Thread by @robkhenderson

My op-ed in tomorrow's @nytopinion

What you can learn about social class from watching too much TV -- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The OC, The West Wing, Mad Men, The Affair. Check it out: nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opi…

I wrote about the positive portrayal of the character Ainsley Hayes in The West Wing TV series. Several Republicans have told me they like this character because it is an unusual pop culture depiction of a Republican who is as witty and smart as her Democrat colleagues

It's interesting how seeing a positive portrayal of a character with traits that don't usually go together can influence us (e.g. conservative + witty/smart)

For me it was characters like Kal Penn in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. Showed it's possible to be cool + smart. I was sort of uncomfortable w/my own curiosity as a kid bc I'd absorbed the message that if you were smart you were a nerd & therefore it wasn't ok to be smart

I've written about my unusual upbringing here: nytimes.com/2018/05/21/opi…

I also wrote about how social class is portrayed in other TV shows, including The Sopranos & The Wire. But had to edit to get the essay under 3000 words nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opi…

I'll share the uncut version (5000+ words) in my newsletter. Sign up here: eepurl.com/gNOyq5

"It's actually much deeper and more insidious than this. These kinds of shows and movies that you grew up watching provide the character and narrative archetypes that you act out in your own life."

Lots of interesting comments on @newsycombinator here: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=247454…