.
Yeah I was a waitress for a bit and loved it. You get to wear a cute apron and interact with all kinds of people. Also, who doesn’t love being surrounded by good food (and getting free meals in the process)?? If you take your profession seriously, there is nothing shameful about any occupation or position.
@@hollywoodshopaholic I've never been a waitress but it seems like a tough job. I respect them a lot. Like you said, it's a respectable job, I hate when people think less of anyone who works hard.
but... aren't we all Gunther in some way? i see myself more in him then in any of the friends. he is a realistic depiction of... people living a comfortable and simple life.
We are aren't Gunther in MANY ways...this platitude has become so trite and condescending...I'm over it. Not to say that being like him is bad it's just who's to say his life sucks?
I'm not, i like to step out of my comfort zone and aim for bigger things, sure its scary at first but it did pay off for me and now i have the life i actually wanted, if i didn't do anything about it i'd still be in my room, living with my parents playing video games
@Oh Absolutely Not! What kind of argument is it? It's like saying "oh, youre a millionaire? But you could be a billionaire, so youre not rich". Also, not everyone wants to get married and we dont know if he has friends or not.
@Oh Absolutely Not! we should celebrate mediocrity. Cause that's what most of us are. Dream big, but don't think anyone can become a billionaire. Be thankfull and humple. And be nicer to people who worked hard for a normal life, you sound like you are very young and still don't know how hard life really is.
I think the character of Gunther serves to embody the viewer's underlying annoyance with the friends and take them down notch on our behalf. These are 6 attractive people who are largely oblivious to those outside their adorable little circle. Gunther is there to say "it's not always about you guys". In one episode we see that he doesn't even have Joey and Chandler's names right.
Also the episode where they walk in stunned to see that a different group of friends is sitting in their spot lol. It was a very clever way of reminding us that a group of friends wouldn’t always happen to get the spot the like in a coffee shop every time, the world does not revolve around them
Gunther may have a relationship problem, but all this thing about careers and being miserable because he didn't search a career is just ridiculous, he may very well be very happy with his life, with still a barrier when it comes to intimate love relationships.
@@fcv4616 That's because you only see the perspective that serves the story that the writers are telling. If you see a character only thru one lens, you never realize (or capture, in this case) their actual, human complexity...
He does seem unhappy with life, but he doesn't seem unfulfilled by his job specifically. He's depicted as dedicated to his role as manager and the service he provides. At least he cares way more than Rachel or Joey did.
Agreed, he is the manager. You could argue he's more successful than Joey, who never recovers his career after being killed off Days of Our Lives, and spends most of the series sponging off Chandler, or Phoebe, who seems happy doing lower status work than managing a coffee shop.
Gunther isn’t about what happens is you don’t take risks he’s a story of what happens if those risks don’t succeed. Gunther is stable in everything he has done. While the friends have very high highs they also have very low lows so while the friends may have risen above where they started they also had to suffer to get there. Also it’s suggested from many episodes that Gunther has other friends and family but his interactions with the friends don’t put him in a place where he can become one of the friends. The same way the friends aren’t that close with people from work. They have the same relationship with Gunther. He probably has a friends like relationship with his own friends. For me Gunther isn’t a tale about putting yourself out there it’s a story about being so self centred you can’t see anyone else. Gunther is interesting but none of the friends find this out. If they stoped to talk to him they’d see how interesting he actually is. Gunther isn’t always afraid to try and be a friend it’s just he’s been rejected so many times it’s not worth getting hurt again. He’s not resentful of their friendship relationship or jobs - he has a job he is happy with etc. He’s resentful of how they treat him. He’s only a human sofa to the friends because they are the only people that treat him like a human sofa. I agree with what he represents-the opposites of the friends. But honestly i don’t think he’s upset with his life. Gunther isn’t one of the friends he’s one of the audience. Always observing the scenes but never a part of them. Gunther isn’t suppose to scare us he’s supposed ground us in reality. Maybe we could quit or ask that girl out but it might not work out. Gunther is us and things don’t always work out for us. Gunther has to go to work rather than just seemingly never going like the friends. Gunther doesn’t see HIS friends every day. Because that’s how things are for everyday people, people that aren’t the friends, people like us. TLDR Gunther isn’t sad. Gunther is reality (for better or worse).The friends are distant to Gunther. Gunther is the audience.
Exactly! When i saw this title i thought that this will be an analysis of how often people in everyday life, tend to focus on themselves and their cliques rather than open up to get to know someone else. So i'm kinda disappointed. And also i think Gunther have really cool job. He's the manager of very popular coffee place. I worked as a barista for a few years and i loved it.
Kevin thanks for your opinion. I probably am projecting but the joy of an audience stand in is we can think about what we’d do if we were Gunther You for example might make more of an effort to talk to the friends I might not Others might start by talking to a single friend ie joey and try to get into the group that way I tried to remain subjective as I was giving an analysis but everyone is going to think differently about Gunther based on what they’d do in his situation.
Ewa Borawska that was one of things that inspired the comment. Both Monica and Gunther are high up in food/drink service industry.(at there respective locations). Because we see Monica’s struggles and how hard she works to get prompted etc she seems to progress more but we don’t see that for Gunther. He could have been promoted (at central perk)and we never knew or he could have a second job (cause affording a New York City apartment as a barista is unlikely) that is more “interesting”. The friends seem great cause it’s their story but to others they are the Gunthers of peoples lives. People that eat at Monica’s restaurant likely treat her the same way the friends treat Gunther. We are the friends of our own lives but the Gunther of someone else’s life. I think a professional analysis of the friends self centred nature and a look at the benefits and losses of risk life style (friends) vs mediated life style (Gunther) both would be interesting to see but neither were what I got in this video.
C’mon Ross is a victim of disappointment. He got cheated by his lesbian wife for seven years. That’s how a man behave if he’s trying to put everything behind the past and trying to start a new relationship. He’s a good caring friend in many ways possible except the part of committing to a relationship
This is a classist take. Gunther never said he didn't like his job at the coffee house. There's nothing wrong with working there all your life. He probably loves it.
With him hiring and firing people, I always thought Gunther was either a manager or the owner. Either way, working in a coffee shop, steady work and living in NYC? He's more put together than the main characters....and far less whiny!
You took the words right out of my mouth! Gunther has his sh*t together... which I guess (based on this take of him) seems weird compared to the chaotic-ness of the Friends 🤷♀️
Not all people can be aspirational. In fact, many in the world don't go anywhere. But it doesn't make them tragic or deprive their lives of purpose. The smallest thing, pouring coffee, holds significant purpose. I understand this analysis as seen through the lens of the show (young adults make it and find love!), but please, this is not reflective of authentic living.
Agreed! For all we know he used to have a fun group of friends out of work. Plus, chandler is technically in the same boat as gunther. He hates his job in the first few seasons and only stays for the money. Its not till the end of the show that he goes into advertisement.
Yea yea...this video talks all about how gunter's job and life was a failure...but who said he hated his job? I mean we don't know what he wanted or liked?
@@LaurenRauh no..but no one knows what was happening in Gunther's mind...just the love that he had for rachel..that's it..yea he complained about his pay and hours but..he was just being gunther...like they said a little bit bitter. maybe he actually liked his job..
@@LaurenRauh yea I mean i get the point of the video and l liked it but..i didn't like that they protayed gunther like just a sad patethic guy I mean I would like to think he had good qualities or good things in his life i think lol
I feel like I should point out- there's nothing wrong with staying at a job that pays the bills, even if youre not ~passionate~ about it. There are ways to be fulfilled with your life outside of your professional sphere
I means that’s basically what chandler does right? He stays at his data processing job or whatever and uses the money to help support joey and in a savings account. It’s only until the job makes him spend a ridiculous amount of time away from Monica that he quits and finds something else.
I'd just like to point out that Pheobe was not ambitious either.. and did not really end up anywhere from the beginning of the series to the end professionally, besides working as a massage therapist. She did get married, to someone rich. And Joey, whose professional career had ups and downs, continued at the end of the series, to have ups and down. And in the end, he didn't end up with someone - he remained single - just like in the beginning of the series. So are not Pheobe and Joey subject to the same perspective of this "stagnation" that Gunther represents?
No because throughout Phoebe maintains a general optimism about life and so does Joey. Gunther on the other hand has a sunken look on him most of the time. He doesn't come across as fulfilled, mostly bored and resentful. He doesn't value what he has and that's the big difference
@@lolavedette7566how do Phoebe and Joey manage to continue being optimistic? Why do they continue to be optimistic when they could easily become more negative like Gunther?
Did you ever think his bitterness towards the friends was because or the way they treated him? Gunther's story is that of the popular kids in school actively snubbing the uncool ones, it just takes place in an adult environment.
I'll just point that we see him hire and fire people without refering to anyone, closing early if he wants to, ... So Gunther probably owns the place. I'll agree with the other parts, but professionally, he's pretty successful, he's an imigrate which, in he's 20's, owns a popular coffee in the center of Manathan.
