On the Unpopularity of Leftish TV shows....

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Tue Sep 10 10:11:45 PDT 2002


At 12:28 PM 9/10/2002 -0400, nathan wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>
>Why is it that lefties ignore daytime TV-- some form of sexism? From Oprah
>to Jerry Springer, daytime is dominated by liberals, sometimes of the
>outrageous cultural bent like Springer (but always with the message of
>racial and sexual tolerance) but the rightwing hates the liberal cultural
>message of daytime television.

I think that is an example of the famous "gender gap." Daytime shows are directed mainly at women, and even conservative (i.e. republican-voting) women tend to be more tolerant, respectful and open minded than men. Arrogance, mud slinging, and public displays of aggression are the most visible attributes of the American male, especially of the conservative sympathies - but they are not synonymous with conservative view points. I met conservatives that were thoughtful and civil, albeit they mostly from outside the US.

But adding the ingredients that are attractive to men is not necessarily a good recipe for left shows. Not long ago I saw a live George Carlin show in central PA - at one point he started making fun of gun owners, and the reaction of the crowd was openly hostile, while old Fonda and Clinton jokes were crowd pleasers. Let's face it Nathan, American audience, especially lower class males, tends to be reactionary - and you cannot sell them a left message in any packaging.

wojtek



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