Subject:
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Re: John Leo's opinion of "The West Wing"
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 2 Oct 2002 16:17:58 GMT
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Viewed:
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571 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Koudys writes:
> > Therefore citing from [The West Wing] carries no water for me. Ever.
>
> I remember a relatively huge controversy amongst the legal profession--"L.A.
> Law does not show what it's really like in the legal profession." A radio
> DJ at the time quipped, "WKRP is nothing like how a radio station works
> either, but I still like the show..."
>
> Yeah, M*A*S*H went 9 years longer than the war it was suppose to represent,
> and watching "Pretty Woman" does not give you insight into the lives of
> everyday prostitutes--What's your point?
I think the point is that Leo perceives that people are distressingly apt
to get their political views from fictional programs. No doubt Leo would
include such fictions as the 700 Club and Rush Limbaugh's daily spew, as
well as the film "Traffic," but apparently Leo sees fit to single out The
West Wing.
For what it's worth, Leo's not all that far off on this point, even if he
failed to include other likely candidates. In this forum you yourself have
quoted soundbytes from The West Wing in a way that suggested that you either
accepted those soundbytes as "true" or else saw no need to distinguish
between those bytes and actual fact. You also seem to have formed opinions
about US culture and politics based on that show, to which I believe I
responded that I'm glad to hear that Prime Minister Doug McKenzie is doing
well, eh?
> About the slamming of the fictional person, a la Dr. Laura...
Dr. Laura is another fine example of fictional programming that is
distressingly perceived as real or true or accurate. I know you're
referring to a Laura-esque character, but the point remains that people do
indeed believe fictional shows to equate to reality.
> You want to talk subtlety? How about anti-abortion zealots that run around
> shooting doctors and personnel that perform abortions--that's about as
> subtle as it gets, me thinks. There have been documented cases of abortion
> clinics getting packages with mutilated dolls in them. So a television show
> takes real life scenarios and works them into a story and puts them on the
> tube--whoda thunk?
I believe the technical term for that is "pandering." And when it's done
under the guise of "raising the public consciousness," I find it to be
especially vulgar.
> The entertainment industry has a way of starting terrific conversations.
Yes, but all too often it's cited as if it were some authoritative source
on matters of ethics, politics, and science.
> I prefer to think that the West Wing raises the bar on what would otherwise
> be a pretty bleak television season. In a time when the industry is dumbing
> things down, and going for supposed 'reality t.v,', the West Wing (and for
> two glorious seasons, Sports Night) are a Godsend.
> "More and more we are expecting less and less from each other. It's time to
> start working against that"
>
> -Aaron Sorkin, in Sports Night as well as West Wing
> (yeah, sometimes he reuses themes and even the same text in both shows--oh
> well, whatreya gonna do?)
So you're saying that the bar is raised by the regurgitation of trite
homilies?
Dave!
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: John Leo's opinion of "The West Wing"
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| (...) Hmm. I trust you're not claiming that the Dr. Laura Show is fictional as in "written and acted out". She does host a radio show, people do call in, and she does respond to them as presented. The relative merits of said show are of course (...) (22 years ago, 2-Oct-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: John Leo's opinion of "The West Wing"
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| (...) If I were to pose the hypothesis--"If I were to let go of a hammer, the hammer would fall. I do not have to watch the hammer fall to see that this is true."--what does it matter *where* this hypothesis came from? This line (paraphrased to be (...) (22 years ago, 2-Oct-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: John Leo's opinion of "The West Wing"
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| (...) I remember a relatively huge controversy amongst the legal profession--"L.A. Law does not show what it's really like in the legal profession." A radio DJ at the time quipped, "WKRP is nothing like how a radio station works either, but I still (...) (22 years ago, 2-Oct-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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