But the owner’s name is actually Terry, he appeared in two episodes in season 1 and 2 . He was quite old though, he could leave the perk to Gunther but I doubt that. He is just a manager and that’s why he can hire and fire people
Beatriz Zacharias Yeah. Same here. Wouldn’t call myself ‚repressed and resentful‘ though. Not everyone wants to be in the limelight or have the stress of a ‚career‘. I‘m quite happy being in the background and working a steady, unexciting job *shrugs*
Lauren Webster I commented in more detail but the reason we relate to Gunther is cause he is the stand in for the audience. He’s always on the outside watching but never a part of the scenes. He is reality while the friends can quit there jobs and things work out the reality is that things don’t always work out and you can get stuck somewhere because it’s safe hence Gunther’s situation. We relate to Gunther because that’s the point of his character
Didn't Gunther own the coffee shop? I much prefer his life to the drama of the Friends. His biggest flaw was obsessing over a self centered, vapid girl because she was pretty. He could have matured over his superficial attraction to her and his life would be great! I would love owning and running a coffee shop in NYC and owning an apartment there. Plus, he seems to have already lived the "exciting" yet less stable part of life. He was on a famous soap opera on tv! What adventures and trials did he have to put himself through to get such a tv role, be able to have his own business and own an apartment in such a city, to be able to live a comfortable stable life at his age. He only had to work on his romantic life and expectations.
Itd be cool to see a spinoff of a younger Gunther living life as an actor on the soap opera and learning to open a business and getting an apartment along with all the relationship struggles he had along the way.
I went back to a customer service job after being laid off from a "more respectable" office job, and I lost weight, am happier, and after one year already make almost as much as I did after years at that "better" job. I hate the attitude that a job that looks more impressive to other people means you're somehow a more together person. It's like feeling bad for Peter at the end of Office Space.
I love this comment. Thank u so much for writing it. I don’t want a job that’s high stress, high responsibility because it’s very hard on my mental health. But ppl around me don’t understand that because they expect everyone to have a respectable job, office job, high paying. I just want low stress in my life.
@@WickedKnightAlbel he is manager. He is also serving as well because they don't have many people working there. 3 or so at a time. He probably gets servers wage. $4 hr for servers wage isn't bad. He probably makes fairly good tips.
I’m seeing a fair amount of division in these comments; most appear to either identify with the video or dismiss the premise, but maybe that division is indicative of something bigger. Gunther illustrates how a stable/unchanging life can be good or bad, depending on your personal needs and perspective. If your needs don’t change, maybe you don’t feel the desire to change either. While I think it was a stretch to correlate his unchanging job to his unchanging relationships, not all people are risk-takers, and there can be opportunities to move upwards within your current sphere. The main thing is that you have to WANT to move up.
Absolutely correct things are never constant in this universe they always change.....its our decision or rather our choice to try to maintain the status quo or do something else.
I find the video somewhat unfair on Gunther. The only thing you could redress Gunther on is his infactuation with Rachel, who from a distance you could say isn't worth the time, but I suppose we're all guilty of pining over someone at somepoint, the show writers took it as a running gag so it went on for ten years. This video sticks with his problem with her for half of it but also points him out as an eg of not following your dreams. As for moving up what does that even mean, He's a coffee shop manager, what next district manager for starbucks or restarting acting. He's made out to be Dutch a largely reserved people, was he born to dutch parents in the states or did he move to the states (he still speaks the lingo) he acted then moved on from that probably worked the coffee shop then becoming manager, does he own it? In anycase 3 lives lived already, he runs a cafe 10 mins from central park, how many nowadays want to do such a thing. Besides only two of the friends fulfill their dreams Ross and Monica, one gets tenure the other has her resto, Rachel wanted to get married and live happily ever after and got stuck working in a job as she puts it 'sorta related to what their interested in' and learns to love it, Joey is still struggling Chandler I can't remember did he find a new job, and Phoebe well Phoebe is Phoebe. Anyhoo screenprism/vox/buzzfeed/school of life have this dangerous way of peddling the idea of following your dream, as if you can't be happy in the job you're in and constructing happiness from that foundation.
@@fromtheothersidee111 person within a group - 'see a stranger, it's up to them to come forward' stranger outside the group 'it's up to the group to open up' I dislike those tests as if everything was straight forward, as for mental health, although being cerebral beings not everything is a mental health issue. eg The shy person I think has less of a 'mental health' issue than the guy that steps into the middle of the group and interupts people when talking, however keeping to yourself is seen as a problem. Anyhoo if sigmund freud had a hard time with the human psyche and is currently being doubted I don't think we'll do any better in a comments section of a friends rehash ;-)
@@fromtheothersidee111 One could point out he was successful before any of them even became adults :-D also he aint that shy he sticks to his job and stumbles around rachel sorta, but sticks his head in and says something when he wants but stays discreet.
You know what's sadder than Gunther's life? Leaving a job in Paris behind to be with a guy you have a toxic relationship with and barely respects you... :v
It gets me everytime when Gunther finally reveals his true feelings to Rachel in The Last One lol. The way how they were all super oblivious for a decade was perfect
I know, at least Ross put himself out there, with a little "help" from Chandler! As noted, if Gunther had been upfront about his true feelings for Rachel earlier on, she might have still turned him down, but he could have saved himself a lot of heartache and pain, and just moved on.
This is a very ellistist video.. this is not because you don't have a fancy job that you are not happy with it! also not evry single person in the world can "just if they take the risk" and become a director or a stylist this is not how life works. Gunther is not perfect this is true but since he his a background character unfortunately we can't know what his passions and hobbies are or who is real love interest is since in 10 seasons he had realtionships and friends ect
@Aaron Ploof Interesting,so if i,let's say want to be the emperor-president of the alpha-centauri galaxy how would i go about achieving that? Oh to be young and naive...
Poor Gunther, he always struck as a strong contender for the role of the "seventh Friend", at least before Mike came along. I never thought too much how he acts as a foil to many of the main Friends, and how he represents what could have happened to them if they hadn't "embraced the fear" that comes with heading into the unknown. Instead, he stays in the background, never pursuing advancement in his career or a long lasting relationship. I always felt that there was a more interesting character behind what we saw of him, but none of the "Friends" ever seem to acknowledge him, and see him as a prop of sorts. We can learn a lot from Gunther Central Perk, and push ourselves out there!😃
@TK Wallace If you have a strong friends or family you can “embrace the fear" so easy. Maybe Gunter haven't this people in his life and must pay medicines, food, place to live... I don't know if you knew about concept of to born with a silver spoon and opportunities. No everyone have the equal life and environment. Or he is happy of his life and have more time an enghout money that if he was a killer CEO for example.
"We shouldn't feel superior to the Gunthers in our lives" *spends entire video criticizing Gunther* Quitting a job and "embracing the fear" is something reserved for people who have money to fall back on. Not everyone has the financial luxury to take risks, you know? And it's such a limited mindset to think that your job defines your success as a person. People are forced to work to live, but it's what they choose do with their free time that shows who they really are. Gunther seems pretty okay with his life, so why are we comparing him to other people? Clearly, he doesn't want to be exactly like them or he'd make different choices.
I quit a toxic job to open a store, and due to the covid the business is losing money. In foresight, everyone told me i shouldn’t have taken the risk. Just stick with the job i hate till it killed me
I disagree. I always figured Gunther owned the coffee shop and enjoys his job. I think he actually likes being in the service industry and being with people. He is a far more interesting person than the show allows him to be. And that's just because he is only framed through the perspective of a bunch of admittedly very self-centred people. Like when the Friends didnt even know Phoebe had a roommate. Basically they can't see beyond their own little bubble and only perceive people as important insofar as they serve their own agenda. All the friends are toxic people - ESPECIALLY Ross and Rachel and their relationship with each other. If anything Gunther is a warning against pining after solipsistic and selfish people who refuse to see anyone outside their immediate circle as actual people.
So true! They see themselves as superior to Gunther. Thats why in 10 seasons they never even give him the oportunity to show himself (nevertheless be a Friend)
My love for this channel keeps me from giving a thumbs down. I’m so sorry but this essay feels privileged. I would love to have Gunther’s life-more realistic than the FRIENDS’ successes.
I had a very crippling drug habit but still have more ambition than Gunther. I'm now working in a beergarden until I get back on my feet, and when i succeed, THINGS WILL BE BETTER THAN GUNTHERS LIFE. As they say in the video, Work Hard, Push Yourself, Stay Humble - at least i'm achieving these character trait right now.
Gunther is a small business owner and owns residential property in central NYC. Saying that his job must be unfulfilling to him is a bit demeaning to people who are happy in those jobs. Romance is a different department but the job one is kinda BS.
People also can be fulfilled in life without a relationship as well. Can we stop talking down to single people as losers? Given that half of marriages end in divorce, there's slim evidence that married people are winning at life or are happier or have their shit more together.
