I've been reading lots of wingnut whinging about "liberal Hollywood" lately thanks to these 2 sadistic fellows and it's gotten me thinking that the wingnuts may have a point. I guess Hollywood is liberal, in the same way the world is liberal.
A lot of wingnut worldview hinges on a belief that there is natural--NATURAL!--can't fight it, libs!--hierarchy that informs human existence. And that at the top of this hierarchy is straight white men. Why straight white men? Because they've done everything, you see. They've created everything (yes, yes...just pretend with me more a moment), fought all our wars (yes, yes...just pretend with me for a moment), and are just plain neater than everybody else. Smarter, stronger, more interesting. When you believe this, it makes it much easier to defend structural racism, misogyny and homophobia.
The problem is much of the world--certainly not all, my gosh, no...I wish!--is starting to question this worldview. And when we question this worldview, naturally we begin to think minorities and women are kinda neat, too. Most people don't think it's acceptable to bully gay teens. Most people don't think it's acceptable to treat women poorly in the work place. Most people think that blacks and latinos have a right to partake of the American dream. Slowly but surely, the world is "liberalizing." And entertainment, naturally, reflects this. Thus, you may occasionally see a sympathetic, non-caricaturish portrayal of a gay person, you may see a woman portrayed as strong and capable, you may see a black person portrayed as heroic or brilliant. You may hear a message that says it's ok to be gay, or that maybe feminist sentiment has made the world better (for everyone.) In that way, yes, the entertainment industry is liberal.
And so I can see why wingnuts feel like they're under siege nearly every moment of the day.
Watch this Small Potatoes video. Cute, right? Only thing more adorable than a small child's voice is a British child's voice.
But, let's be honest. The message is multi-cultural, very "You're ok, I'm ok." Now, to most people, normal people, this is a pretty great message.
But if you're one of those quixotic culture warriors who never saw a windmill small enough to ignore, it's just more proof that that all media is liberal...and out to get you.
I've been watching a lot of Disney Channel lately. I find most of the messages I get from the network pretty comforting. Everything's pretty light, funny...girls get to be funny, blacks and Asians get treated as more than tokens. Heck, they even portray FAT GIRLS sympathetically. Boys sing and dance. Everyone is friends with everyone else and everyone has an attitude of--GULP--tolerance.
I think that's GREAT. But if I were a strict follower of conservative dogma on race - someone who thought that a straight white man should be the focus of everything; someone who got upset at the TV when women and minorities weren't standing meekly in the background subtly cheering for their own degradation - I'd find it pretty terrifying.