Vanessa McKee @vanessamckee.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Does anyone else feel that in recent decades movies rarely depict average working people? In the 70s and 80s we had movies about struggling families, stories about people most of us could understand. Not necessarily about the struggle, but where it was an obvious factor. 8256074
patrickford.bsky.social @patrickford.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Go back to the '30s and earlier and it was the norm the rich were depicted as bad people or fools. Can anyone imagine a homeless man being the biggest star in films today? 050
Jeff @thirdwhaletrip.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Wealthy people's lives offer better writing opportunities and storylines. Ordinary folks can't afford therapists. 🤔🤣 011
Mr. Horror4H @horror4h.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I mean did we not see the leaked stuff from the Epstein files where they talk about how the media has shifted focus so that class struggles are no longer front and center which benefits the rich? This shit wasn't on accident. 180
Kevin McGee @jigtime.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I do miss films like Blue Collar, (which admittedly kind of is about the struggle), but also Saturday Night Fever or Rocky, where the working-class experience is just the texture of their lives. The Dardenne Brothers’ Two Days One Night mines the same rift. 010
Rey Wil @reywil08.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Remember when actors used to looked like everyday people and not Botox Abercrombie & Fitch models. 050
Eddie C @eddie2721819.bsky.social · 08/02/2026There are some, like Otto, but they are far and few between. 010
markusenofan.bsky.social @markusenofan.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Studios obsessed with the bottom line still want blockbusters, and family character studies are regulated to the "small" film category. Maybe the growing streaming market will spur production of more of those type films. 010
Doug @dwcrooks.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I imagine the average Hollywood exec who green lights or passes on projects comes from a privileged life and that’s all they likely know and understand. I wasn’t a huge fan of IRON LUNG but I LOVE that the filmmaker financed the movie himself and it made good money opening weekend 020
figmo @mfwic1667.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I seldom watch a movie anymore, with the rare exception. That is primarily because there are so many that are themed around strong, graphic and prolonged violence/gore, graphic horror and/or zombies! 000
bulletproofQpid @bulletproofqpid.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I've felt that way since I saw Friends in the '90s and the coffeehouse waitress had a huge apartment in NYC that more than three people could sit in comfortably and didn't have roaches. 1170
KarmaLovesGumbo @karmalovesgumbo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Truly. We do not see people working in movies. And no one on TV has an average house and furniture. 020
Strong Jersey איתן @eitang.bsky.social · 09/02/2026I think that Everything Everywhere All At Once could be a good example of what you are looking for from the perspective of a multigenerational Chinese immigrant family. I think that Turning Red from Pixar also depicts a working class Chinese immigrant family (in Toronto though). 050
chrissymcpants.bsky.social @chrissymcpants.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I’ve noticed in every aspect even in tv. The set design even, It’s all so clean and clutter free, big houses on single incomes, with multiple cars. Unless it’s something “gritty” always eating takeaway or out at restaurants it’s so odd. 2311
Eleanor Sundwall @eleanorsundwall.bsky.social · 08/02/2026can’t wait for the ai-generated films about factory robots and their quirky human maintenance slaves just trying to make it through the day 020
Alfie Gallagher @alfiegallagher.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Read a decent book from early 2000s ‘Blockbuster’ - covered ground from early Spielbergian gnarly everyman heroes of Jaws & Close Encounters to the Matrix and Star Wars prequels where front and centre is Messiah figures and fascist leaders. Def agree that grounded everyday connect has been severed 020
Random Jeweler @randomjeweler.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Even the 90s "it sucks that I have a solid middle class job" was more relatable than we have now 140