@@moonlily1 Human beings weren’t made to be alone, though. We’re biologically driven to want the security of a partner and kids. (Exceptions to the rule exist, of course)
@@ohwellwhateverrNot being in a romantic relationship doesn't mean you're alone. Being in a romantic relationship doesn't believe that you have security. And I have no idea in what way kids provide security. If anything, they decrease it.
Where Julie got her replacement Ross in the guy Rachel dated in Russ maybe there should be a replacement Rachel for Gunther maybe a Racquel as Paulo would say xxx
Owning a business/ being manager of a coffee shop isn't bad. He works hard - he deserves respect for that. Not everyone has to be ambitious or go down the career route. Phoebe is "only" a masseuse and she still finds a way to be fulfilled. I think Gunther's bigger issues stem from his relationship issues.
sure the guy is embittered toward Ross, I mean who isn't that guy is an ass, but that doesn't make him 'the cautionary tale' to anything other than his pining after Rachel. How do we, the audience, know that Gunther is anywhere other than where he wants to be in his life? We often look down upon people who work service industry and retail jobs like that must not be what the want in life and we're better than them for shooting for what we dream, but a lot of people really do enjoy service industry jobs. "Lifers" is used as a derogatory, like it's somehow terrible to want to make management at a Target or McDonalds. Maybe Gunther wants to be a coffee shop manager. Maybe he enjoys making coffee and helping people and meeting people. It's not necessarily a stepping stone in his life that he got stuck on.
All of them are asses, Phoebe is manipulative, careless and disregards how her actions affect others. She thinks she is better than the other friends and constantly undermines Ross, Chandler and his relationship with Monica. Joey thinks he is God's gift to women and is a selfish, ungrateful, dim-witted, chronically unemployed man child who frequently mooches of Chandler. He is arrogant and puts down people, in particular Ross and Chandler in terms of women and keeps obsessing about sleeping with his female friends. Rachel is a self-absorbed, callous, whiny, irresponsible, vindictive, self-centred, incompetent women who wants people to do things she wants for her but rarely goes out of her line to help someone or be a good friend compared to the others. She would go to lengths to get what she wants when it's not in her place to and does not care how her actions affect others. She did this behaviour with Ross, Tag and Joey when she liked them. Monica is shrill, overly-loud and controlling but still decent. Chandler is good for the most part except with the excessive sarcasm and jokes which can at times be hurtful.
I know, and call me selfish...but I kind of want more Gunther analysis now. Maybe that's just because his character felt like he was missing so much though, in which case, this video sums everything up.
Whose to say that he didn't have a fulfilling life without having to take risks. I think of Mike from dirty jobs where we meet people who have very odd jobs. Some of them took these jobs knowing that they didn't like it BUT they were able to work on passion projects and hobbies that they liked. I think Gunther probably did that.
But we don't know that, because the show never shows that, only his bitterness, his infatuation for Rachel and his envy towards Ross. He might as well simply have been that.
Don't try to make mask it to make it easier for you. Risks are more than necessary, life is hard, most things aren't just given to you, you have to fight for what you want. Improving requieres you to be consistent and brave, there's no way around it.
@@honeynmilk00 what I'm arguing is that this was putting a guy down that we dont know. We only see part of him because these people aren't talking to him. I myself take lots of risks, but I also have friends who are living the Gunther life and they're happy with it. I saw this video as sticking a nose at my grandmother and no, I'm not accepting. I also want to point out that we don't know anything about him because these are so selfish that all they can are themselves, friends and their family. They don't talk to anyone else and we watched how long it took to get a person of color in the group.
@@fcv4616 and I wish the writers had focused on making him a more developed character than what I've seen in clips. I'm going to be honest. When friends was on in the 90's, I hated it because these people seemed selfish, they weren't aware of anything else outside their bubble and after seeing clips, I'm finding I was right. At least with Living Single, the friends did talk to other people and were looking out for each other.
I might be the only person in the World who found Friends mediocre (depending on the episode), but Gunther was the only character who seemed to authentically personify the nineties.
Personally i feel Rachel never knew that she was selfish to the core.A privileged childhood stunted her growth and she always felt like the world revolved around her. Taking advantage of gunthers infatuation with her,being unaware(for couple of seasons) of what monica did for her when she ran away and treating joey and ross as options instead of human beings. And leaving someone at the altar is the worst thing possible
I dunno - personally, I think I'd rather be left at the altar than have to file for divorce instead of going on my honeymoon - and then having to fight to not share the marital assets... Maybe I'd feel differently if either had ever happened to me.
Barry hooked up with one of her bridesmaids on their honeymoon. I doubt he was all that distraught by her runaway bride act. He was probably thinking of doing the same thing himself.
Varun Mehra Everything you said is true but Rachel doesn't owe Gunther anything. The Heart Wants What It Wants. You either feel it or you don't. And this coming from a man. Most men are bitter and jealous of these things. I have a full understanding of this.
@@cellardoor199991 you are absolutely correct but rachel never really considered him not even in the role of friend.Gunther never really fired her even when she was sabotaging his business with her terrible waitressing,he bought her expensive cat and even gave a job to joey on her request.Meanwhile she had a whole thing with joey and his unique brand of sexism
This sounds extremely condescending and seems entitled of you guys from "The Take by Screen Prism" he can be happy just as he is .Some times you make it in the career you studied sometimes you don't he has steady job and an apartment in New York in my book he is successful enough.
Exactly. I think these folks are purporting that because he hasn't become a core part of the group...he's not good enough to be a "Friend" apparently, he's a failure. I don't care if this isn't what this video is trying to say but it sure is heavily implied.
@@Sab_MJsMama Exactly , he might have a close group of friends that treat him with respect he deserves aside from the "Friends" .He was infatuated with horrible bratty Rachael and understand why he wanted to belong but Ross dealed with a lot of shit with her in the long turn he got a better deal.
doesn't seem like he is happy as he is; desperate for rachel's attention suggesting struggles in his love life, and he just never seems as happy to do his job as the friends do, who go out of their comfort zones to find a job they love
I find this highly offensive to people in the service industry. Gunther seems to love his job and he does it well. Calling him stagnant and looking down on him for not "progressing" is judgemental.
This is a really unhealthy message to interpret, especially in the wake of actor Geoffrey Owens being shamed for working at Trader Joe’s. He said in an interview that once this story goes away, he hopes what people will get from it is that no one kind of job is better than another. Whether your title is CEO, teacher, cashier, it’s all work. And that every job has value. When you doubt an individual’s ambition simply because they work at a coffee shop, you’re really telling on yourself about your own insecurities.
I agree completely with you on this. I always loved working, and no matter which job I had I gave it my best. When I was single, I was a paralegal, and very good at it. Then I married a farmer, moved away from the city and left my job as a paralegal. A few years later I was asked, by the restaurant in our local village, if I would be willing to help them out when they had a rush on. They needed someone to help with dish-washing and busing tables because there was a huge construction crew in the area working on a new bridge over the river. So I took the job to help them out, and I gave it my best. Once the bridge was finished being constructed, which took about 6 months, the restaurant wasn't nearly as busy, so I told the owner that I would be leaving as there really wasn't anything for me to do. The wait staff could take care of my chores at that point. The owner said he was sad to see me go because in the 6 months that I was washing dishes I only broke 1 cup, never lost any cutlery, and was always so polite to the customers. Sometimes I even waited on tables when the wait staff were overwhelmed. I was very flattered that he'd noticed how well I did my job, and I felt proud. Why wouldn't I? No job is demeaning or menial. It's people's attitudes that are demeaning.
1:20 - "But while the Friends go on to fulfill their greater potential..." Cue clips of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler and Monica working at their careers and *Phoebe getting married* Is getting married fulfilling your greater potential? I'm not saying that marriage can't be a rich and fulfilling experience, but while Chandler and Monica got married, the emphasis here in the video is put on the fact that they were climbing career ladders. Phoebe, however, was content with her work as a massage therapist, and did not strive to climb a career ladder (and fell in love with Mike, a guy with first-hand experience of how pursuing a high-powered career can leave you feeling hollow and unfulfilled anyway). So is this part of the video implying that she instead fulfilled her 'greater potential' by getting married? I think Phoebe is the exception to the argument made about careers in this video, which 1:20 inadvertently highlights. And personally speaking, I always found Phoebe to be the most interesting character of the group. Not everyone in life finds a way to monetize their passions, but that doesn't make them unfulfilled as people.
I think it's possibly because Phoebe had had the worst childhood and it showed her becoming a stable woman with a husband and (probably) kids later on with Mike.
Ok I don’t know if its just me but I never really thought Gunther wanted to be a part of their friend group! I mean clearly he was in love with Rachel and he seemed flattered when he thought Ross wanted him to join but he seemed to despise most of the friends excluding Rachel.
Gunther’s an example of someone who’s perfectly content with living a simple life and isn’t trying to reach for the stars. I mean he’s got it good. He runs his own business and makes steady income, he owns his own apartment, I’m sure anyone who hasn’t achieved their lifelong dreams would like to be in Gunther’s position. His shortcomings stem more from his inability to be more open and make more connections with people. I mean we don’t really know too much about him. In that respect he’s a cautionary tale of making your move too late on a girl you like because you’re afraid of being more sociable.
