Erik’s post on pop culture and conservatism reminded me of something I meant to write about but almost forgot. This involves spoilers of the first episode of the new TV show Scandal, a political drama.
One of my observations about politics and television/movies is that when explicitly conservatives or Republicans appear (or characters are identified as conservative or Republican), they usually do so in order to validate the liberal or anti-conservative worldview. Usually by (a) being a villain, (b) being shown up, or (c) being specifically set up in contrast and conflict with the bad kind. There are exceptions, but they are few outside of comedies. The rule doesn’t really apply to characters where a major part of their role is to be funny.
So I cocked an eyebrow when I watched the first episode of Scandal, when the first client of the program appeared to be a very conservative individual (“Sully”) who was accused of a crime he did not commit. Well, I wasn’t sure he committed it, as I would not have been the least bit surprised if the “twist” was that he did. Yet it became apparent that he really didn’t do it. And it started to look like he never cheated on her. That he was, actually, as moral and upright as he was initially presented as being. And not funny.
What the hell is going on?, I wondered. Could the Trumwill Rule On Conservatives in Entertainment be wrong? It’s happened, I assume, but I continued to look on with a jaundiced eye. Trying to figure out how this conservative was going to advance the unconservative worldview.
I should have seen it coming. I should have seen it coming! The client was gay and in the closet. And further, the only way he could get out of his jam was to admit that he was gay. So there was the pro forma internal struggle. Then, at the end, there was a nonsensical speech about how he was proud to be gay. I say “nonsensical” not because it doesn’t make sense to be proud of oneself including those parts of you that others disdain. Rather, that it was really quite clear that he was not proud of being gay. That there was a degree of internal conflict involved. But acknowledging this would have gotten in the way of the final scene of a Medal of Honor winner, in uniform, talking about how proud he is to be gay at the end of a press conference.
I poke fun, but I actually liked the show with the exception of the speech at the end, which seemed heavy-handed and didn’t fit. Actually, that wasn’t the only thing to go off the rails at the end, so I’m not sure if the show is a “keeper” or not. We’ll see.
The guy who winds up marrying Claire on Six Feet Under is identified as conservative (though I don’t think we’re ever shown what that means in any detail.) He’s kind, loving, solid, unselfish, and probably the best person on the show. Certainly better than any of the main characters.
Maybe I’ll do a post on the good counter-examples. There are some, here and there.
I’ve only seen the first season of 6FU, which was a long time ago. The show actually got some props from National Review (okay, it was written by Balko, but still) for its handling of the abortion issue. It’s good to know that I shouldn’t waste any time on trying to figure out when they’re going to reveal that Claire’s husband to be a super-secret child molester or something.
I’m not sure if Hank from Breaking Bad fits. He’s originally presented as a stereotypical redneck cop: macho, racist, and an all-around jerk. Little by little, we see that the macho act covers up real insecurities; that he’s not at all racist, it’s just overly rough kidding with a Latino partner he’s truly fond of; and that he’s devoted to his wife and extended family. He’s also a brilliant and dogged detective. Of the major adult characters, he’s the least morally compromised.