Posted on 08/28/2012 8:33:45 AM PDT by scottjewell
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- "The New Normal" is a television situation comedy set to debut on NBC in September. According to advance reports, the premise of the program is a woman becomes a surrogate mother so a male homosexual couple can start a family.
Let me say that "new" might be applicable in the title. "Normal," though, is a stretch.
Whether you use any of the various synonyms for the word normal or employ it as an adjective or a noun, one thing is certain: Two men using a surrogate mother to produce a child is anything but normal.
First, my research indicates that surrogacy is, at best, controversial. Approximately eight states and the District of Columbia ban surrogacy contracts outright. In New York the procedure is deemed void and unenforceable by statute but allowed by the courts. Only six states have explicitly approved surrogacy contracts through their legislatures and/or courts.
Second, the incidence of surrogacy among homosexuals is difficult to track. I could find no reliable statistics on the issue for male or female homosexuals. That said, the percentage of individuals who identify themselves as homosexual is so minuscule that any effort to label surrogacy in the homosexual community as normal is absurd.
A study released in April of 2011 by Gary Gates, a demographer-in-residence at UCLA, found that only about 4 million adults in America identify as gay or lesbian. This figure represents 1.7 percent of the nation's population. Gates findings affirm previous studies and are undisputed.
So what could possibly be the point in developing a situation comedy that represents a sub-group of folks in a population of people that make up perhaps 1.7 percent of American society and then naming it "The New Normal?"
I suspect the effort behind the new comedy by NBC is just another effort to use the vehicle of humor to further the notion of homosexuality as natural and normal.
The use of humor, in part, has been utilized to convince many Americans that the number of those self-identifying as homosexual is much larger than is actually true. A Gallup poll released in May 2011 found that "U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian."
How did most Americans come to believe that 25 percent of their fellow citizens were homosexual when the actual number is less than 2 percent? The use of humor and the overrepresentation in the media of homosexuals has certainly helped to contribute to this skewed perception.
A variety of social studies have found that people are more open to controversial and objectionable ideas if the issues are presented in a humorous manner. Laughter, it seems, causes people to lower their defenses, since humor is associated by the mind as non-threatening. Humor, it appears, has a way of desensitizing people to ideas they deem offensive.
It should not come as a surprise that the first gay characters to appear on television were in situation comedies. Television historians agree that the first regular homosexual character appeared in the comedy "Soap" that premiered in 1977. The role of Jodie Dallas was played by comedian Billy Crystal.
Over the past three decades gay and lesbian characters were routinely depicted in situation comedies. "Ellen" was a popular comedy that ran during the late 1990s. The show starring comedian Ellen DeGeneres was successful when it portrayed the main character's sexuality as ambiguous. However, the coming out of Ellen was portrayed a bit too seriously and resulted in viewer backlash.
"Will and Grace" followed "Ellen" and was all comedy all the time. Some social scientists believe the comedic portrayal of homosexuality in "Will and Grace" resulted in much of mainstream America coming to view homosexuality as a benign subject, so much so they called it the "Will and Grace Effect."
Since the success of "Will and Grace," homosexual characters and gay themes have flooded the television market. Ellen DeGeneres has even gone on to have a successful talk-show on daytime television and is currently a spokes model for JC Penney.
The representation of homosexuals in the media has been well documented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). In recent years GLAAD has annually issued its "Network Responsibility Index," which tracks the favorable portrayal of homosexuals in the media.
In the "Network Responsibility Index 2010-2011" GLAAD reported that the cable network ABC Family dedicated 55 percent of its original primetime programming to themes/depictions favorable to homosexuality.
GLAAD's report on other cable networks and the percentage of primetime programming favorable to homosexuality are as follows: Showtime, 37 percent; TNT, 33 percent; HBO, 31 percent; AMC, 29 percent; Syfy, 22 percent.
Broadcast networks, according to GLAAD's report, that are most favorable toward homosexuality in primetime are: The CW, 33 percent; Fox, 29 percent; ABC, 23 percent. NBC scored 15 percent, CBS 10 percent.
Every network is guilty of trying to normalize homosexuality. NBC -- which scored only 15 percent in that GLAAD index -- even used its Olympics primetime schedule to push the issue, broadcasting a profile of an Australian diver who had come out as gay. The feature was so sympathetic, GLAAD could have filmed it.
Hopefully those guffawing at "The New Normal" will realize that one aspect of the show will be accurate. A homosexual couple must resort to some form of scientific sleight-of-hand like surrogacy to reproduce, because they cannot do so the "old-fashioned" normal way. Biology betrays them.
This is not to imply that most Leftists are part of a conspiratorial attack on society. There are multiple facets to what has been going on; and it is certainly not eminating from a single "command center." But it all reflects a complex malady, caused by multiple pathogens, that have been studiously cultured in once healthy American societies. The common attribute, of each factor, is an attack on the fundamental truth that any nation, tribe, community or family, is a multi-generational concept.