I’m betting Gunther owns the coffee shop. A well educated trust fund kid who opens a coffee shop in NY. Doesn’t want people to know he is the owner because he wants real friends. He is not repressed he doesn’t hide himself and the friends characters all are a mess of humanity and can’t see Gunther other than a coffee boy.
Chris Reiser he doesn’t own it, actually in early episodes they show someone who was above Gunther, Terry. In the first Thanksgiving Episode, season 1. Rachel needed extra money to go skiing with her family and she asks Terry for an advance of her salary and he denies it. He doesn’t show up again much. But he’s clearly above Gunther so either the owner or manager
Carolina Millan Gunther didn’t want to go and since he owns Central Perk told his employee to give him an excuse. Nothing better than seeing what the Friends group does when presented with the issue. I’m guessing they all went and it never crossed anyone’s mind to cover him at all. Or include him in something he could afford that’s what real Friends would have done.
Most ppl don't put themselves out there because they've already tried many times and got burnt too much. U just have to be around ppl that ur comfortable with, make you laugh, have things in common with. Forcing it wont work. Even the most social ppl can feel out of place too sometimes.
On the other hand, he has been running a very successful coffee shop business for over a decade. That has to count for something. Just because we don't get to see his personal life doesn't mean he is a cautionary tale.
Sometimes we need a friend like Gunther who is always there in our place no matter whatever changes in life , how much old we get. He will be there for you when it has been your days, months, 10 years 😀
When it comes to Rachel, not being passionate about your job is no excuse for being bad at it. She's lucky that Gunther is in love with her, otherwise she would have been fired on her first week. And deciding to be bad at it is being entitled.
Maybe the job is enough for Gunther? We should appreciate the people who do the menial jobs that serve us. Being emotionally stunted isn't good though.
Honestly great video; one "but": "Through Ross we can see our crush becoming this great love story" >>> EXCEPT, Ross and Rachel's relationship is probably one of the worst examples of how to handle a relationship EVER.
Though his obsession with rachel is rather creepy (and i would have loved to see him grow with a good relationship), i really hated how mean they sometimes were towards him. He would have been a great persona to incorperate more. Also, having a successful coffe house in NYC with very regular customers, is something to be proud of. Thats such a competetive place; you could be replaced within months.
Exactly! Taking risks doesn't guarantee success. Most of the Friend's successes happen through coincidence. Monica worked in that shitty cafe until a billionaire had a crush on her and threw her dream job at her.
When I started watching Friends and realized that I identified with Gunther so heavily, it was a real wake-up call that I needed to put myself out there and take more risks. This video does an awesome job underscoring his character's symbolism and the tragedy of Gunther. Very well done.
Yeah or maybe leaving the service industry is a PRIVILEGE shared by those able to afford college and that the actual living standards and lifestyles represented in friends are wholly unrealistic to their job descriptions.
The blind spot of this video is that without Gunther's work, resolve and consistency, none of the Friends would have been friends or had the personal and professional growth and stories they had. He and his coffee shop are the reason and conduit for everything. So, in a way, he's the most important character and the unsung hero.
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Why did you guys change your name just curious
The Take by ScreenPrism
Hey
Can you do a vid about how tv shows meeting up places and changed with the times?
Before it was just the living room, then turned into bars/restaurants and i swear the 90s was all about the coffee house. from cheers to fraisier and then friends.
Can you do Patrick Melrose?
Will you do Sex and the city next, there is still no video for Charlotte and Samantha, and i want a video for Mike the 7th friend
Parks and rec characters pls
My man Gunther was just tryna sell coffee and live his life and he gets attacked like this
like same
Ikr?
@Michael Freed and Gunter see the others 6 more cools. Is like the comic man of the big bang theory.
I knew there would be a comment like your because IT'S TRUE! Who can say he's not living his life just the way he wanted to? No one got to know him outside the cafe, maybe he does have a happy life in his own way...
@Michael Freed, Friends was about people in their late 20s to their late 30s. You really should change a lot in that age range in all avenues. Gunther had zero growth as a character that was the same age as the other characters. The Takes, take is correct. He is a cautionary character.
I really think we as a society shouldn't be so hard on people who find a simple life (like serving coffee) fulfilling. A good, well run coffee house is a blessing. Gunther's shop is well run, clean, consistent, welcoming and comforting. There is a reason the Friends keep going there.
Gunther is doing good work. We shouldn't assume he is unfulfilled (well, except about Rachel). Rachel wasn't fulfilled and she was terrible at it as a result. Clearly, that is not the case with Gunther.
Cheers to Gunther. You and people like you deserve more respect.
Yeah, if I ran a small business and said business was appreciated enough to attract a bunch of regulars and be consistently full of customers, I’d be pretty ecstatic. It means your establishment is LIKED. Does ScreenPrism know how hard it is to be genuinely liked in this world??
Hell, I get super excited whenever someone wants to buy something I’m selling online, because it means they like my taste and chose to spend their money on it.
@@hollywoodshopaholic One of my jobs is basically trying to help struggling bars succeed. Having regulars is a great thing! Especially in a city where you can be replaced within two months. He had a coffee shop in the East Village that lasted over a decade and became a centralized institution. He should be damn proud
Yes and thank you.
Way to miss the point there. The tragedy of Gunther is not that he finds a simple life fulfilling and people are beating up on him because of that. No, the problem is that he is very clearly UNFULFILLED with what he has. It's easy to tell that Gunther is someone who has very little zest for life left in him, and it's not just about Rachel. He doesn't demonstrate any joy or self-confidence, which is something fulfilled people have in abundance. The problem is not his external achievements, it's his internal attitude towards life. He obviously wants more than what he has but he lets fear, inertia, self-doubt or whatever else it might be get in the way of pursuing what HE HIMSELF wants, not what society thinks he should want. He COULD be fulfilled with what he has, but he's obvously not, because HE wants more, but he doesn't go after it.
@@nerdstuff1294 I was taking issue with the section where they claimed he was unfulfilled professionally- we really don't have any evidence for that, and the implication that a simple life is inherently unfulfilling and a life serving coffee is synonymous with failure is insultingly incorrect.
I said "except for Rachel" because the show did make it clear he was unfulfilled romantically because of her.
Steady job, lives in NY, owns his appartment. I wish I had Gunther's life.
Yes, at least Gunther has that going for him. But he's so afraid of seeking something more that he's stuck in a rut, with no sign of change.
He doesn't just have a job, he owns the business.
@@trinaq Despite his obsession with Rachel, maybe he likes working in a coffee shop...?
@@@sannh wait, no. the owner of the central perk is Terry
and also the boss.. I've always assumed he owned Central Perk..
Maybe he doesn't realize what he has? He runs a successful business, owns an apartment, is cute, has interesting stories to tell, but he keeps wanting other people's lives. Also, can we stop demeaning servers? We all drink their coffee but we see them as "unfulfilled" and sad.
Sadae Sparda thank you! Ross is so whiny and annoying; tbh Racheal would’ve been better off with Gunther
Yeah I was a waitress for a bit and loved it. You get to wear a cute apron and interact with all kinds of people. Also, who doesn’t love being surrounded by good food (and getting free meals in the process)??
If you take your profession seriously, there is nothing shameful about any occupation or position.
@@EarmuffChick Ross is the worst.
@@hollywoodshopaholic I've never been a waitress but it seems like a tough job. I respect them a lot. Like you said, it's a respectable job, I hate when people think less of anyone who works hard.
@@EarmuffChick or anyone else for that matter 😅🤷♀️
but... aren't we all Gunther in some way? i see myself more in him then in any of the friends. he is a realistic depiction of... people living a comfortable and simple life.
We are aren't Gunther in MANY ways...this platitude has become so trite and condescending...I'm over it. Not to say that being like him is bad it's just who's to say his life sucks?
I'm not, i like to step out of my comfort zone and aim for bigger things, sure its scary at first but it did pay off for me and now i have the life i actually wanted, if i didn't do anything about it i'd still be in my room, living with my parents playing video games
Wait, so running a successful coffee shop in the East Village for over a decade is a bad thing?
@Oh Absolutely Not! What kind of argument is it? It's like saying "oh, youre a millionaire? But you could be a billionaire, so youre not rich". Also, not everyone wants to get married and we dont know if he has friends or not.
Except Gunther doesn't own the shop. He's only a manager who makes below minimum wage before tips.
He said in one eps that he makes 4 dollars an hour.
But he doesn’t own the shop, he makes $4.00 an hour, he’s not improving his life he’s just at a standstill and he isn’t happy
@Oh Absolutely Not! we should celebrate mediocrity. Cause that's what most of us are. Dream big, but don't think anyone can become a billionaire. Be thankfull and humple. And be nicer to people who worked hard for a normal life, you sound like you are very young and still don't know how hard life really is.
