Joining a movement can be a bit scary. Intimidating even. I joined this movement, because I had too! I know that without a climate movement, I, and many others, will not have a livable future.
Even still, sometimes, it is nice to be reminded of all of the beautiful & wacky parts of being in a movement. In pop culture, we rarely see that! Growing up, the only movement I was familiar with was the Civil Rights Movement, and it was presented as something that was very much in the past. From the fact that it was only discussed in my history classes, to the way black and white images felt ancient, I did not see the Civil Rights Movement as something that continued to exist and influence the present. It certainly did not feel like something I could model my life off of.
Enter Good Trouble. The show is a spinoff of The Fosters — a simplistic, but heartwarming and progressive kid’s show from the early 2010s. However, one does not need to have seen it to enjoy the spinoff, which is also more squarely in the young adult space (the characters are mainly in their 20s).
It has a premise like so many iconic young adult shows… the main character (or in this case main characters, sisters Callie and Mariana) need to find housing. I have to say, living in Bozeman, where our vacancy rate is “effectively zero,” it’s easy to understand why this is such a common trope! In typical fashion, they find a quirky group in a “way to nice for the price” housing situation. From there, though, this show differs. Beyond examining strong friend group dynamics, the struggle to grow up, and workplace drama, we also see a many different ways to work on social justice.
Characters are devoting their lives to changing the world — through art, education, the law, comedy, technology, and in the streets activism. Together, they are a decidedly fresh, intersectional, and bubbly look at what social justice work and movements can be!
This is not a show that is going to win any major awards for groundbreaking cinema, but it is taking down barriers between shows that are “fun” and shows that are “meaningful.” Good Trouble will give you ideas for how you might actually fit the climate movement into your everyday life (just like our Climate Action Explorer!), but it will also be a pleasant escape from the trials of the real world.
Season 4 dropped this week, but I’ve linked the trailer to season 1 below.