This "comedy," of course, flies in the face of any understanding of the continuity of organized & enduring human achievement. It amuses only those unable to understand how we got anywhere in the past; or how we may ever hope to have a future worth the having.
It is easy to weary of fighting mass confusion, resulting from the compulsion driven causes of those who find truth--reality--intolerable. But they simply will not let up, so we cannot. I only hope that no company I ever patronize forces me to desist by sponsoring this reprehensible venture.
William Flax
One of the “stars” of “The New Normal” is Ellen Barkin, who appears to be competing with Cher for the honor of which vacuous female celebrity can say the dumbest things about Republicans. It will be my honor to boycott her new show.
Yes, it’s overwhelming, but we must keep fighting the good fight. Capitulation is what they want, and we can’t give in or become complacent. They’ve made the job 1,000 x harder than it was even 2 decades ago.
You need to get out there on the debate circuit, brother! Yours is the logic which can turn minds. ;-)
Yes, the comments on twitter have been hateful and murderous: Very revealing.
Then 'ow the 'ell can you 'arangue the 'ateful 'omosexuals? :)
Worse are shows which are not at all about this subject, then they slip in the piece of information that the character you have been watching is having a same sex relationship.I detest being agena-ized and think it insults the viewer. When a program does that, it is the END of it for me. Thus went White Collar, Warehouse 13 and others. Even the animation movie, Para Norman, which is somewhat for kids, had to add that the “hunk” was not interested in the teen age girl who was pursuing him, because “Sorry, I have a date with my boyfriend.” (Ha Ha). They just HAVE to add this element.Besides being insulting, this is just trite, predictable and too cute by half and unimaginative.
The proper name for these shows is ‘homopromo’.
Yeah, I can remember when my son and his girlfriend used to watch the NBC soap opera, “Passions” - then they had to begin slipping in the agenda: Same thing, hunky guy had to explain he had a boyfriend, hot girl liked another girl at school and her respectable parents stood up for her all the way. I’ve seen that on too many shows now even to keep track of it.
This is why ala cart channel buying is so important to society.
This will also start to hurt the left when the “channel system” goes the way of the dinosaur. They can not force feed what people will not buy. Also as tech gets better and better people can even edit out show elements they find objectionable as easily as changing the channel. (see Disney pattenting a new form of face duplicating for animatronics)
TV shows become like magazines.
Bias means oblivion.
Social Abnomality means oblivion
Oblivion means no money.
no money equals no show.
Started long before that
Try the movie Victor Victoria where humor was used to get the audience used to not being disgusted
Or early ones where and interior decorator etc is shown in a small sympathetic humorous role
Hope my H’s work better when I’m saying it, LOL.
I’m banging my H key for it to work, LOL.
LOL
LOL ;-)
Was watching [bangs the H button]a movie and everything was alright, it seemed an OK movie.
Then all of a sudden, with no warning, out of nowhere these two men turned around and kissed each other.
Right away I grabbed the control and off it went.
Felt sick and wanted to throw up and I had only seen one tenth of a second of it.
Have no interest in watching two disgusting men act as if they were a normal natural couple.
Obviosuly their agenda is more important than ratings as they have tried this crap[no pun intended] on other movies like brokeback wich was a failure, CNN, MSNBC etc spin the socialist agenda and their ratings tank.
Have a program like Person of interest and the ratings are high.
Have a mivie like expendables and the ratings are high.
People want to see men being men not so called men acting like women and making iot appear as if they’re normal.
Hopefully most people espcially men have the brains to understand that two women , two homosexual women are not what Hollywood puts out, the real ones are big butch acting like men .
You haven’t missed anything. Getting ready to cut the cable myself....too much garbage.
And there certainly is a “casting couch” for male actors.
One of the stories I heard was that Travolta was a victim of the “casting couch” at the start of the career, and the experience was what turned him gay.
Would be nice to see other churches perform similarly.
Most churches are not as rich as the Mormons who can own network tv channels. Heck the Catholic Church can barely keep the lights on.
Well, good luck to them with that “normalization” thing. The beautiful thing about tv is that you can change the channel. Or. Turn it off. The “new normal” at our house is so old, we don’t remember when we cancelled our cable. (6 years? 7? 8? Or longer?) Our video/ DVD collection ends at about 1972.
Fine. I’m a “racist” & a “homophobe” & I’m not fit company for “normal” liberal society (ROFL GAK...ahem. Sorry) Can we social outcasts have our own country now?
I watch White Collar and never saw a gay thing mentioned. Are we watching the same show? If you are missing it this year, it is good. I am just confused by you saying it is a homosexual show. What am I missing? lol.
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