I think the character of Gunther serves to embody the viewer's underlying annoyance with the friends and take them down notch on our behalf. These are 6 attractive people who are largely oblivious to those outside their adorable little circle. Gunther is there to say "it's not always about you guys". In one episode we see that he doesn't even have Joey and Chandler's names right.
Haha agreed
Also the episode where they walk in stunned to see that a different group of friends is sitting in their spot lol. It was a very clever way of reminding us that a group of friends wouldn’t always happen to get the spot the like in a coffee shop every time, the world does not revolve around them
Except Gunther never actually really says this most of the time.
Tacoma98 - *EXACTLY!!!!* 👏💯💯💯
@@ilovenycsomuch i like to believe the theory that gunther put up the "reserved" sign on that table for the gang so he could stare at rachel.
Gunther may have a relationship problem, but all this thing about careers and being miserable because he didn't search a career is just ridiculous, he may very well be very happy with his life, with still a barrier when it comes to intimate love relationships.
@@Babemovac He doesn't seem to be very happy with his life though. Throughout the series he is portrayed as apathetic, bitter and jealous.
@@fcv4616 That's because you only see the perspective that serves the story that the writers are telling. If you see a character only thru one lens, you never realize (or capture, in this case) their actual, human complexity...
He does seem unhappy with life, but he doesn't seem unfulfilled by his job specifically. He's depicted as dedicated to his role as manager and the service he provides. At least he cares way more than Rachel or Joey did.
Agreed, he is the manager. You could argue he's more successful than Joey, who never recovers his career after being killed off Days of Our Lives, and spends most of the series sponging off Chandler, or Phoebe, who seems happy doing lower status work than managing a coffee shop.
Thank you! I was thinking the same thing!
Gunther isn’t about what happens is you don’t take risks he’s a story of what happens if those risks don’t succeed.
Gunther is stable in everything he has done.
While the friends have very high highs they also have very low lows so while the friends may have risen above where they started they also had to suffer to get there.
Also it’s suggested from many episodes that Gunther has other friends and family but his interactions with the friends don’t put him in a place where he can become one of the friends. The same way the friends aren’t that close with people from work. They have the same relationship with Gunther. He probably has a friends like relationship with his own friends.
For me Gunther isn’t a tale about putting yourself out there it’s a story about being so self centred you can’t see anyone else.
Gunther is interesting but none of the friends find this out.
If they stoped to talk to him they’d see how interesting he actually is.
Gunther isn’t always afraid to try and be a friend it’s just he’s been rejected so many times it’s not worth getting hurt again.
He’s not resentful of their friendship relationship or jobs - he has a job he is happy with etc. He’s resentful of how they treat him. He’s only a human sofa to the friends because they are the only people that treat him like a human sofa.
I agree with what he represents-the opposites of the friends. But honestly i don’t think he’s upset with his life.
Gunther isn’t one of the friends he’s one of the audience. Always observing the scenes but never a part of them.
Gunther isn’t suppose to scare us he’s supposed ground us in reality. Maybe we could quit or ask that girl out but it might not work out.
Gunther is us and things don’t always work out for us.
Gunther has to go to work rather than just seemingly never going like the friends. Gunther doesn’t see HIS friends every day. Because that’s how things are for everyday people, people that aren’t the friends, people like us.
TLDR Gunther isn’t sad. Gunther is reality (for better or worse).The friends are distant to Gunther. Gunther is the audience.
THIS THIS THIS!!!! Agree 100%, you made some eye opening points
This is true! very smart analysis:
Exactly! When i saw this title i thought that this will be an analysis of how often people in everyday life, tend to focus on themselves and their cliques rather than open up to get to know someone else. So i'm kinda disappointed. And also i think Gunther have really cool job. He's the manager of very popular coffee place. I worked as a barista for a few years and i loved it.
Kevin thanks for your opinion.
I probably am projecting but the joy of an audience stand in is we can think about what we’d do if we were Gunther
You for example might make more of an effort to talk to the friends
I might not
Others might start by talking to a single friend ie joey and try to get into the group that way
I tried to remain subjective as I was giving an analysis but everyone is going to think differently about Gunther based on what they’d do in his situation.
Ewa Borawska that was one of things that inspired the comment. Both Monica and Gunther are high up in food/drink service industry.(at there respective locations). Because we see Monica’s struggles and how hard she works to get prompted etc she seems to progress more but we don’t see that for Gunther. He could have been promoted (at central perk)and we never knew or he could have a second job (cause affording a New York City apartment as a barista is unlikely) that is more “interesting”. The friends seem great cause it’s their story but to others they are the Gunthers of peoples lives. People that eat at Monica’s restaurant likely treat her the same way the friends treat Gunther.
We are the friends of our own lives but the Gunther of someone else’s life.
I think a professional analysis of the friends self centred nature and a look at the benefits and losses of risk life style (friends) vs mediated life style (Gunther) both would be interesting to see but neither were what I got in this video.
Ross is his own cautionary tale on romantic relationships, particularly with his 3 divorces.
Yep. Step one: say the correct name at your wedding!
Ross is even more of a cautionary tale than Gunther. Ross is a crybaby with entitlement issues.
Technically I guess his romance with Rachel is a redemption arch
“Ross the divorce force”
C’mon Ross is a victim of disappointment. He got cheated by his lesbian wife for seven years. That’s how a man behave if he’s trying to put everything behind the past and trying to start a new relationship. He’s a good caring friend in many ways possible except the part of committing to a relationship
This is a classist take. Gunther never said he didn't like his job at the coffee house. There's nothing wrong with working there all your life. He probably loves it.
he only makes $4 an hour so I doubt it
With him hiring and firing people, I always thought Gunther was either a manager or the owner. Either way, working in a coffee shop, steady work and living in NYC? He's more put together than the main characters....and far less whiny!
Exactly
You took the words right out of my mouth! Gunther has his sh*t together... which I guess (based on this take of him) seems weird compared to the chaotic-ness of the Friends 🤷♀️
Not all people can be aspirational. In fact, many in the world don't go anywhere. But it doesn't make them tragic or deprive their lives of purpose. The smallest thing, pouring coffee, holds significant purpose. I understand this analysis as seen through the lens of the show (young adults make it and find love!), but please, this is not reflective of authentic living.
Thank you.
Agreed! For all we know he used to have a fun group of friends out of work. Plus, chandler is technically in the same boat as gunther. He hates his job in the first few seasons and only stays for the money. Its not till the end of the show that he goes into advertisement.
Well said. Gunther has a depth to him too, whereas the Friends characters don't. I think that's why I never much liked the show.
Thank you!
I feel personally attacked by this video
honestly same. it's kinda scary i identify with this that much.
Same I don't like it.
Aww you poor thing
Why?🤷♀️
Same. It hurts and at the same time it scares me
Yea yea...this video talks all about how gunter's job and life was a failure...but who said he hated his job? I mean we don't know what he wanted or liked?
Rogerina the Skywalker dogga not that there’s anything wrong with working at a coffee shop but I feel like I everyone has bigger dreams then that
@@LaurenRauh no..but no one knows what was happening in Gunther's mind...just the love that he had for rachel..that's it..yea he complained about his pay and hours but..he was just being gunther...like they said a little bit bitter. maybe he actually liked his job..
Rogerina the Skywalker dogga that’s true he had an apartment in New York and steady job so maybe he was satisfied with that
@@LaurenRauh yea I mean i get the point of the video and l liked it but..i didn't like that they protayed gunther like just a sad patethic guy I mean I would like to think he had good qualities or good things in his life i think lol
Rogerina the Skywalker dogga yeah I’d actually like to think Gunther has a wild life we don’t know about actually.
Counterpoint: The Friends were awful to him, other people can put themselves out there too.
I feel like I should point out- there's nothing wrong with staying at a job that pays the bills, even if youre not ~passionate~ about it. There are ways to be fulfilled with your life outside of your professional sphere
I means that’s basically what chandler does right? He stays at his data processing job or whatever and uses the money to help support joey and in a savings account. It’s only until the job makes him spend a ridiculous amount of time away from Monica that he quits and finds something else.
I'd just like to point out that Pheobe was not ambitious either.. and did not really end up anywhere from the beginning of the series to the end professionally, besides working as a massage therapist.
She did get married, to someone rich. And Joey, whose professional career had ups and downs, continued at the end of the series, to have ups and down. And in the end, he didn't end up with someone - he remained single - just like in the beginning of the series.
So are not Pheobe and Joey subject to the same perspective of this "stagnation" that Gunther represents?
No because throughout Phoebe maintains a general optimism about life and so does Joey. Gunther on the other hand has a sunken look on him most of the time. He doesn't come across as fulfilled, mostly bored and resentful. He doesn't value what he has and that's the big difference
Phoebe & Joey both took a shot at their romantic interests WAY earlier than Gunther.
@@CarlosFlores-xb3gxwhich romantic interests are you referring to?
@@lolavedette7566how do Phoebe and Joey manage to continue being optimistic? Why do they continue to be optimistic when they could easily become more negative like Gunther?
