Let's talk about Freddie

[Rara401]

I am writing a paper on African American portrayals on television. i am highling A Different World as a positive show for black women....I need to hear what people thought about Freddie. She was eccentric, hippy, politically active. Did you see her as a positve role model? Please let me know.

Also do you think whitley's character was positve in any way?

[marvin g]

Freddie was a bit confused IMO. I think Kim was a better roll model as well as Jalisa (spelling).

[factsoflife]

I liked Freddie, she was strong, independant and stood up for what she believe in. She wasn't afraid to be diffrent and didn't care if people thought she was weird... Kim was also a good role-model she came from modest means and managed to WORK her way through medical school while working at the den. Whitley was a very BAD role-model because she was selfish, mean and insensitive. I think some of the characters in the later seasons like Jada's character were good role-models because they overcame adversity to make something of themeselves.


Also if you need help w/ your paper i also suggest writing about the following shows- The Jeffersons, 227, Moesha, The Hughelys, My Wife and Kids, THE COSBY SHOW (specifly the Claire character), the soap opera Generations, Fresh Prince of bel-air and Amen. These are just some suggestions.

[CCRYDER1968]

Freddie is a good role model in that she showed you could be yourself,be different.Its ok not to always conform.

[isiahthomas]

Freddie reminds me of Mona on Half & Half. I was watching a old rerun of A Different World today & i didn't know Dwayne & Freddie dated for a minute. I also didn't know Dwayne dated Colonel Taylor's daughter.

[jamesanthony]

As far as acting skills I'd say Cree was the best of the supporting actresses in this show. She did a lot and brought dimension to what could have been a very trite, silly character.

[HaskellGirl]

She was definately a good role model in that she was very caring and was unique. I agree with whoever said she was confused too though, because I think she definately changed a lot of over the show. She started out VERY naiive and inexperienced. She was sweet, but didn't really know where she belonged. Then after a few seasons, she really embraced the hippie movement and activism. But she didnt' exactly have her feet planted on the ground all the time and Shazza wasn't the best influence (and he was mean to her too!). By the end of show I think she started really coming into her own, although she still had some growing to do. But she always tried her best, so yes, definately a role model.

[realchic1999]

I didn't like Season 6 Freddie. She was so watered-down and not as passionate as she used to be. Add with that the fact that she dated a guy who was no good to her (Shazza) while cheating on him with Ron, of all people!

I got into the show this year by watching it on UPN, and I loved Freddie from Seasons 4 and 5. Looking forward to seeing her in Seasons 2 and 3.

[jamesanthony]

Originally Posted by realchic1999

I didn't like Season 6 Freddie. She was so watered-down and not as passionate as she used to be. Add with that the fact that she dated a guy who was no good to her (Shazza) while cheating on him with Ron, of all people!

I got into the show this year by watching it on UPN, and I loved Freddie from Seasons 4 and 5. Looking forward to seeing her in Seasons 2 and 3.

I wasn't that wild about Ron and Freddie as a couple. Ron was too much of a borderline male whore in my opinion and I remember in the episode where Freddie's mother visited she told Freddie point blank that he was nothing but trouble. I really didn't see any great epiphany in Ron's personality that made him go from being a playboy in the previous seasons to being more of a one woman man. The very fact that he was lusting after Freddie and making out with her while still sleeping with Kim is evidence of that. Plus in the episode where he and Kim broke up he asked her if they could still get busy.

If that show had gone into a 7th term Freddie should have outgrown Ron and found a male who was more suited to her. The writers only had them hook up because they seemed to feel that every character in the show needed to be hooked up with each other but in reality Freddie and Ron were a mismatched couple.

[realchic1999]

From what I've seen, I would've thought that Freddie would be the type of girl to fall in love with her much older professors...not people like Ron.

The irony is that Ron seemed like such a nice and likeable character in Season 1...I saw the Valentine's ep and he and Millie seemed cute together.

The Ron from the future seasons wouldn't be caught dead with a girl like Millie, however.