Bunni😷🌍🗣️❤️✨☮️✊🏾 @bunnisays.bsky.social · 09/02/2026The sets were def more everyday looking even actors were average looking for the most part 000
Nick Gossert @nickgossert.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Even a movie like Alien in that era puts the emphasis on the fact that they're working a blue collar job, fighting for points from the company. 040
Dr Priest @pennypriest.bsky.social · 09/02/2026What about Ken Loach and Paul Laverty? @kenloach16films.bsky.social 000
Hello Hart @helloohart.bsky.social · 09/02/2026I’m currently watching ER and what strikes me is they all live in normal houses/apartments that don’t look like they’re straight out of a magazine. There’s sometimes dirt on the walls and old furniture. I want to see real homes and real faces. 020
Steve Stinson @steve36893.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Don’t watch any of Lifetime’s pap, then, haha. They have like 3 houses they use as sets for the whole network. Blame my wife for me knowing this. 000
Octobermystic @octobermystic.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I was remarking on this a little while ago with regard to mysteries. Every television series and film now seems to involve wealthy people in gated communities with expensive toys. Apparently crime no longer happens or is no longer interesting if it happens in a blue-collar neighborhood. 0170
Peter Lewis @plewis.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Yeah, there may not be much appetite for grim 70s social realism, but you can tell all kinds of other stories with more relatable characters. Hell or High Water was a good one 170
1littlendian @1littlendian.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I'm reminded of "About Last Night" which was about Yuppies & was totally authentic in the locations. A Yuppie couple who were friends of mine moved in to the apartment where much of the interiors were shot right after filming completed. Strange seeing the film after en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_L...en.wikipedia.orgAbout Last Night (1986 film) - Wikipedia 000
Need Thomas Windham @needwindham.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Hardly anyone shows how hard it REALLY is to break into the International Hired Killer game these days. 030
The Artful Codger @watercolor-wannabe.bsky.social · 08/02/2026In movies and TV everyone lives in a beautiful house and every kitchen has a Sub-Zero refrigerator. Always makes me feel like an under-achiever. Then again, I don't think I'd be very entertained watching someone living my life. 010
Lee Rowan 🐕 🐈⬛ 🌳 🌈 🏳️🌈 🇨🇦 🐉 🇺🇦🦇🪶🖋️ 🇺🇸 @leerowan.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Yep. And you see very few character actors who look like old WOMEN. Hollywood has sanitized and plasticized human beings to the point that teenage girls are deforming their faces because some actresses and talking heads get their lips inflated. 010
Ian @capeoian.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I’d think one factor is because a lot of the up and coming writers and directors of the 60s and 70s had actual working class backgrounds. It’s much harder to break into the industry today without connections and/or a privileged background. 0191
terra T @terra-t.bsky.social · 09/02/2026It depends on how many movies you watch? Sketch, One of Them Days, Bugonia, Good Boy, Friendship, One Battle After Another, Caught Stealing, Eddington, Honey Don’t, Toxic Avenger, and Novacaine are all 2025 movies with average working people imho. Several have themes of financial struggles. 210
phylmom.bsky.social @phylmom.bsky.social · 08/02/2026No Norma Raes and Silkwoods and Coal Miner’s Daughters for sure. 030
Prolapsed Cologne @chaostosurreal.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Shameless was very relatable regarding their home and finances. 000
Prolapsed Cologne @chaostosurreal.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Every movie it seems needs a million dollar home 010
Martin Delaney 🐈⬛🎹🧟♂️📸🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️✍🏻 @delaneyplanet.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I notice this a lot with horror movies. So many spooky things happening in massive houses! 120
Dog Faced Herman @dogfacedherman.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Agreed. A movie like Blue Collar wouldn't be made today. youtu.be/DfbX5dPODZs?...youtu.beBlue Collar Official Trailer #1 - Harvey Keitel Movie (1978) HDYouTube video by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers 120
