\u201cgo touch grass\u201d<\/a> \u2014 meaning, get offline, and go take a walk in nature \u2014 if their brains seem poisoned by social media.\u00a0<\/p>\nNo story embraces the \u201cgo touch grass\u201d mentality more than \u201cLittle House on the Prairie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based on the popular semi-autobiographical children\u2019s book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published in the 1930s), the original show was a classic of the era, airing for nine seasons on NBC from 1974 to 1983.<\/p>\nNo story embraces the \u201cgo touch grass\u201d mentality more than \u201cLittle House on the Prairie,\u201d which stars Luke Bracey (pictured). \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe original \u201970s \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured with Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon) was also popular because of tech anxieties at the time. Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSet in the 1800s, the story follows the pioneer Ingalls family, and their rural frontier life in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201870s show starred Michael Landon as Charles \u201cPa\u201d Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline \u201cMa\u201d Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and Melissa Sue Anderson as Laura\u2019s sister, Mary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new Netflix series stars Luke Bracey and Crosby Fitzgerald as the Ingalls parents, and Skywalker Hughes and Alice Halsey as daughters Mary and Laura.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe \u201970s version (the core cast pictured above) followed rural family life. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured with the Netflix version) is back romanticizing rural life, when there\u2019s cultural anxiety about AI and young people are choosing \u201cgrandma hobbies.\u201d Netflix via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBoth shows romanticize the beginnings of the American West, and family life on the frontier as the family supports each other and seeks out a better life, living off the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On a YouTube clip of the original show, one fan commented that it \u201creminds [me] of the good old days \u2026 carefree and unburdened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another fan wrote, \u201cI grew up with this show \u2026 no computers, no iPhone, it was just simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nFans liked \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured with Alice Halsey in the Netflix version) because life seemed \u201csimple.\u201d Netflix via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured above are Bracey and Fitzgerald in the Netflix version) is popular when the public has anxieties about life getting \u201ccomplicated.\u201d \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cWe were in the middle of an energy crisis, the automobile industry was collapsing, Watergate was going on,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Notably, they weren\u2019t talking about the rise of AI in the \u201970s, but they had their own tech concerns. The shift from typewriters to computers was just around the corner.<\/p>\n
The author and professor explained those issues made the original show\u2019s viewers think, \u201cwouldn\u2019t it be nice to go back to simpler times of life on the prairie?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson added, \u201cI think that was appealing for the complexities of modern life in the \u201970s. And, it\u2019s also appealing for modern life in the 2020s, for different elements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nNetflix\u2019s \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured) has premiered amid cultural anxieties about changing tech. \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAudiences liked the \u201970s \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured with Landon and Grassle) amid the auto industry collapsing and Watergate. NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSeries creator Rebecca Sonnenshine has denied considering the \u201ctrad wife\u201d trend when she was making the new show.<\/p>\n
In an interview published Thursday, she told Variety<\/a> that she came from a \u201ccrafty\u201d family, citing how they did activities like carpentry, sewing, and gardening, \u201call these things that I don\u2019t feel like should be like cornered by trad wives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nCreator Rebecca Sonnenshine has said that she didn\u2019t have the \u201ctrad wife\u201d trend on her mind (pictured with Hannah Neeleman and her husband and kids) when she was making the show. Instagram \/ Ballerina Farm<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIt\u2019s no accident that \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured: Landon in the \u201970s) is back in 2026. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBut, just because a creator claims that there\u2019s no connection, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not in the ether.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both \u201cYesteryear\u201d and \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d don\u2019t shy away from the ugly elements of the rural life. The novel notably skews towards horror; it\u2019s not a gentle pastoral tale. It features a horrible relationship between the protagonist and her husband, and a twist that makes the whole thing nasty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d features a loving family life, but both versions of the show address issues like alcoholism, and characters suffering from a lack of proximity to medical help.<\/p>\nEven the \u201970s version of \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured with Anderson and Gilbert) explored issues like alcoholism. NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d (pictured above are Jocko Sims, Bracey and Fitzgerald in the Netflix show) doesn\u2019t shy away from addressing a lack of proximity to doctors. \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThompson noted that ever since the Industrial Revolution, every era has been \u201canxious about post industrial modern life.\u201d <\/p>\n
People have always found a reason to view the past as \u201cappealing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as people are clear-eyed about viewing it through rose-colored glasses, there\u2019s no harm in taking a look back \u2014 just make sure you\u2019re still moving forward, too.\u00a0The grass isn\u2019t always greener.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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