Posted on 04/24/2003 9:10:31 AM PDT by adamyoshida
TV Turns Left
One of the stranger effects of the Second Gulf War is now being seen on television. Two shows- Fox’s 24 and UPN’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both of which began this season in a way which pleased many conservatives, have taken sudden leftwards turns which have caused a drop in the quality of the programming and angered many viewers. A viewing of the e2pisodes to date of both shows suggests that the producers, looking for plot arcs which would resonate with the viewers, created plots which were designed to appeal to mainstream America (the search for a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles in the case of 24 and a battle against the ‘First Evil’ on Buffy) but that they, in mid-stride, turned away from such plots for fear of appearing to support President Bush or the war in Iraq.
I was initially turned off from 24 last year by, what seemed to me, to be an obvious and anti-American main plot- namely that a CIA agent had to stop a conspiracy by (presumably racist) individuals within the government planning to assassinate the first black major Presidential candidate of the day of the California Primary (in case you’re unaware 24 uses the gimmick of having each episode fill an hour within a single day). It was only when the first season was released on DVD that I learned that, in fact, the villains of the piece were Serbians angry over a military action taken during the war there. It was an interesting choice and one which seemed to defy conventions. It made me eager to watch this year’s instalment turned out.
The Second Season of the show began with even more promise. It revolved around a Middle Eastern terrorist group named ‘Second Wave’ who was planning to set off a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. In an environment where even Tom Clancy movies have their Islamist villains deleted in favor of generic European neo-Nazis I believed this to be a notably gutsy and realistic move. Better still the show handled the plot with toughness, the sort of hardness needed in an age like this. Though there were whispers throughout of a conspiracy against the President from within his own government, they seemed to just be plot filler.
This act came to a terrific end a few episodes ago- with one of the show’s main characters over both seasons heroically sacrificing himself to save Los Angeles. However, from this point on (which, not coincidentally came as the crisis in Iraq heated up) the show suddenly took a wild left turn. The Islamic terrorists, we learn, were simply dupes, being used by people who were trying to provoke a war between the United States and three unidentified Middle Eastern nations to push up the price of their Caspian Sea Oil reserves. The Cabal, naturally, is made up of old White men. Other recent episodes have featured Southern ‘rednecks’ attacking predominately Arab neighbourhoods en masse.
Buffy, long a guilty pleasure for many, began this season with a plot revolving around the ‘First Evil’ which, to put it simply, is a sort of non-corporeal being which was the original evil in the world with the ability to influence people into committing horrible acts. Now Buffy has long had something of a leftward tilt (embracing homosexuality and Wicca for example), but much of this season seemed to have been meant to be reflective of the nation’s mood. Faced with the prospect of fighting the First Evil, Buffy and the rest of her friends and allies went up about the process of building up an army to fight a ‘war’ against this evil.
The idea of creating a form of art which would (backhandedly) seem to endorse the Bush Administration’s fight against evil must have been too much for someone in Buffy’s creative team (most likely creator Joss Whedon, who returned to do more work on Buffy after his Firefly was cancelled by Fox and who, in several interviews, has expressed disdain for President Bush). As a result the show has suddenly introduced a character seemingly purposefully designed to offend conservatives in general and Christians in particular.
The character, named Caleb, is a fallen preacher who now follows the First Evil. He is depicted as being a serial killer, an extreme misogynist, and generally as being far more brutal and violent than other villains depicted on the show. One reviewer was described as being left ‘shaking’ at the depiction. Though I was certainly not emotionally upset by this development, it was certainly insulting to me as a viewer. The fact that the episode, which at one point mocks the sacrament of communion, aired during the week of Easter simply was salt in the wound.
In both cases it seems to be that the producers simply sought to disassociate themselves from the President (and from the nation’s mission) through sudden and bizarre plot twists which seem to have been calculated to insult patriotic Americans. The idea in 24 that a massive war would be started by a bunch of rich, white, men to increase their oil profits is something out of ANSWER-style kookdom. It is a slap in the face to decent Americans for the producers of 24 to indulge in such anti-American nonsense at a time like this. For Buffy it was more subtle- but still an obvious message. Namely- Christians and conservatives are unwelcome here.
The real problem here is that there is not a single genuinely conservative show on the any of the major networks today (the closest you’ll find are on the second-tier WB which features a number of arguably conservative shows such as 7th Heaven, Smallville, Reba, and even, perhaps the Buffy spin-off Angel which has taken on an interestingly Biblical tone this season, but even those often tend to adopt left-wing values and attitudes). The major networks should remember a lesson from elsewhere: viewer accept the left-wing consensus only when they have no choice. When Rush Limbaugh came on the air he quickly came to dominate radio. Similarly Fox News took just a few short years to leap ahead of the much more established CNN. The first person to produce a quality show that reflects conservative convictions will probably have a very big hit on their hands indeed.
BTW, Smallville is not conservative. Businessmen are represented as evil. Just more Hollywood neo-Marxism.
I must have missed that episode. I haven't heard it uttered at all. I still enjoy the program nonetheless.
As to Buffy, eh. Never really followed it. But it seems to me that the ultimate evil would be doing some denegrating things to all-things Judeo-CHristian. And marketing-wise, Easter week would get the most viewership (or maybe Christmas).
Just remember, you can always change the channel. Or, I recommend just turning the TV off.
I take it you're referring to Lionel Luthor, who was an evil businessman in the comics long before the tv show.
Are you kidding me?!? The show gave Lex at least half a heart. Compared to the original comic books, Lex is actually a nice guy!! As for his father, that man was evil long before someone in Hollywood picked up the series
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