Political TV Shows

Unfortunately, no, I am not talking about shows like The West Wing and House of Cards. I’m talking about normal television shows that weave in political stuff that is happening in the real world.

First of all, I use TV as an escape from the real world. I want to live vicariously through the successful Leslie Knope and the adventurous Doctor and forget about the fact that there are polarizing issues around every corner of our country. So when a show weaves these real world things into their fiction, I can get a little annoyed. Now, I know that we as creators use our creations as an outlet to vent and talk about these things, so I get it. I do it, too, obviously, like, right now. But I think there is a right and a wrong way to do it. Let me give you an example.

Orange is the New Black is one of my favorite TV shows. Each time a new season came out, I was bingeing it as fast as I could. The background characters (AKA anyone but Piper) are so good, I can barely fathom it. They are written so well to make you fall in love with them and feel empathy for them and whatever situation they’re in. I think the show was originally created to show that not all prisoners are inherently bad, as they all come from different backgrounds with different heartfelt stories that landed them in jail. It shows some of the injustices of the legal and prison system, and can be informative and eye-opening in that way. However, as the seasons progressed, they got more and more political, more and more up on their soap box, and more and more annoying in the process. Now they are introducing issues like Black Lives Matter and immigration and pro-choice. And they want their viewers to not only care about them, but fully agree with them and their stance. And they write the show in such a way that you would be a monster if you didn’t agree. They even go so far as to make all the horrible, racist, sexist prison guards republicans. It just felt isolating to watch in the last season a bit because even though I’m not a full-blown republican, I definitely lean to the right. And I was definitely not okay with the abortion story line. The show overall tugged at heartstrings and opened my eyes to issues I was not aware of before, but it also felt polarizing and like it was contributing to the controversies plaguing our real life country. I don’t like that, and if TV shows have to get political, I wish they would bridge gaps instead of contributing to them.

Like Queer Eye. Another one of my all-time favorite shows. It is a makeover show starring 5 very talented men using their skills to improve the lives of others. Oh, and they’re gay. The tagline for the show is “turning the red states pink one makeover at a time.” This is so interesting to me. While it can at first seem a little harsh like they are going to be forcing their political views on their “heroes,” that is not at all what happens in the show. Even though all of the guys are pretty liberal and are sometimes outspoken about it, they are not trying to convert the conservatives. They are not widening the gap between the two sides. In fact, they themselves are crossing the bridge, going into the homes of Trump-supporters, and loving on them anyway. They have the tough conversations about homosexuality and religion, about the treatment of African Americans by cops, especially in the media, all while doing hair and playing dress up and doing home reno. It is remarkable to watch and makes me cry almost every episode. They are strolling around, being their flamboyantly gay selves in famously red states. They are unashamed of who they are and they stand up for what they believe in, but they are not asking these conservatives to change their views. They are just asking them to believe in themselves and love themselves a little more. They straight up just show love and kindness and generosity and that’s how you freaking turn a red state pink. That’s how you have conversations about these topics that can seem so polarizing. That’s how we could also turn the blue states…light blue. Haha. Not that that should be our main goal, but ya know.

Mostly, I watch television to escape my reality and unwind and laugh a bit. That’s why I rewatch The Office so often: it is just a feel good show. But I also love a good story and Colton has taught me to branch out to more dramatic shows that keep me on edge. Either way, I like to be entertained and I like to forget the madness that is America at the moment. But, as a writer myself, I understand that this is an avenue to talk about the issues in a way that may reach people better than screaming on social media, and I respect that. I just don’t want these things shoved down my throat. I don’t want to feel personally attacked by the show I’m watching. I don’t want TV to contribute to the divide that is so prevalent in our country right now. I don’t like anything that contributes to that divide, actually. What we should all be striving to do is showing love to everyone, especially those who disagree with us. Not so we can then force our views onto them, but just to be a good person. To do what Jesus would do. To bridge the gap between red and blue, one conversation at a time.