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January 17, 2007 3:32 PM

Just A TV Show?

Posted by Hillary Profita
(McFarlane Toys)
Conservative media critics have their knickers in a bunch over this latest trend among prime-time television critics: labeling Fox's "24" as a conservative show. Or, more specifically, that "[d]epending on your perspective, '24' is either a neocon sex fantasy or the collective id of our nation unleashed," as Newsweek put it recently.

In a review of the season's opener, critic Devin Gordon writes that as President Bush "is squeezing our civil liberties to fight a war on terror, the writers of '24' have come up with a story that asks whether something could ever happen here in America that makes civil liberties a luxury we can no longer afford."

Time's James Poniewozik posed this question to readers this week: "Is 24 just a TV show or right-wing propaganda? Or, to turn Jack Bauer's frequent refrain on him: Who are you working for?" After all, John McCain has done a cameo and Vice President Dick Cheney "is a big fan" of the show. And the show's stars were recently honored with an appearance by Rush Limbaugh and "softball questions" from an audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Eugene Kane of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who cites the Heritage Foundation event as well, writes that Cheney and Limbaugh's affinity for the show "suggests there may be something more than just television going on here."

What does that mean? Only that "'24' is to conservatives what 'The West Wing' was to liberals," says Kane. That is, the parallel version of President Bush's America and the fantasy version of the Clinton presidency, respectively.

But while the show "comes as close as anything has to being the Official Cultural Product of the War on Terrorism," Poniewozik goes through all the reasons why it may not actually be propaganda for the Bush administration. For instance, this season, Bauer teams up with a former terrorist leader to stop an attack. "He thus displays a better grasp of realpolitik than has the Bush Administration, which resisted the Iraq Study Group's recommendation to work with Iran and Syria."

Now that sounds like a bit of an overreach, but, conservative show or not, the mountain of free publicity can't hurt.

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by vardulon January 19, 2007 3:31 AM EST
I can't imagine any regular viewer of "24" referring to it as a 'right-wing'. One of the most important aspects of the show is the way it takes the time to look at every point of view - Season 4 featured a Terrorist Mastermind who was given numerous good points to make in his opposition to the United States, and Season 5's villain, the Republican President of the United States, explained that all of the murders he was responsible for were worth it so long as America's energy supplies were secured for the next generation. In fact, the entire 5th season played like a 24 hour attack on the Bush (24) administration.

24 is first and foremost a show that asks questions - so far, Season 6 has asked if there will ever be a point where America is so threatened by terrorism that it should revert to World War II level government-mandated xenophobia - if you continue watching the show, I'm sure the answer will end up being "No."

And let's not forget that the people who have come off worst of all on the show are the shadowy inetrnational financiers and powerbrokers - in nearly every season the show has made a point of putting much of the blame for terrorism and international conflict on an apparently nationless group of ultra-rich people who prioritize their own profit and control over human lives.

24 is the best show currently airing on network television, and one of the reasons for that is that it defies simple classification as right or left wing.
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by taikwon-2009 January 18, 2007 10:37 PM EST
I find it amusing that this show is being attacked by the media simply because it may be more right leaning. The blog points out that with Cheney as a fan it must be a conservative show. It conveniently leaves out the fact that Barbara Streisand is also a huge fan. At its core it is a TV show about characters. Strong, brilliantly written characters. There are great plot twists and shocking events that make the ride more fun, but mostly it is about these characters. Some groups feel that it perpetuates stereotypes, but conveniently forget that the villians on this show have ranged from blond beauties to Russians to the President of the United States. To think that a show about terrorism would fail to feature Islamic extremists would be ridiculous. The reality is that a large number of the terrorists in the world are Islamic extremists, and if some group doesn't like that perhaps they should look into how they can change the reality rather than trying to change the fictional television show. If you have watched the show this season then you know they have made it very clear that not every Muslim should be considered a terrorist.
I'm so glad that we have a show out there that is not so afraid of being politically incorrect that they can't tell a good story. Yes there are very conservative fans of the show, but there are also very liberal fans of the show. Isn't that true of most shows? Why can't we just enjoy a good show without being subjected to these ridiculous debates?
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by johnnysure January 18, 2007 8:20 PM EST
Tackling international terrorism is a topic which certainly appeals to conservatives, and the immediate nature of the show makes non-state-sanctioned torture seem morally viable. However, although specific political parties are never mentioned, it is fairly obvious that the Palmer Bros. (the good presidents) were Democrats and the creepy president from last year was a Republican. Therefore, I'm sure we will continue to see the show appeal to both sides as it try to maintain its cross-cultural acceptance.
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by ajmclean1 January 18, 2007 7:57 PM EST
I'll have to say this: the show is "conservative" when it comes to the torture issue, whether it works in real life or not; however, there are always villains from the US govt. who are conservatives, like the oilmen from Season 2 and of course President Logan, a Republican. I think they try to balance things out. After listening to these right-wing idiot commentators on their paranoid obsession w/ liberal bias, I have to say this: you rightists have no concept of balance; it's all black and white for you; you'd have been at home in the Soviet Union with their propaganda only TV; you forget that most neocons started on the far left; they've brought the paranoid Soviet style to American politics) .
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by ronmwanga January 18, 2007 6:52 PM EST
The show definitely has a right wing bias, but who cares? I love it and I am a Centrist who was pro Bush 41 and Clinton. It depicts a "reality" in which Neoconservative positions are favorable. And even when you disagree there is a wonderful opportunity to discuss it (like on the issue of torture).

Not to veer too far off topic, but "Battlestar Galactica" is as left leaning as "24" is right, and I love that too.
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by nettie2k January 18, 2007 6:32 PM EST
And if it is conservative? What's your point?
One conservative show among dozens of liberal shows. This is like the brouhaha over Fox News Channel - one channel among hundreds of other liberal news stations and people start crying.

24 is the best show on tv - can't I enjoy it without kook liberals with their conspiracy theories putting in their two cents?

Who cares If Cheney or McCain like the show, so does the public, which is all that matters.
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by itsmetj January 17, 2007 8:44 PM EST
Oh my goodness. Of all the hundreds of television shows on the air, a single show that is labeled conservative is going to create mass hysteria among the members of the liberal media.

I gave up watching television because I couldn't find a TV program that I deemed to be "watchable".

The liberal media has most certainly broken my television addiction.

Maybe I'll find time to watch this one tiny little conservative show.

Just so it'll bump the ratings up a bit and make all you guys even crazier.

later...
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