For Jack Turnwald, a transgender resident of a small, suburban town in Wake County, North Carolina, it was as if their life had become a movie and not in a good way. Turnwald, who uses they/them pronouns, had recently moved from liberal Durham to more conservative Holly Springs to be with their wife and children. "I joke that it felt a little like being in 'Footloose,' like I had danced on the wrong side of the railroad tracks," Turnwald said about speaking in favor of the measure at a town council meeting, comparing themselves to the character in the 1980s movie who tries to overturn a dancing ban in a small town.
in fresh off the boat, an asian-american story centers the narrative, as opposed to being, like, the butt of the joke. class, i would like you all to give a warm welcome to hon-gi yeah, call me eddie. thank god. it s about an asian-american family that moves from a multicultural city to a very white, suburban town. hi, welcome to the neighborhood. i m deirdre. this is amanda. this is samantha. it was a really good window into how mainstream culture could feel strange to somebody else. fresh off the boat made a major impact in proving, to the industry, that a show like this can be successful. still, to this day, i get people on the street who come up to me in tears saying how meaningful it was seeing themselves represented.