Acedian @acedian.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Ironically, the most blue collar movie that showed working class people doing working class things happened to be a corporate white collar movie indicting the meaninglessness & mindlessness of keyboard/service jobs over manual labor, and that movie was (drumroll please): OFFICE SPACE (from 1999). .media.tenor.coma man wearing a green and white striped shirt and suspenders is smiling .ALT: a man wearing a green and white striped shirt and suspenders is smiling . 050
DM Skywalker @dmskywalker.bsky.social · 08/02/2026This is essentially due to nepotism. Directors and writers used to be regular people who broke in. Now Destry Spielberg, Jason Rietman, Ishana Night Shamylan and Roman Coppola make the movies. 050
The Rori Horror Picture Show @missrori.bsky.social · 08/02/2026This is really apparent in ”family” films. Who was the last Disney protagonist who wasn’t living comfortably or had to work hard for their living? While live-action kids’ films are even worse… 020
Give War A Chance @houfek.bsky.social · 09/02/2026"Ordinary People" even won Best Picture in 1981, beating out a long list of better movies that people still watch, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Evil Dead, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and Stripes. 000
DougieLombax🩷💜💙 (Dougie/Adrienne/Zeek/not my real name) 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇮🇪🇦🇲🇺🇦 @dougielombax.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Sometimes 000
Linda Thurman @lindashepherd.bsky.social · 09/02/2026He raped children Murdering Americans in the streets They aren’t trying to hide their corruption Fk supporters who bow to trump lies and refuse to live in reality Gop =guardians of pedophiles RELEASE THE TRUMP/EPSTEIN FILES NOW Fdt terrorism Fdt terrorists Fdt terrorist scotus and judges and ag’s 000
Douglas Pensack @dougiepen2.bsky.social · 09/02/2026There are exceptions, of course, but you have to seek them out. John Sayles is an example (Matewan). Also, I'd love to see some romance films with ppl who get together to save rent or have to leave town b/c local factory closed (rather than write novels & meet on a flight to Paris). 010
Gregg Levine @greggjlevine.bsky.social · 08/02/2026But on the plus side, no one is doing a 10-episode Netflix remake of “An Officer and a Gentleman”… so, win? 000
Melissa Sinden Gray @melissasindengray.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Great old British films like 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning', 'Hobson's choice', 'Alfie', 'Spring and Port Wine', 'Passport to Pimlico'.... 020
LeadAsbestos @leadasbestos.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Because real life sucks ass? "I love the scene where the mom cries when her daughter claims to not want to go to the dance, but its because she knows they can't afford a dress. Such intensity!" I'd rather watch an idiot Marvel piece of trash than think even more about how I'll never have anything. 000
GodDamnedUS @1916easter.bsky.social · 08/02/2026It’s all crime related- bad cops, a ‘good’ cop, a heist, assassins, gangsters, dirty government… I guess it portrays real life. 000
David Butler @dvdbutler.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Just regular stories where people often couldn’t afford something even if it wasn’t part of the story per se. 010
I Watched a Movie @iwatchedamovie.bsky.social · 08/02/2026There was literally an Oscar winning movie called "Ordinary People" in 1980! 110
Marcus Kelson @marcuskelson.bsky.social · 09/02/2026well, a lot of American films ... but you'll always find the gems... 010
chaircrusher @cornwarning.com · 09/02/2026There's a trope in Hollywood of movies about people who have problems but no money concerns. Every time someone buys a one way ticket at the airport for the same day I think, "I couldn't afford that!" 010
FilmSnobbery - Nic LaRue @filmsnobbery.com · 08/02/2026What would be the modern-day Falling Down?media.tenor.coma man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a sign that says as a consumerALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a sign that says as a consumer 210
Ken from Chicago @kenfromchicago.bsky.social · 08/02/2026No. Movies about average working people are made but don't get as much marketing, as wide a release or released straight to streaming. Or are non American movies. 010
Justin Bryant @justinwriter.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I felt this strongly in Marriage Story, a film I detested, where Adam Driver’s character keeps saying ‘I can’t afford that!’ and then buys/pays for it anyway. That’s…not what it means to not being able to afford things. 0150