[HaskellGirl]

I actually really liked Ron and Freddie together. I thought they had great chemistry. After they got together though (and were no longer sneaking around), I didn't think the writers did them justice though.

About the reason Ron all the sudden became a one-woman type of guy (which he was in the first season), I think wasn't explained so much in the show, but was shown in the opening montage, which I absolutely love. Anyway, he starts off all gung-ho and ready to get-down, but by the end, he's starting to get weirded out and tired of all these girls. I think he was actually starting to feel that way before, and that's why he started dating Kim. But obviously he started liking Freddie as well. Actually, Ron seemed to like Freddie from the start, back when she had a crush on Dwayne. But anyway, I think he liked both girls and didn't mean to hurt anyone. Also, Freddie definately didn't mean to hurt anyone, and really seemed to be broken up and conflicted about what was going on. I'm not saying this is an excuse. Its not. But I think the whole twisted love-affair of the last season was actually pretty realistic, and I really liked the Christmas episode, because it dealt with everyone's feelings...Kim's anger, Freddie's confusion, Ron's guilt, etc.

I don't know what would have happened between Ron and Freddie if they would have continued with the show. On the one hand, they could have broken up. But on the other hand, their relationship could have developed further. I think where it ended, they were still pretty new (and I loved finale bickering, because that is classic Ron and Freddie...and they didn't seem to have any problems making up), so its up in the air what was going to happen. But I personally really liked that pairing, and its cute to go back and watch their interactions in earlier episodes. I sorta wonder when they decided to pair these two together, because it seemed like they were heading in that direction in the episode at the radio station, and then they ended it completely until the season premiere of the last season. I would be curious to know how this all played out behind the scenes.

And regardless how anyone feels, you have to admit the kiss behind the pillar in Height Hall was one of the most memorable moments of ADW. I mean, they were about to chew each others faces off!!

[HaskellGirl]

By the way, when Freddie's mom told Freddie that Ron was nothing but trouble, she didn't mean it. Remember, Freddie is the one who wanted her mom to tell her what to do, because she was feeling conflicted. She thought her mom would prefer Shazza, because he's more their type, instead of Ron, who's a republican, a business-man, part of the bourgesie. So later her mom tells her all these things bad about Ron, but she was just saying them to prove a point. She's not going to stand in the way of Freddie and whoever she wants to be with, because that's what her mother did when she brought home a black man that she loved.

[jamesanthony]

Speaking of Ron's transformations, what caused him to change so dramatically from being a male equivalent of Millie to being more party hearty/scheming/ skirt chasing. Also what did women find so irresistable about him? Yeah he had money, but he was short, not spectacularly good looking or suave or intellectual, yet he had all these women, some of whom were actually rather attractive personality wise (like the one who had a baby). That was actually kind of funny.

[HaskellGirl]

I never really understood that either...but sitcoms always have those types of characters. Not really realistic though.

But Ron was cute and funny and had a nice car. In addition to that, he was BUFF! He had a really nice muscular body. And apparently, he was "a great kisser, and girl, you know about them hands!", as Freddie tells Kims in the Thanksgiving episode. So its probably safe to say he was pretty good in bed too. And I remember Whitley once saying (and probably Kim did too) that Ron was very sweet, so maybe a lot of girls could see that under his facade.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by realchic1999

I didn't like Season 6 Freddie. She was so watered-down and not as passionate as she used to be. Add with that the fact that she dated a guy who was no good to her (Shazza) while cheating on him with Ron, of all people!

I got into the show this year by watching it on UPN, and I loved Freddie from Seasons 4 and 5. Looking forward to seeing her in Seasons 2 and 3.

I loved Freddie in season six. I was so relieved when she gave up the hippie phase. She was looking better and I think that she was erally starting to grow and knew that she had to grow up. I am not sure how I feel about the pairing with Ron.

One more note, Ron and Freddie did not kiss each other while he was with Kim but were about to in ep 3 for season six until Kim walked into the living room.