Friends has become a pop culture phenomenon around the world. Although it came almost three full decades ago in 1994, millions of people still watch it regularly. Have you ever wondered why? Here are 10 reasons why Friends is still iconic!
Friends is still iconic because of their fashion
A lot of their clothes may seem to have been perfect for the 90s, but we know for a fact that vintage fashion is having a resurgence. This means that the style of the clothes they wore then is becoming popular again. This makes them great fashion references, even for the generation today.
I mean, sure, we don’t see a lot of people rocking that Rachel hairstyle anymore. But in any case, we do see people wearing the same outfits they did. They were trendsetters then, and they’re still trendsetters now.
Friends scenes and lingo are still popular on social media
Unagi. Pivot. How you doing? We still hear these phrases used by the cool kids of today, and this helps keep the spirit of Friends alive. We also have all the memes and GIFs circling around. Friends still has a strong presence on social media, which makes it prevailing and iconic.
After all, we know for a fact that people today really like using inside jokes and in-the-know phrases. The more that it goes viral, the more that it endures.
Friends show that their characters are human and flawed, but still worthy
So, Ross cheats a lot. Rachel makes bad decisions. Monica is a control freak. Chandler has major daddy issues. Joey is not the smartest person in the world. Phoebe can be very self-righteous. But we see how, at the end of the day, they all band together despite their imperfections.
What’s even better is that we see how they reap the consequences of their actions. Yet even then, they stand by each other as a group. Yes, they are flawed, but they are loved. And this reminds all of us that hey, we are flawed. But we are worthy, and we deserve to be loved.
Friends included a lot of roller coaster relationships
Everyone loves a good love story, and Friends had a ton of them. Of course, there’s the classic will-they-won’t-they of Ross and Rachel. Even amidst Chandler and Monica’s sweet best-friends-turned-lovers story, we had Chandler and Janice – who just won’t get out of Chandler’s life. Phoebe and David also had a pretty good run, although they didn’t work out. And then Ant-Man – oops, Mike – came into the picture.
Tension and excitement surrounding relationships keep people glued to their seats – in 1994 and 2022. It’s one of the reasons why Friends is still iconic until today.
Friends had iconic music
Sing it with me: So no one told you life was gonna be this wayyyy. Anyone could hear the first ten seconds of that song and instantly know that it came from Friends.
Then we have Phoebe’s songs, like Smelly Cat. Did you know Taylor Swift even played that in a concert once? Many other songs that were played in their episodes are also attached to them. For example, With or Without U by U2 is forever associated with Ross and Rachel’s break up.
How many TV series have actually achieved that?
Friends had very diverse characters
Most TV shows today show us cliques that have very similar characters in them. For example, there are mean girls, there are nerds, there are jocks, then there are the theatre kids. These sets of people are automatically banded together under the idea that birds of the same feather flock together.
Friends doesn’t do that all, which makes it more realistic. We have Joey the sweet playboy, Rachel the soft-hearted rich girl, Monica the loving neat freak, Chandler the sarcastic jokester, Phoebe the eccentric singer, and Ross the smart-friend-who-makes-stupid-decisions.
They are diverse, each one is unique, and they bring their own flavor to the show. This makes Friends more fun to watch, and it’s one of the things that makes it iconic.
Many famous celebrities are vocal fans of Friends
Many people look to celebrities and idols as trendsetters. If someone’s favorite singer recommended a certain band, you can bet that all their fans will be flocking for a listen. We see this even with Friends.
David Beckham. Lady Gaga. Selen Gomez. Justin Bieber. Mariah Carey. Kit Harington. Charlie Puth. Quite probably anybody who’s anybody loves Friends. Iconic.
Did you know that RM of BTS learned English from watching Friends?
Friends is iconic because the bond of its cast is awesome
The actors and actresses of Friends truly had great chemistry onscreen and offscreen. They had a short huddle before shooting every day. And, even after the show has ended, the cast would still catch up with each other every now and then. This is especially true for the girls, who frequently had girls’ nights and considered each other best friends.
This tight bond then became the foundation of what people saw on the show. The people watching could really feel a sense of love and camaraderie, and it’s what makes them keep watching.
Friends had some really great jokes
As a show, Friends had a lot of different approaches to humor that makes it cater to a wide range of audience. Some people may disagree, but for the most part, Friends truly does everything in good fun – and people are able to get a sense of this.
So, when people rewatch Friends today, they would still find themselves laughing over the silly and ridiculous antics of the characters. This timeless comedic factor definitely makes one of the top 10 reasons why Friends is still iconic.
The Friends reunion made Friends even more iconic
How many shows have actually had widely-televised reunions? Not many. Yet Friends got to have that, much to the clamor and demand of fans. In fact, if we’re all being honest, it wasn’t even close to enough though we’re happy with what we got to have.
From behind the scenes stories, flashbacks, commentaries, and celebrity guests, the Friends reunion was a whole affair. And though everyone had likely heard of Friends at that point, it also helped opened up the franchise to a new market. They were put back on the spotlight and all sorts of people watched. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of tears.
And this just altogether affirms what we’ve been trying to say all along: Friends is iconic. Always have been. Always will.
Do you agree with these 10 reasons why Friends is still iconic?
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