Living in the Czech Republic, I only get whatever English language programs they happen to show here, and it’s nowhere near 100%. I’ve only seen The Big Bang Theory in Czech and, while my Czech is good enough to sort of figure out what’s going on, it’s not enough to pick up on fast paced, subtle humor. I’ve never seen The Wire, or Mad Men, or a lot of shows which have come and gone and lots of people comment on and apparently watch religiously.
So, with the proviso that I’m making a judgement based on limited input, I think I have noticed a rather ugly trend. I was watching “Brothers and Sisters” the other day. I had avoided the show for some time, just feeling there was something a little weird and creepy about it (Callista Flockhart? I always hated Alley McBeal), but recently I started to get into it a bit because it’s on so frequently and Sally Field is truly a great actress. Then, the other day, a main character announced that he was running for Governor as an “eco friendly Republican” and I changed the channel immediately. Partly because I’m partisan, I suppose. Partly because it’s just such pure bullshit and propaganda. There is no such thing as an “eco friendly Republican,” and hasn’t been since Theodore Roosevelt.
Another show I watch, not so much because I think it’s great but just because it’s always on, is The Good Wife. Of course, the main character, played by Julianna Margulies, is always pissed off because her husband once slept with the super hot Indian woman in the office and I’m just thinking, well, geez, lady, what do you expect, you look like you’re just about ready to cry the whole time and Kalindra is a steaming little sexpot. But that’s beside the point, totally not related to my theory. The point is, although she is super pissed off at her husband, she is loyal to him politically and tries to keep their problems under wraps so they don’t screw up his career. So, he must be a good guy, (his children love him, too) even though he’s got a campaign manager who cackles deviously and has a comical disregard for ethics.
Passion in the Oval Office
Which is nothing compared to the president’s campaign manager in Scandal, who actually stole the election by rigging the voting machines in Ohio (gee, what president did that?), and the president has a black girlfriend (is Olivia Pope supposed to be Condoleeza Rice?) who is actually the star of the show and runs a high powered scandal control agency. This is the show I’m most conflicted about because I like it a lot, the plot is just bizarre enough, the editing is chop, chop, chop, montage, action bit, intense argument, devious backstabbing, sudden revelation, and you never really know what the hell is going on. On the other hand, it’s the most egregious example of what I’m talking about.
The trend seems to be to portray scumbag, crooked, manipulative politicians as basically well intentioned people who are just involved in a dirty game. It’s always their evil campaign managers or corrupt associates or family members that are dragging them down.
The shows are presented as realistic but it’s more of a fantasy scenario than Gilligan’s Island.
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