All Hail, Casper High School, N-C-H-S!
GO CHENEY and GO MUSTANGS!
Posted on 10/01/2007 2:02:48 PM PDT by presidio9
After all the editorial cartoons knocking Dick Cheney, after Jon Stewart's riffs and the Letterman/Leno jokes, it still comes as a surprise when a primetime comedy aims a personal barb at a sitting member of the executive branch of government.
Once Cheney becomes fair game on a mainstream hit like ABC's "Ugly Betty," you know he, as a symbol of this administration, is reviled by most Americans.
These days you don't have to watch "Meet the Press" to get a stinging critique of the war, President Bush or the GOP in general. Jabs at the Republican establishment and Bush administration policy are popping up on primetime TV entertainment shows too.
When "Ugly Betty" launched its new season Thursday, a persistent theme of the amplified, soapy dramedy was the devilish nature of the scheming Wilhemina Slater, played by Vanessa Williams. The plotting, would-be publisher was depicted as hellish, the very embodiment of evil, complete with literal fire and brimstone accouterments. Capping the over-the-top display of Wilhemina's satanic ways, the camera panned a photo, conspicuously displayed in her office: her hero, Cheney.
Who else would the devil worship as a role model?
That visual reference, written in the script and delivered with relish by the set designers, was conceived by writers and executive producers Silvio Horta and Marco Pennette.
It's far from the first blatant Cheney joke on a primetime show, but it's still a jolt.
Granted, Stewart and "The Daily Show" got there early with the sight gag of Cheney as Darth Vader. But "Ugly Betty" is more center-stage.
Similarly, a one-liner in Thursday's pilot of "Big Shots," the ABC hour that emulates "Sex and the City" for men, mocks the veep: "The woman brooks no dissent. It's like being married to Dick Cheney."
By the time Cheney shows up as a punch line - either as the ultimate immovable object or as the face of evil - on the broad-appeal, diligently inoffensive, mainstream TV networks, the polls are closed. There will be no redemption for this vice president. The sitcom gods have spoken.
Tonight, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" (at 9 on KMGH-Channel 7) begins the season with concern about youngest sibling Justin, who is serving in Iraq. The family, particularly his mother (played by Sally Field), is anxious because there has been no word of Justin's unit for weeks. The producers have said the Walker son will return home "physically compromised" after sustaining war injuries.
The episode is a fitting follow-up to the anti-war comments spoken by Field (and bleeped by Fox) on the Emmy Awards telecast two weeks ago. The character is free to say in a fictional drama what the actress couldn't on live TV.
Serious documentaries, news reports and specials like James Gandolfini's "Alive Day Memories" have tried to bring the war home. Ironically, that may be best accomplished on a sudsy family drama. Certainly the emotional attachment to the character is already in place.
"South Park" relishes knocking the administration. ("Omigod Dick Cheney shot Kenny!"). But animated and late-night shows are one thing, while poignant network comedies and dramas are another.
To some, "Ugly Betty's" injection of a political dig in an unrelated scene may have read like an indulgence on the part of the writers - to others it was a welcome one.
In the case of "Brothers & Sisters," the viewpoint on the war is seamlessly woven into the fabric of the drama, where the characters regularly talk politics. The storyline portends more discussion to come.
A cultural shift has occurred. The fantasy-makers in Hollywood know public opinion is with them. They won't lose advertisers or viewers by knocking an unpopular vice president. The writers have plenty to say about the real world. And politics can't help intruding on entertainment.
Sometimes TV invites us to sift metaphors for clues to where the culture is headed (do young male slackers in big-box stores on "Chuck" and "Reaper" reflect America's mondo retail habit or the vanishing middle class?) On other occasions, TV unapologetically shoves images in our faces, knowing the country is in on the joke, albeit with uneasy laughter.
“Worse. He’s a Conservative Republican.”
Yep!
Just once, I would love to see someone in the media or entertainment business stand up and say, “Until I have personally accomplished and done more for America then V.P. Dick Chaney has, I’ll keep my BIG piehole shut, except to praise him.”
Isn’t ugly Betty a spanish show? I thought it was in spanish.
With insightful analysis like this, the remainder of the article is hardly worth reading.
Who else would the devil worship as a role model?
Sounds like Tyra, Naomi, and the other supermodels, divas, and fashionistas have more to complain about than Dick Cheney, who most likely has other things on his mind.
it is any wonder the networks are the ghetto part of the dial few people go to watch?
You might want to notice how many responses she gets to her diatribes.
Heh. Funny.
Cheney will be remembered by history.
Each and every one of those shows will be all but forgotten in a few years.
Not unusual these days to hear digs at Cheney? No kidding. “Entertainment” shows have been getting in vicious attacks at the right for decades. I think it started with Norman Lear and All in the Family. The cultural elites of show business, who know what’s better for us average folks than we do, feel it is necessary to lord their opinions over us. No wonder the myths about Republicans and conservatives persist.
Really? You mean this is the first time Hollywood ever attacked a Republican? Idiot.
The fantasy-makers in Hollywood know public opinion is with them.
Like the Dixie Chicks?
All Hail, Casper High School, N-C-H-S!
GO CHENEY and GO MUSTANGS!
I would consider it a minor honor to be maligned by a "mainstream hit" TV show—especially a show that I have never seen.
Ugly Betty is a sitcom? I thought it was one of those make over shows, where they take someone that looks like Rosey O’Donnell and beautify her to look like Roseanne Barr.
Poignant? Oh brother.
I bet not a one of these dolts can think of anything Cheney has done to warrant their hatred.
Gee- That is a show I had enjoyed sometimes. I will not watch it anymore.
I don’t think it is necessary for writers to attack any sitting member of the White House or other high members of our government. I don’t find that to be entertainment.
The only news here is that the author, Joanne Ostrow, just noticed.
“By the time Cheney shows up as a punch line - either as the ultimate immovable object or as the face of evil - on the broad-appeal, diligently inoffensive, mainstream TV networks, the polls are closed.”
Goodness me, that show and many others besides are a constant stream of offenses to good manners and good taste, even leaving aside the also-objectionable political/cultural assumptions and projections. About 5 minutes of ‘Ugly Betty’ was enough to make me (click) forever; I wouldnt want to rot my brain or waste my time on boring insulting fare.
I find such dreck unwatchable.
“What has Cheney done to draw this hatred?”
Being conservative.
And what’s worse, not apologizing for it.
Dick Cheney is an honest, intelligent, God-fearing, decent, conservative man, and has no need to apologize for who he is. It’s a good thing that he doesn’t conform to the twisted values of the “entertainment” industry.
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