Move Over, J.R.

Commentary Magazine ^ | April 28, 2008 | Abe Greenwald

[Jbny]

Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch have written an interesting piece for today's Washington Post in which they argue that the 80's television drama "Dallas" helped win the Cold War. Their case is overstated, but not entirely invalid:

It was the booze-and-sex-soaked caricature of free enterprise and executive lifestyles that proved irresistible not just to stagflation-weary Americans but viewers from France to the Soviet Union to Ceau?escu's Romania.

"Dallas" wasn't simply a television show. It was an atmosphere-altering cultural force.

The voluptuous charms of big oil, beautiful women, and sprawling ranches were dangled before viewers in nearly 100 countries, and spoke of possibilities beyond those offered by the state. Soft power is real, and if one looks at the styles of neo-capitalists from former Soviet countries they often appear is if still stuck in the gilded 1980's.

So, the question is: what is today's "Dallas"? That is, what definitively American phenomenon is being broadcast to a world viewership? And what does today's product say about today's America?

Unquestionably, the U.S.'s biggest cultural export is the multimedia spectacle of the current presidential election. In particular, the Democratic showdown between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

[goldstategop]

J.R Ewing was the embodiment of the crooked successful businessman. People hated his ethics but admired his success in the oil business.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Have you a link that works?

[Verloona Ti]

Here's a link to the original WP article at least.