Did you ever think his bitterness towards the friends was because or the way they treated him? Gunther's story is that of the popular kids in school actively snubbing the uncool ones, it just takes place in an adult environment.
He is the show's obsessed fanboy.
I'll just point that we see him hire and fire people without refering to anyone, closing early if he wants to, ... So Gunther probably owns the place. I'll agree with the other parts, but professionally, he's pretty successful, he's an imigrate which, in he's 20's, owns a popular coffee in the center of Manathan.
But the owner’s name is actually Terry, he appeared in two episodes in season 1 and 2 . He was quite old though, he could leave the perk to Gunther but I doubt that. He is just a manager and that’s why he can hire and fire people
I actually always assumed he owned it. But even managing a successful business in NYC is a great position
wait he was the same age as the group? i always thought he was much older
The video was both interesting and a punch in the gut cause I share a good amount of personality traits with Gunther. Oh well.
Beatriz Zacharias I think we all do :(
Beatriz Zacharias
Yeah. Same here. Wouldn’t call myself ‚repressed and resentful‘ though. Not everyone wants to be in the limelight or have the stress of a ‚career‘.
I‘m quite happy being in the background and working a steady, unexciting job *shrugs*
It’s something you can change and work on whatever traits it is.
Me, too. :/
Lauren Webster I commented in more detail but the reason we relate to Gunther is cause he is the stand in for the audience. He’s always on the outside watching but never a part of the scenes. He is reality while the friends can quit there jobs and things work out the reality is that things don’t always work out and you can get stuck somewhere because it’s safe hence Gunther’s situation.
We relate to Gunther because that’s the point of his character
Didn't Gunther own the coffee shop? I much prefer his life to the drama of the Friends. His biggest flaw was obsessing over a self centered, vapid girl because she was pretty. He could have matured over his superficial attraction to her and his life would be great! I would love owning and running a coffee shop in NYC and owning an apartment there. Plus, he seems to have already lived the "exciting" yet less stable part of life. He was on a famous soap opera on tv! What adventures and trials did he have to put himself through to get such a tv role, be able to have his own business and own an apartment in such a city, to be able to live a comfortable stable life at his age. He only had to work on his romantic life and expectations.
elines acevedo THIS comment
Itd be cool to see a spinoff of a younger Gunther living life as an actor on the soap opera and learning to open a business and getting an apartment along with all the relationship struggles he had along the way.
He was the manager, not the owner. He made 4 dollars an hour.
But wasn’t that similar to Ross? The Rachel part. He liked her cause she was pretty, then feelings.
I went back to a customer service job after being laid off from a "more respectable" office job, and I lost weight, am happier, and after one year already make almost as much as I did after years at that "better" job. I hate the attitude that a job that looks more impressive to other people means you're somehow a more together person. It's like feeling bad for Peter at the end of Office Space.
I read recently that status is more important than money or even happiness for some people, esp where work is concerned.
Yup. Notice how miserable chandler is in his job. He stays only for the money
@@chocolatemilkhotel96 But he wanted to do marketing. Btw I LOVE your profile pic! :)
Yep, I would rather have a stress-free job where I can leave my work at work.
I love this comment. Thank u so much for writing it. I don’t want a job that’s high stress, high responsibility because it’s very hard on my mental health. But ppl around me don’t understand that because they expect everyone to have a respectable job, office job, high paying. I just want low stress in my life.
I always thought Gunther owned the coffee shop. That place was always busy. Gunther is probably rich.
The owner it's an old man named Terry
@@vanferuli3 i thought his name is Jerry because Rachel called him Jerry the jerk?
I bet he did buy it eventually.
He literally said in the video "I make $4 an hour"
@@WickedKnightAlbel he is manager. He is also serving as well because they don't have many people working there. 3 or so at a time. He probably gets servers wage. $4 hr for servers wage isn't bad. He probably makes fairly good tips.
Kind of a snobbish take on Gunther's job.
I’m seeing a fair amount of division in these comments; most appear to either identify with the video or dismiss the premise, but maybe that division is indicative of something bigger. Gunther illustrates how a stable/unchanging life can be good or bad, depending on your personal needs and perspective. If your needs don’t change, maybe you don’t feel the desire to change either. While I think it was a stretch to correlate his unchanging job to his unchanging relationships, not all people are risk-takers, and there can be opportunities to move upwards within your current sphere. The main thing is that you have to WANT to move up.
Absolutely correct things are never constant in this universe they always change.....its our decision or rather our choice to try to maintain the status quo or do something else.
I find the video somewhat unfair on Gunther. The only thing you could redress Gunther on is his infactuation with Rachel, who from a distance you could say isn't worth the time, but I suppose we're all guilty of pining over someone at somepoint, the show writers took it as a running gag so it went on for ten years. This video sticks with his problem with her for half of it but also points him out as an eg of not following your dreams. As for moving up what does that even mean, He's a coffee shop manager, what next district manager for starbucks or restarting acting. He's made out to be Dutch a largely reserved people, was he born to dutch parents in the states or did he move to the states (he still speaks the lingo) he acted then moved on from that probably worked the coffee shop then becoming manager, does he own it? In anycase 3 lives lived already, he runs a cafe 10 mins from central park, how many nowadays want to do such a thing. Besides only two of the friends fulfill their dreams Ross and Monica, one gets tenure the other has her resto, Rachel wanted to get married and live happily ever after and got stuck working in a job as she puts it 'sorta related to what their interested in' and learns to love it, Joey is still struggling Chandler I can't remember did he find a new job, and Phoebe well Phoebe is Phoebe. Anyhoo screenprism/vox/buzzfeed/school of life have this dangerous way of peddling the idea of following your dream, as if you can't be happy in the job you're in and constructing happiness from that foundation.
@@fromtheothersidee111 person within a group - 'see a stranger, it's up to them to come forward' stranger outside the group 'it's up to the group to open up' I dislike those tests as if everything was straight forward, as for mental health, although being cerebral beings not everything is a mental health issue. eg The shy person I think has less of a 'mental health' issue than the guy that steps into the middle of the group and interupts people when talking, however keeping to yourself is seen as a problem. Anyhoo if sigmund freud had a hard time with the human psyche and is currently being doubted I don't think we'll do any better in a comments section of a friends rehash ;-)
@@fromtheothersidee111 One could point out he was successful before any of them even became adults :-D also he aint that shy he sticks to his job and stumbles around rachel sorta, but sticks his head in and says something when he wants but stays discreet.
Some people are so used to limiting their dreams, due to early life experience, that the habit sticks. For life.
At least he tells his crush that he loves them. Not a lot of people do it. Early or late, he still did it. I like Gunther.
I actually love Gunter's life: steady, quiet and so private and mysterious. Not every person needs to be a hustler.
You know what's sadder than Gunther's life? Leaving a job in Paris behind to be with a guy you have a toxic relationship with and barely respects you... :v
damn right
Daaaammmmnnn 😳
in all honesty i rlly think Ross might change his ways this time (10 yrs ago lol) around
He changed a lot but daaamn louis vuitton. Rachel is someone i dont want to be
oof thats so true lmaooo ended Roschel shippers
It gets me everytime when Gunther finally reveals his true feelings to Rachel in The Last One lol. The way how they were all super oblivious for a decade was perfect
I know, at least Ross put himself out there, with a little "help" from Chandler! As noted, if Gunther had been upfront about his true feelings for Rachel earlier on, she might have still turned him down, but he could have saved himself a lot of heartache and pain, and just moved on.
I think Gunther is either the manager or the owner of the coffee shop. Which is actually impressive and something to look up to.
He's the manager and he made 4$ per hour.
This was quite condecending
This is a very ellistist video.. this is not because you don't have a fancy job that you are not happy with it! also not evry single person in the world can "just if they take the risk" and become a director or a stylist this is not how life works. Gunther is not perfect this is true but since he his a background character unfortunately we can't know what his passions and hobbies are or who is real love interest is since in 10 seasons he had realtionships and friends ect
@Aaron Ploof you must be young
@Aaron Ploof Interesting,so if i,let's say want to be the emperor-president of the alpha-centauri galaxy how would i go about achieving that? Oh to be young and naive...
WTF are you talking about? Gunther is a successful business owner. He "launched" before the show started.
Sarah H what? gunther doesnt own the coffee house
@@iona3404 true
Gunther is the definition of what I call contentment. Some people don't want to reach for the stars. Some of us are quite happy gazing up at them.
Poor Gunther, he always struck as a strong contender for the role of the "seventh Friend", at least before Mike came along. I never thought too much how he acts as a foil to many of the main Friends, and how he represents what could have happened to them if they hadn't "embraced the fear" that comes with heading into the unknown. Instead, he stays in the background, never pursuing advancement in his career or a long lasting relationship.
