People Like You and Me
People Like You and Me
This title is the prologue to each episode. We are all people like you and me. With not a single exception. Even though we sometimes think we are the one exception. We are all human beings with universal desires for happiness, connection; preferably forever and ever. Afraid of loss and the accompanying grief. Also curious and wondering. Both appear in the series People Like You and Me. All people struggle with the same thing. In all our stories, in books, poems, music and movies we find translations of these universal struggles in which we recognize and explore ourselves. Curious or intrigued by the stories of the other and the outcome. And with that perhaps looking for the story about and from ourselves?
The small and accessible stories that sparkle like diamonds:
Stories that we enjoy, smile at, recognize ourselves in (or look at in the mirror) and can relate to. Only the story always ends differently than we imagined. Thus, there is always a surprising ending. With a twist halfway through that keeps us watching. With which we are put on a different footing. Giving a different perspective. Not moralizing. But with a big or small smile.
What about that old series in the 1980s?
What many remember was that the stories from the series People Like You and Me had a certain calmness, warmth, love and amazement. And many remember the one protagonist in various situations: Kees Brusse. He was the lovable, friendly man who could be both in the foreground and in the background. But his presence gave a kind of peace and confidence. Sometimes he was the cab driver, other times the letter carrier delivering (his own) letters to lonely people. The burglar who feels remorse. The driving instructor, the streetcar driver, etc.. A total of 32 stories were created then, in the 80's. Stories against the background of ordinary, everyday situations that everyone knows and where the ordinary encounters and conversations take place.
The meaning of small and big stories:
We humans can't get enough of stories. For centuries. It is universal and timeless. Perhaps it fulfills people's desire to grasp and understand life. Maybe it's about getting to know other, new people. Who are the same but perhaps also slightly different. Because that is what we are so curious about; in what way and why is the other just different? Stories can also connect us! Tell me a story. One that moves me. What makes me happy. Which gives me hope. Meaning in the day. Meaning in life. Meaning in the people around me. And recognize myself in them, can find myself, or pick myself up. Stories of all kinds of people in all kinds of situations through which I can place the world around me and my own place in it.
The old and the remake series: People Like You and Me:
In Today's World
The world has changed enormously in rhythm, dynamics and challenges since that first series in the 1980s. Perhaps it would be too easy to say that the world has become more complex now because perhaps the people of that time also experienced the world as complex?
What has changed is the composition of the Netherlands. To which other stories have been added. Have become more colorful. They are stories about identity, color, culture and identity. Stories that tell what the world of other people looks like. How they look at universal issues and what answers they give to them. How these stories inspire, amaze, confuse and sometimes challenge us to stay connected. But above all, not to be blinded by what often looks different at first glance. Feeling different. Maybe even sometimes seem unrecognizable or threatening. The series People Like You and Me - can be an enormously powerful connection and tool in this! Media Luna is planning a remake of this series with the people of today.
Right now we need to tell each other stories that remind us that we are all People Like You and Me. In which we meet each other. In wonder and confusion. But especially in the recognition.