People from Overland Park, Kansas are not like that
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biblio13 — 10 years ago(January 17, 2016 03:26 PM)
YES! I was born and raised in OP and people like Colton's family are not common. I went to school in the 80s/90s in OP, and I was out of the closet in High School. The area's more fiscally conservative than anything else. And honestly, I get more beep for not wanting kids than for being LGBT. I feel like they should have chosen a more religious Midwest metropolis like Springfield, MO (I've lived here too and had a much harder time with things) or a smaller/more isolated town if they just HAD to have a "small-minded, religious hick" character. The Kansas City Metro has more than 2 million people. Do you really think that we're that backward, Hollywood?
Although, I do admit, our government - namely Brownback - is a f-ing joke, and most of what we make the news for just reinforces the negative stereotype. -
!!!deleted!!! (28128673) — 10 years ago(January 18, 2016 01:25 PM)
I'm glad you had a good experience in OP, kebinns, but doesn't "fiscally conservative" generally mean Republican? The fiscally conservative GOP doesn't exactly embrace gay people or preach tolerance of any non-Christian religion. I haven't been to OP in a decade or so, but it struck me as having very little racial diversity. All in all, it struck me as a conservative white suburb of the Midwest. Again, not hick, but not worldly either.
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pazzapotato — 10 years ago(January 19, 2016 07:16 PM)
If you haven't been there in a decade or so you can't really speak about what it's like to someone who lives there, grew up there, or visits frequently. I didn't say Overland Park was the most liberal city in Kansas, I said it was knew of the most. The city does have a lot of white people, yes, but those white people have young hipsters as children. I'm not arguing that it's "worldly" I'm not saying it's Seattle or New York, I'm saying that it's not the backwards religion crazy small town they portrayed. The people that live there are normal people just like the people that live in LA.
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biblio13 — 10 years ago(January 20, 2016 04:13 PM)
Still AM having a good experience. ;D
And just to clarify, yes, the area tends to vote Republican, but more because of the party's fiscal conservatism rather than because of entrenched social conservatism (oh, we have bigots, don't get me wrong, but that seems to be a universal thing).
You are right, a lot of the area is overwhelmingly White, but there has always been A LOT more exposure to other cultures than people outside the Midwest would expect. -
!!!deleted!!! (28128673) — 10 years ago(January 21, 2016 09:29 AM)
Thanks, everyone, for your responses.
I have to question if bigotry is a universal thing. Yes, you'll find bigots everywhere, sadly, but I have so many friends in bi-racial and multi-racial marriages in NY and LA. I lived in Chicago for a time and even though that's a major city, it struck me as so much more segregated than large coastal cities. People were "polite" about multiculturalism but they certainly didn't embrace it. Lip service, at best.
What's the situation for gays in Overland Park? Is there complete acceptance? Are families with same-sex parents common?
Someone mentioned hipster offspring. What's the hipster culture in OP like? Curious. Thanks! -
labrat1996 — 10 years ago(January 31, 2016 07:02 PM)
I live right next door to Overland Park (Lenexa), and was kind of taken aback by the portrayal of Colton's Family. The funny thing is I thought, first is that very few Overland Park residents own RV's because of the home owner association restrictions against parking them in your driveway. Also if they did own one it would be much nicer. The gay scene in OP is fine. All high schools have LGBT organizations and my workplace had gone to unisex bathrooms to avoid the whole trans bathroom difficulty thing. My daughter experimented in Middle School and High School with girls and was never ostracized for it. Most of her best friends were gay men before she moved to LA. My husband's late brother was gay and died of AIDS in the 90's. His late Wife's mother divorced her husband and has been with her female partner for over 10 years. No one cares or judges about sexual orientation here. It is what it is. What we do care about is fiscal conservatism since the population here is mostly college educated and paying out the wazoo for our children's College Education and Taxes. This is probably the reason that Sam Brownback got elected again. We just have the opinion that we have been getting screwed tax wise. I had always paid extra money to the state when I did my taxes until the last three or four years. I actually got money back the last two years. That was pretty odd.
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labrat1996 — 10 years ago(January 31, 2016 07:23 PM)
Also actually there are very few same sex parents here. That does kind of stand out. I think it will become more common when the same sex marriage numbers become more common. Just know that I am an conservative republican who loves this show because it is very real and maybe in some ways I relate to the whole selfish child issue as I continue to pay the $1600 per month rent on my daughter's LA apartment. Her rent is more than my mortgage and I have an acre here in Kansas.
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KimberlyN2 — 10 years ago(March 27, 2016 06:29 PM)
On the DVD commentary of one of the episodes (I believe it was the episode where Colton was introduced), Jill said that having the character come from Overland Park was a shout-out to some of her relatives that live there. I do understand your frustration though, even though Jill didn't intend any harm.
If you get the chance, I recommend watching the first season a second time with the added commentary. Most of them seem to genuinely care for the LGBTQ community and for me, that helped me appreciate the show even more (even if it is flawed at times). -
Bozohead — 9 years ago(September 28, 2016 12:47 AM)
Season 3 has a kinder tone to Colton's family and Overland Park.
I don't recall the show claiming that all people from Kansas are that conservative or religious. But you cannot deny that people from Kansas vote conservative or that there isn't a higher proportion of protestant christians in Kansas.
From the point of the Pfefferman's Colton's family would seem like a bunch of religious hicks in season 2 but as I said in season 3 you see more of Colton's family and it is a much gentler tone. -
mamafoxof3 — 9 years ago(December 12, 2016 10:57 AM)
As someone who grew up in OP, moved away and lived in Los Angeles before moving back to Johnson County, I agree that the show does portray Colton and his family in a bit of a stereotypical light, but aren't most stereotypes based on some sort of truth? From personal experience, I know for a fact that there are many families around here like them. Maybe picking OP was a mistake, and they could have picked several other communities within a 10-15 mile radius that would have been more on point, but the general public in the rest of the country wouldn't have had a clue where places like Gardner or Spring Hill are. Overland Park has been the setting of other shows (United States of Tara), and several popular actors grew up and went to school there (Paul Rudd, Jason Sudekis (Go Vikings)).