visionexecution.bsky.social @visionexecution.bsky.social · 08/02/2026You're forgetting Dallas, Falcon Crest and Lifestyles of the rich and famous in the 1980s. 000
CharleyNobody @charleynobody.bsky.social · 09/02/2026The 1990s came along and made wealth desirable. Romcoms were poor girls (with perfect and expensive looking hair, clothes and accessories) being rescued by rich men. On TV, the female cast of Friends wore a different outfit in every scene with Phoebe rocking $1k outfits and $500 extensions 110
seamiracles @seamiracles.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Right? Like Terms of Endearment. Showing a couple struggling as parents, struggling financially. 230
Paul Bittlestone @paulbittlestone.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Corporations are not gonna show that corporations are responsible for deteriating quality of life. 090
Jason Kelly @jasonkelly.bsky.social · 08/02/2026It’s true. The families that are often depicted clearly have a net worth of over $10 million. 020
mnotabot.bsky.social @mnotabot.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I think you might be suffering from nostalgia. The top 10 grossing films of the 80’s were Indiana Jones (single professor), Rain Man (rich car importer), Top Gun (elite pilot), Back to the Future (mad scientist & teen), Batman (rich bachelor), Star Wars (“pew pew”), and E.T. 300
Chris Harvey @chrisharvey.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I think a corollary of this is movies used to feature actors who could believably be struggling blue collar people, but now everyone is toned and has great teeth, full head of hair, etc. 1270
Candra Hope @candrahope.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Definitely. Sick of this era of bourgies having adventures. No one cares. The serfs are sick of it. Sick of it. 0131
🐸🐸🐸🐸 @hiscox8.bsky.social · 09/02/2026That's true! All seem to be about the very entitled. When I see the homes and apartments of people in movies I am stunned. All have wall to wall windows and vast views. Haha right! 000
Silence Seven @silenceseven.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Films like Norma Rae! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Rae "Norma Rae Wilson is a worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on her family's health for her to ignore their poor working conditions." 110
Nicole @nearanomaly.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Absolutely! We've lost grit and texture too. We've got movie stars who put in their contracts they can't get beat up too bad because it messes with their 'image'. It's all connected! 030
Vincent @vincent2023.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I’ve turned away from movies because of what I’ve perceived as the opposite. If it’s not reheated superhero nonsense, it’s films trying to be relatable. I don’t want to see my life and issues played out on screen. Give me another John Hughes era, they were fun since I’m not rich and from Chicago. 000
Call me Bob @telecomtrzn.bsky.social · 08/02/2026We do get a lot of movies and TV shows centered around prison life, or characters getting out of prison and adjusting to life on the outside. Unfortunately, I think that's a theme a lot of Americans identify with. 020
Large Cat @largecat.bsky.social · 09/02/2026I think it’s because of the nepotism. Seems like everyone in Hollywood is a nepo baby who grew up well off. So they’re gonna write about what they know. And they don’t know what it’s like to grow up working class. 030
TMack 🇨🇦 @tmackay.bsky.social · 09/02/2026I’ve noticed this too. My theory is that by showing someone in upper/middle class struggling instead, it seems more shocking, more of a contrast. Script escalation. Who wants to see working class people struggle all day? We already know they do I do. I want to see that. 010
gatsbysdream.bsky.social @gatsbysdream.bsky.social · 08/02/2026there was an interesting article talking about this in the @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/18/c...chicagotribune.com 000
Vanessa McKee @vanessamckee.bsky.social · 08/02/2026I should specify that although I think it’s an issue internationally, Americans are the worst, offering little more than vapid capitalist propaganda. 3423
Vanessa McKee @vanessamckee.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Anyway, I’m tired of rich people stories. I don’t want to watch anything about someone who has a Birkin Bag or travels by private jet. 61022
Vanessa McKee @vanessamckee.bsky.social · 08/02/2026It seems like the industry is allergic to the idea of poor people and obsessed with stories about the privileged. 91276