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Date Posted: 13:08:12 04/17/13 Wed
Author: Jarrod
Subject: Are some stories TOO liberal?

My enjoyment of some episodes is distracted by the fact that the writers seem to be pushing liberal causes. I am not against a good cause, per se, but I am against heavy-handed politics masquerading as entertainment. Anyone else feel this way watching certain episodes?

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Replies:

[> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- SWC, 16:36:23 04/17/13 Wed [1]

As long as it's done as good human stories, I'm fine with it. It's when "messages" become speech-making with stereotyped characters that can get pretty dire. You don't present it as a political diatribe. You show the impact of human actions on others to suggest a different course.


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[> [> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? (The Ponderosa) -- Rick, 17:29:56 04/17/13 Wed [1]

The 2001 PAX sequel series was and Sullivan made sure of it. Dortort was NOT happy with it.




R-


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[> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Jimmy, 23:05:16 04/17/13 Wed [1]

Care to cite any specific examples?


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[> [> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Jarrod (McDonald), 17:17:20 04/18/13 Thu [1]

The one that prompted me to start the thread was 'El Jefe.' The victims are hispanic, and the villain is white. Of course, the villain could not be another hispanic. Every time I see an episode from the late 60s or early 70s where the guest star is hispanic or black, I know it's going to be one of 'these kinds' of stories. I think if they really were trying to integrate multicultural themes, they should have had some townspeople or nearby farmers who were black or hispanic who existed in the background of various episodes and came to the front for an occasional story. Instead, we get these episodes where they make a statement, then the characters are never seen or heard from again. Even the Italian wine-making family just disappeared (I know the goal was to have a spin-off with them which did not get picked up by the network), but they also disappear, after much has been made about their ethnic different-ness. And they certainly were very stereotyped. In short, I think these types of characters and stories are among the weakest of the show.


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[> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Kayleetara, 18:47:46 04/19/13 Fri [1]

Are some stories too conservative? :_)

Plenty of white villains in Bonanza< so equal time there. And it's been a long time since I saw "El Jefe", but isn't one of the villains Mexican?

All the neighbors or featured townspeople disappear, no matter what their ethnicity. For example, just saw "Gift of Water" again, and all those neighbors were "white", and they were never heard from again. Just the nature of episodic television--certain characters are brought in for a point--Star Trek did the same thing and taught many of the same lessons. I agree with SWC; a good story is a good human story. Most good stories have a moral point to make, from the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Bible to Milton and on and on.


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[> [> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Jarrod, 14:54:18 04/20/13 Sat [1]

Great comment, Kayleetara. I think, yes, some episodes of 'Bonanza' are probably a bit too conservative as well. The show's writers seem to be experimenting with themes of multiculturalism, then the pendulum swings back and they do more traditional western type stories. Landon seems to find a good balance by the time he works on 'Little House.' In that series, we have Moses Gunn and Ketty Lester in recurring roles, showing that minority characters can continue to be part of the community in various episodes. And Nellie's husband Percival is Jewish and a great deal is made about that, especially as it relates to Mrs. Oleson's prejudices.


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[> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Kayleetara, 18:54:42 04/20/13 Sat [1]

"Look to the Stars" was on TV Land recently. It spoke of bigotry, but I thought it was a little too contrived. Ben's speech near the end was probably as close to preaching as Bonanza got, but it was still well done. What I found interesting is they apparently could not use the word "Jew" or Jewish" and referred to them as "Israelites." I'd like to know what was behind that. Did they consider it too provocative or was it censorship of some kind?


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[> [> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Ponderosa Pete, 17:38:00 04/21/13 Sun [1]

I think it was used to inject a bit of historical accuracy into the script. It was a term used commonly in the mid to late 19th century, but not in the 20th.


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[> [> [> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- kayleetara, 02:33:58 04/24/13 Wed [1]

Thanks for that interesting bit of info!


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[> Re: Are some stories TOO liberal? -- Chet, 19:51:30 04/26/13 Fri [1]

No, I think the shows are far from being "too liberal." Many of the Western shows I watch on the Encore channels feature what some people would call "liberal" themes by today's standards. They may not have been totally accurate historically but they represented mainstream American values when they were produced in the 1950s and 1960s. I even posted about this on Facebook a while back.


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