I always felt that there was a more interesting character behind what we saw of him, but none of the "Friends" ever seem to acknowledge him, and see him as a prop of sorts. We can learn a lot from Gunther Central Perk, and push ourselves out there!😃
@TK Wallace interesting story
@TK Wallace If you have a strong friends or family you can “embrace the fear" so easy. Maybe Gunter haven't this people in his life and must pay medicines, food, place to live... I don't know if you knew about concept of to born with a silver spoon and opportunities. No everyone have the equal life and environment. Or he is happy of his life and have more time an enghout money that if he was a killer CEO for example.
@TK Wallace and “scared" sound to me like an anxiety problem or other mental issues.
are you serious an entire video about Gunther? the greatest character in the English canon!??!!? THANK YOUUUU
"We shouldn't feel superior to the Gunthers in our lives"
*spends entire video criticizing Gunther*
Quitting a job and "embracing the fear" is something reserved for people who have money to fall back on. Not everyone has the financial luxury to take risks, you know? And it's such a limited mindset to think that your job defines your success as a person. People are forced to work to live, but it's what they choose do with their free time that shows who they really are.
Gunther seems pretty okay with his life, so why are we comparing him to other people? Clearly, he doesn't want to be exactly like them or he'd make different choices.
Also he is probably only jealous of the group's friendship, not their lives. He is not downright miserable because he is not a Ross.
I quit a toxic job to open a store, and due to the covid the business is losing money.
In foresight, everyone told me i shouldn’t have taken the risk. Just stick with the job i hate till it killed me
I disagree. I always figured Gunther owned the coffee shop and enjoys his job. I think he actually likes being in the service industry and being with people. He is a far more interesting person than the show allows him to be. And that's just because he is only framed through the perspective of a bunch of admittedly very self-centred people. Like when the Friends didnt even know Phoebe had a roommate. Basically they can't see beyond their own little bubble and only perceive people as important insofar as they serve their own agenda.
All the friends are toxic people - ESPECIALLY Ross and Rachel and their relationship with each other.
If anything Gunther is a warning against pining after solipsistic and selfish people who refuse to see anyone outside their immediate circle as actual people.
Exactly!!
So true! They see themselves as superior to Gunther. Thats why in 10 seasons they never even give him the oportunity to show himself (nevertheless be a Friend)
My love for this channel keeps me from giving a thumbs down. I’m so sorry but this essay feels privileged. I would love to have Gunther’s life-more realistic than the FRIENDS’ successes.
After the recession, I bet many people are envious of Gunther's career.
Hey, Gunther is a stand-up guy. He's not sentenced to prison or has a crippling drug habit. Hardly a cautionary tale
I had a very crippling drug habit but still have more ambition than Gunther. I'm now working in a beergarden until I get back on my feet, and when i succeed, THINGS WILL BE BETTER THAN GUNTHERS LIFE. As they say in the video, Work Hard, Push Yourself, Stay Humble - at least i'm achieving these character trait right now.
The fact that what you call a failure is my dream life
I just realized that I’m a gunther but without a job
Gunther is a small business owner and owns residential property in central NYC. Saying that his job must be unfulfilling to him is a bit demeaning to people who are happy in those jobs.
Romance is a different department but the job one is kinda BS.
People also can be fulfilled in life without a relationship as well. Can we stop talking down to single people as losers? Given that half of marriages end in divorce, there's slim evidence that married people are winning at life or are happier or have their shit more together.
@@moonlily1 yes. In Gunthers case he obviously isnt because he wants Rachel but generally speaking I absolutely agree.
He is just manager
@@moonlily1 Human beings weren’t made to be alone, though. We’re biologically driven to want the security of a partner and kids. (Exceptions to the rule exist, of course)
@@ohwellwhateverrNot being in a romantic relationship doesn't mean you're alone. Being in a romantic relationship doesn't believe that you have security. And I have no idea in what way kids provide security. If anything, they decrease it.
Where Julie got her replacement Ross in the guy Rachel dated in Russ maybe there should be a replacement Rachel for Gunther maybe a Racquel as Paulo would say xxx
Owning a business/ being manager of a coffee shop isn't bad. He works hard - he deserves respect for that. Not everyone has to be ambitious or go down the career route. Phoebe is "only" a masseuse and she still finds a way to be fulfilled. I think Gunther's bigger issues stem from his relationship issues.
Eh, some people are happy with steady monotonous jobs like this. Not everybody needs to be a CEO or anything.
We are gunther
Yup.
sure the guy is embittered toward Ross, I mean who isn't that guy is an ass, but that doesn't make him 'the cautionary tale' to anything other than his pining after Rachel. How do we, the audience, know that Gunther is anywhere other than where he wants to be in his life? We often look down upon people who work service industry and retail jobs like that must not be what the want in life and we're better than them for shooting for what we dream, but a lot of people really do enjoy service industry jobs. "Lifers" is used as a derogatory, like it's somehow terrible to want to make management at a Target or McDonalds. Maybe Gunther wants to be a coffee shop manager. Maybe he enjoys making coffee and helping people and meeting people. It's not necessarily a stepping stone in his life that he got stuck on.
All of them are asses, Phoebe is manipulative, careless and disregards how her actions affect others. She thinks she is better than the other friends and constantly undermines Ross, Chandler and his relationship with Monica. Joey thinks he is God's gift to women and is a selfish, ungrateful, dim-witted, chronically unemployed man child who frequently mooches of Chandler. He is arrogant and puts down people, in particular Ross and Chandler in terms of women and keeps obsessing about sleeping with his female friends. Rachel is a self-absorbed, callous, whiny, irresponsible, vindictive, self-centred, incompetent women who wants people to do things she wants for her but rarely goes out of her line to help someone or be a good friend compared to the others. She would go to lengths to get what she wants when it's not in her place to and does not care how her actions affect others. She did this behaviour with Ross, Tag and Joey when she liked them. Monica is shrill, overly-loud and controlling but still decent. Chandler is good for the most part except with the excessive sarcasm and jokes which can at times be hurtful.
Oh my God they actually made it
I know, and call me selfish...but I kind of want more Gunther analysis now. Maybe that's just because his character felt like he was missing so much though, in which case, this video sums everything up.
Whose to say that he didn't have a fulfilling life without having to take risks. I think of Mike from dirty jobs where we meet people who have very odd jobs. Some of them took these jobs knowing that they didn't like it BUT they were able to work on passion projects and hobbies that they liked. I think Gunther probably did that.
But we don't know that, because the show never shows that, only his bitterness, his infatuation for Rachel and his envy towards Ross. He might as well simply have been that.
Good point!
Don't try to make mask it to make it easier for you. Risks are more than necessary, life is hard, most things aren't just given to you, you have to fight for what you want. Improving requieres you to be consistent and brave, there's no way around it.
@@honeynmilk00 what I'm arguing is that this was putting a guy down that we dont know. We only see part of him because these people aren't talking to him. I myself take lots of risks, but I also have friends who are living the Gunther life and they're happy with it. I saw this video as sticking a nose at my grandmother and no, I'm not accepting.
I also want to point out that we don't know anything about him because these are so selfish that all they can are themselves, friends and their family. They don't talk to anyone else and we watched how long it took to get a person of color in the group.
@@fcv4616 and I wish the writers had focused on making him a more developed character than what I've seen in clips. I'm going to be honest. When friends was on in the 90's, I hated it because these people seemed selfish, they weren't aware of anything else outside their bubble and after seeing clips, I'm finding I was right. At least with Living Single, the friends did talk to other people and were looking out for each other.
*_rachel's true soulmate_*
Rachel doesn't deserve Gunther lmao
Gunther deserves better
I might be the only person in the World who found Friends mediocre (depending on the episode), but Gunther was the only character who seemed to authentically personify the nineties.
He wasn' t just making coffee, he was the owner of Central Perk. He ran a whole bussiness.
Personally i feel Rachel never knew that she was selfish to the core.A privileged childhood stunted her growth and she always felt like the world revolved around her.
Taking advantage of gunthers infatuation with her,being unaware(for couple of seasons) of what monica did for her when she ran away and treating joey and ross as options instead of human beings.
And leaving someone at the altar is the worst thing possible
I dunno - personally, I think I'd rather be left at the altar than have to file for divorce instead of going on my honeymoon - and then having to fight to not share the marital assets...
Maybe I'd feel differently if either had ever happened to me.
Barry hooked up with one of her bridesmaids on their honeymoon. I doubt he was all that distraught by her runaway bride act. He was probably thinking of doing the same thing himself.
Rachel never knew Gunther liked her though. I remember that being a running gag on the show, that these guys were oblivious
Varun Mehra Everything you said is true but Rachel doesn't owe Gunther anything. The Heart Wants What It Wants. You either feel it or you don't. And this coming from a man. Most men are bitter and jealous of these things. I have a full understanding of this.
@@cellardoor199991 you are absolutely correct but rachel never really considered him not even in the role of friend.Gunther never really fired her even when she was sabotaging his business with her terrible waitressing,he bought her expensive cat and even gave a job to joey on her request.Meanwhile she had a whole thing with joey and his unique brand of sexism
This sounds extremely condescending and seems entitled of you guys from "The Take by Screen Prism" he can be happy just as he is .Some times you make it in the career you studied sometimes you don't he has steady job and an apartment in New York in my book he is successful enough.
