It’s one of those things you think people would learn but here we are, again. Megyn Kelly is the newest person to comment on how Netflix’s Little House on the Prarie reboot was making it too woke. In her words “Netflix, if you woke-ify ‘Little House on the Prairie’ I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project.” So I suppose less of a realization but more of a misremembering of the original Little House on the Prarie.
You know, the show that was actually woke and helped people see past their differences with episodes like:
- “The Fighter” (Season 1) – Examines alcoholism and domestic abuse.
- “The Wisdom of Solomon” (Season 3) – A Black child, Solomon Henry, faces racism after arriving in Walnut Grove. The episode condemns racial prejudice and emphasizes equality.
- “Blind Journey” (Season 5) – Features blind school students overcoming prejudice and advocating for accessibility and independence.
And there were a lot more than just those. The show touched on everything. That’s why Melissa Gilbert who played Laura on the OG Little House on the Prairie felt like she had to step in and correct the misconception that Netflix was “wokeifying” the story. The original Little House on the Prairie focused on topics like: Racism; Religious Intolerance; Disability Rights; Poverty and economic inequality; Sexism and women’s opportunities; Bullying and social exclusion; Addiction and domestic violence.
Gilbert’s Response
Gilbert responded on Threads and encouraged Kelly to “watch any episode on any streaming platform anywhere in the world.”
“Apparently Megyn tweeted (I’m not on that platform) asking that Netflix not ‘woke-Ify’ their ‘Little House’ remake,” Gilbert added in a longer statement. “Ummm…watch the original again. TV doesn’t get too much more ‘woke’ than we did. We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other ‘woke ‘ topic you can think of. Thank you very much.”
This argument about Little House comes up again and again. But it’s always interesting to see who thinks that the original wasn’t woke. Was it that? Or maybe because when they watched it when they were younger they saw kindness and good in the episodes that kept them coming back. And now they’re so filled with fear and anger that they think that by somehow calling it woke makes it bad. Being woke isn’t bad, it’s having the awareness to be kind to others in all situations. Which it EXACTLY what Little House has always been. A catalyst for storytelling and a way to instill morals in those that watch the show.
