Politics and TV Shows - A Problematic Mix

Strong political opinions are nothing new in television, and the repercussions are not always foreseen.  Whether you go back to the Smothers Brothers and their battle with the CBS (the shows was canceled) or the anti-war politics of M.A.S.H. (the show continued without interruption), the battle has been going on for some time.  The latest two political flare-ups involve a well-known writer and a kid actor.

On August 11th George R.R. Martin, author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire (now the HBO program Game of Thrones), stated some of his concerns about new voting rules: 

I would be remiss if I do not at least make passing mention of how depressed, disgusted, and, yes, angry I've become as I watch the ongoing attempts at voter suppression in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, and other states where Republicans and their Teabagger allies control key seats of power...It would really be nice if there were still some Republicans of conscience out there who would stand up and loudly denounce these efforts, a few men of honor and integrity for whom "win the election" does not "win the election at any cost."

This comes after the HBO producers had a little bit of a problem with George W. Bush's head showing up on one episode (Fox could not help pointing out that HBO and CNN have the same parent).  HBO apologized for that one, but Mr. Martin is not pulling any punches.  Whether or not the head and the latest comments will impact his readership and HBO viewing is not clear, but the matter seems to have died down for the moment. 

The latest issue related to Kirk Cameron, the actor from long ago Growing Pains, who caused a stir when he defended Rep. Todd Akin, the U.S. Senate candidate who made controversial statements about abortion.  On the Today show he made the following comments:

But I do know, as I’ve sat down to actually watch the video — I’ve learned to actually go watch it and not just read some of the transcripts and the quotes – And clearly, this is a man who is advocating the sanctity of life, through and through. And he said he misspoke and he apologized for it. I like to evaluate people based on their entire life, their entire career, all they stand for. He loves his wife, he’s got six children, I believe he’s a good man. He’s now in a very difficult spot.

As Mediaite pointed out, even Rush Limbaugh thought Akin was out of line (of course, Rush has been chastened recently for his own comments about women, so I expect him to be very careful these days). 

Whether or not you agree with what each party above stated, it does add another dimension to how they are perceived by the public, for good or bad.  I try not to let the off camera comments impact my appreciation of the on camera work, and I will continue to do so (though putting heads on camera makes it more difficult to remain blind to these issues). In the end, we are dealing with real people putting on a fun (and fake) show for our enjoyment.  These days I need those few minutes away from reality.