Exactly. I think these folks are purporting that because he hasn't become a core part of the group...he's not good enough to be a "Friend" apparently, he's a failure. I don't care if this isn't what this video is trying to say but it sure is heavily implied.
@@Sab_MJsMama Exactly , he might have a close group of friends that treat him with respect he deserves aside from the "Friends" .He was infatuated with horrible bratty Rachael and understand why he wanted to belong but Ross dealed with a lot of shit with her in the long turn he got a better deal.
doesn't seem like he is happy as he is; desperate for rachel's attention suggesting struggles in his love life, and he just never seems as happy to do his job as the friends do, who go out of their comfort zones to find a job they love
I think this is accurate for Gunther's romantic life, but other than that, he seems fulfilled and happy.
I find this highly offensive to people in the service industry. Gunther seems to love his job and he does it well. Calling him stagnant and looking down on him for not "progressing" is judgemental.
Exactly! Gunther was a manager too.. some would be so happy with that.
This is a really unhealthy message to interpret, especially in the wake of actor Geoffrey Owens being shamed for working at Trader Joe’s. He said in an interview that once this story goes away, he hopes what people will get from it is that no one kind of job is better than another. Whether your title is CEO, teacher, cashier, it’s all work. And that every job has value.
When you doubt an individual’s ambition simply because they work at a coffee shop, you’re really telling on yourself about your own insecurities.
I agree completely with you on this. I always loved working, and no matter which job I had I gave it my best. When I was single, I was a paralegal, and very good at it. Then I married a farmer, moved away from the city and left my job as a paralegal. A few years later I was asked, by the restaurant in our local village, if I would be willing to help them out when they had a rush on. They needed someone to help with dish-washing and busing tables because there was a huge construction crew in the area working on a new bridge over the river. So I took the job to help them out, and I gave it my best. Once the bridge was finished being constructed, which took about 6 months, the restaurant wasn't nearly as busy, so I told the owner that I would be leaving as there really wasn't anything for me to do. The wait staff could take care of my chores at that point. The owner said he was sad to see me go because in the 6 months that I was washing dishes I only broke 1 cup, never lost any cutlery, and was always so polite to the customers. Sometimes I even waited on tables when the wait staff were overwhelmed. I was very flattered that he'd noticed how well I did my job, and I felt proud. Why wouldn't I? No job is demeaning or menial. It's people's attitudes that are demeaning.
What an interesting view on Gunther. I loved how no one else would think about a video analysis about him. You made one and it's incredible!
1:20 - "But while the Friends go on to fulfill their greater potential..."
Cue clips of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler and Monica working at their careers and *Phoebe getting married*
Is getting married fulfilling your greater potential? I'm not saying that marriage can't be a rich and fulfilling experience, but while Chandler and Monica got married, the emphasis here in the video is put on the fact that they were climbing career ladders. Phoebe, however, was content with her work as a massage therapist, and did not strive to climb a career ladder (and fell in love with Mike, a guy with first-hand experience of how pursuing a high-powered career can leave you feeling hollow and unfulfilled anyway). So is this part of the video implying that she instead fulfilled her 'greater potential' by getting married?
I think Phoebe is the exception to the argument made about careers in this video, which 1:20 inadvertently highlights. And personally speaking, I always found Phoebe to be the most interesting character of the group. Not everyone in life finds a way to monetize their passions, but that doesn't make them unfulfilled as people.
I think it's possibly because Phoebe had had the worst childhood and it showed her becoming a stable woman with a husband and (probably) kids later on with Mike.
Ok I don’t know if its just me but I never really thought Gunther wanted to be a part of their friend group! I mean clearly he was in love with Rachel and he seemed flattered when he thought Ross wanted him to join but he seemed to despise most of the friends excluding Rachel.
He likes Rachel and maybe thought Ross was okay.
what if he liked his job.......
Gunther’s an example of someone who’s perfectly content with living a simple life and isn’t trying to reach for the stars. I mean he’s got it good. He runs his own business and makes steady income, he owns his own apartment, I’m sure anyone who hasn’t achieved their lifelong dreams would like to be in Gunther’s position.
His shortcomings stem more from his inability to be more open and make more connections with people. I mean we don’t really know too much about him. In that respect he’s a cautionary tale of making your move too late on a girl you like because you’re afraid of being more sociable.
I'm giving this one a thumbs down as it feels too condescending to food servers. Others have already commented what I would've commented.
5:30 lol the saddest part is that even in a video solely about Gunther, they get the name of the actor wrong, it's Tyler not Taylor!
Gunther is me, making friends is hard
Now this motivated me than any other motivational video .. It's almost like Chandler realizing he's in the same track as Mr . Heckles .
I’m betting Gunther owns the coffee shop. A well educated trust fund kid who opens a coffee shop in NY. Doesn’t want people to know he is the owner because he wants real friends. He is not repressed he doesn’t hide himself and the friends characters all are a mess of humanity and can’t see Gunther other than a coffee boy.
Chris Reiser he doesn’t own it, actually in early episodes they show someone who was above Gunther, Terry. In the first Thanksgiving Episode, season 1. Rachel needed extra money to go skiing with her family and she asks Terry for an advance of her salary and he denies it. He doesn’t show up again much. But he’s clearly above Gunther so either the owner or manager
Carolina Millan Gunther didn’t want to go and since he owns Central Perk told his employee to give him an excuse. Nothing better than seeing what the Friends group does when presented with the issue. I’m guessing they all went and it never crossed anyone’s mind to cover him at all. Or include him in something he could afford that’s what real Friends would have done.
Most ppl don't put themselves out there because they've already tried many times and got burnt too much. U just have to be around ppl that ur comfortable with, make you laugh, have things in common with. Forcing it wont work. Even the most social ppl can feel out of place too sometimes.
I love FRIENDS and all of the main characters are my favorite, but there's something about Gunther that I can relate to.
On the other hand, he has been running a very successful coffee shop business for over a decade. That has to count for something. Just because we don't get to see his personal life doesn't mean he is a cautionary tale.
"Gunther just stays in the background". Yeah, maybe that's because he's, you know, a background character...
Sometimes we need a friend like Gunther who is always there in our place no matter whatever changes in life , how much old we get. He will be there for you when it has been your days, months, 10 years 😀
Moral of the story: don't waste your time pining over a self-centered person who will never give you the time of day.
When it comes to Rachel, not being passionate about your job is no excuse for being bad at it. She's lucky that Gunther is in love with her, otherwise she would have been fired on her first week. And deciding to be bad at it is being entitled.
ouch. this one hurt
Maybe the job is enough for Gunther? We should appreciate the people who do the menial jobs that serve us. Being emotionally stunted isn't good though.
This video got depressing real quick
There are only two possibilities :
- He is secretly high functional depressed
- He is happy with his 'boring' and 'normal' life
Honestly great video; one "but":
"Through Ross we can see our crush becoming this great love story" >>> EXCEPT, Ross and Rachel's relationship is probably one of the worst examples of how to handle a relationship EVER.
I love his deep, smooth voice.
James Michael has sadly passed away today age 59.😔
rest in peace, Gunther, my favorite cautionary tale and the guy who invented lingering
RIP "Gunther"
Gunther loves his job and has his own place. Nothing wrong with that!
I've never related so much to Gunther wtf
The way you describe a character . I feel like I barely knew them until now. Your analysing skills are just amazing.
I always wanted more of Gunter on the show. He’s hilarious and under appreciated.
I liked Mr. Heckles :3
RIP Gunther 💔
Though his obsession with rachel is rather creepy (and i would have loved to see him grow with a good relationship), i really hated how mean they sometimes were towards him. He would have been a great persona to incorperate more. Also, having a successful coffe house in NYC with very regular customers, is something to be proud of. Thats such a competetive place; you could be replaced within months.
Bro my mans Gunther just tryna live y'all had to attack him like that
Hasn't Gunther already taken his risks?
Exactly! Taking risks doesn't guarantee success. Most of the Friend's successes happen through coincidence.
Monica worked in that shitty cafe until a billionaire had a crush on her and threw her dream job at her.
When I started watching Friends and realized that I identified with Gunther so heavily, it was a real wake-up call that I needed to put myself out there and take more risks. This video does an awesome job underscoring his character's symbolism and the tragedy of Gunther. Very well done.
Yeah or maybe leaving the service industry is a PRIVILEGE shared by those able to afford college and that the actual living standards and lifestyles represented in friends are wholly unrealistic to their job descriptions.
The blind spot of this video is that without Gunther's work, resolve and consistency, none of the Friends would have been friends or had the personal and professional growth and stories they had. He and his coffee shop are the reason and conduit for everything.
So, in a way, he's the most important character and the unsung hero.
Anyone else wish that they do this for that 70 show
Prayers for James Micheal Tyler, who just revealed he has late stage prostate cancer 🙏🙏
5:59 I love the dishes clanking in the background 😂