“Why Are You Wearing A Dress, Pa?” – People Aren’t Exactly Excited For Netflix ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Reboot

Aaron Ryan·
CULTURE
·
Little House on the Prairie
Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

Running out of new ideas, eh?

We’ve seen a ton of remakes come out of Hollywood in the past few years. But one of the major criticisms of these new projects (aside from them being unnecessary versions of old classics) is that they try to take the old version and make it more “woke.”

The live-action Snow White, for example, cast Rachel Zegler as the title character – an actress who, notably, isn’t “snow white” but is actually of Colombian descent. And they also did away with the “dwarfs” from the original version in an effort to be more politically correct. And after criticism from actor Peter Dinklage, producers instead decided to cast just one “dwarf” while inserting the others through CGI – a decision that upset other actors with dwarfism for costing them job opportunities.

And in 2016, a Ghostbusters remake bombed after receiving considerable criticism for re-casting the main characters as women.

Now, does it really matter whether the Ghostbusters are men or women? No. But it’s clear that the decision was only made in an attempt to be more “progressive” and “inclusive.”

There are plenty who believe that inclusion of minority characters and actors should be an option and not simply to feel some kind of imaginary “quota” or to send a message about how progressive the film is.

And a lot of those people are already concerned about a new project from Netflix…

Earlier this week, the streaming giant announced a reboot of Little House On The Prairie, the western historical drama series based on the children’s novels of the same name by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The original series followed members of the Ingalls family, who lived on a small farm near the village of Walnut Grove, Minnesota in the late 1800s. The family-friendly series quickly became a classic for its wholesome messages and what Netflix calls its “enduring themes of hope and optimism.”

But it’s safe to say that a lot of people aren’t optimistic about the Netflix reboot of the show, with many worrying that the new version will try to be a “woke” remake of the original:

Part of that concern comes from the announcement that Rebecca Sonnenshine will serve as executive producer for the new series. Sonnenshine served as an executive producer on the Amazon Prime series The Boys, a show that the creators called a “satirical critique of right-wing politics.”

And even conservative commentator Megyn Kelly expressed her skepticism of the reboot:

Of course Netflix made clear in their announcement that the new series will be a “reimagining” of the novels, so it sounds like they’ve already warned us that they’re going to take some creative liberties with the classic version.

Speaking about her excitement for the new project, Sonnenshine said she plans to adapt the original novels for a new audience, which honestly doesn’t sound promising at all:

“I fell deeply in love with these books when I was 5 years old. They inspired me to become a writer and a filmmaker, and I am honored and thrilled to be adapting these stories for a new audience.”

And Netflix VP of Drama Series Jinny Howe claims that the producer has “a fresh take” on Ingalls’ story.

“Little House on the Prairie has captured the hearts and imaginations of so many fans around the world, and we’re excited to share its enduring themes of hope and optimism with a fresh take on this iconic story.

Rebecca’s vision threads the needle with an emotional depth that will delight both new and existing fans of this beloved classic.”

Let’s see how this goes…but I’m not optimistic.
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