Except we're not disagreeing (see below). My point with the post was to illustrate how drastically April has changed over formative but a fairly brief 7 years from the ages of 23-30. It wasn't to do a sociological exploration. But, sure, lets do that...
a woman monkey branching to a local celeb that no one outside the hometown cares about is a near stereotype of pre-internet small town people. a young attractive trophy wife that puts up with her husband's bullshit because she can't provide for herself and will leave with the next man that makes her feel something is a tale as old as time. the internet was just what was apparently needed so that two radio show hosts from the same metro area can meet up at a comedy club, which sounds absurd when both radio shows, and comedy clubs are silly pre-internet relics. In general April's entire story is the type feminists would point to back in the 1960s as proof they needed the ability to make their own money and open their own bank accounts and have drivers licenses because of how blatantly male centered her life is.
Yes, much of this works for an old-school playbook.
All the players are Minnesotians (Nick pretends he's not, but he's been there for 25+ years). All the locations (Lakefield, Spicer, Lichfield, St. Cloud) are close enough for the old-school playbook. Plus, they're all white and Christian enough, etc etc etc.
Enter the Internet for Aaron and Nick's shows and the resulting drugs, Vegas, Matsuri (for the Rekietas), sexual boundaries being violated... and charges.
Then, consider how the Internet exposure affected Aaron and Nick's partners. It IS a similar story for Kayla and April. They both, at first, tried to play along but eventually felt horribly exposed (one went dark, the other continues to act out - but that's a different issue). They were both
brutally criticized, often justifiably.
I'd argue that small-town gossip pales in comparison to being dragged through the Internet. In a small town, you still have to "live" with one another in a real community, see each other's kids, and attend soccer and graduations.
Fwiw, I made a point of NOT painting April as a victim, and I try my darndest with Kayla (a bit less successful, admittedly). To
your point, these women have driver's licenses and cars, family support, and at least some access to funds to get themselves educated and go to work.
Compared to the 1950s they could easily leave their toxic situations. They have chosen not to do so. That's on them -100%.
