Florida offers a tax credit to filmmakers, so long as their films do not feature “nontraditional family values”. Which values are those? The law doesn’t say… but the guy who sponsored the law will say this:
Think of it as like Mayberry. That’s when I grew up — the ’60s. That’s what life was like.
Ummm, what version of Mayberry is this? Quick, think of a currently-married character among the regulars on The Andy Griffith Show. Andy? Widower. Bee? No. Barney, Thelma Lou, Helen? No, no no. Floyd? Apparent widower (dates, but has a son.) Gomer, Goober? Neither. Howard Sprague? Briefly engaged, but that breaks off. Earnest T. Bass? Tries to woo a married woman. The Darlings? A widower and his children. (If you follow through to the sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., Andy and Helen do marry, but, well, who follows through to Mayberry R.F.D.? And even then, the focus shifts to another widower with son.)
If you want to find someone married on The Andy Griffith Show, you have to dig down to Otis… and he’s the town drunk, hardly a role model. (The Darling daughter, Charlene, does get married… but then seeks divorce.)
For healthy “traditional” families, modern Massachusetts has Mayberry completely beat.
Edited because had had “widow” where “widower” was meant.
Hat tip: The Bureau Chiefs
