Civic Register
| 10.9.17

Your Turn: Has Entertainment Gotten Too Politicized?

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Mass shootings. The Supreme Court back in session. Trump visiting hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. After a whirlwind week of news, you just want to relax on the weekend. So you sit in your favorite chair, open an IPA, and turn on ESPN.

And there’s Vice President Mike Pence leaving the Colts game after some players knelt during the National Anthem.

Lately, it seems like you can’t escape politics in whatever entertainment you once used for escape. We’re not talking about The Daily Show, or Real Time With Bill Maher, or other series that are known for mocking Washington — all types of entertainment seem to be affected.

Primetime

The October 1 season premiere of The Simpsons ended with the Simpsons holding up the Puerto Rican flag. America’s favorite yellow family looked out at the audience – or maybe a certain president – with miffed looks. Marge holds a sign that says "Unido." Lisa cries. Across the bottom of the screen: @UNICEFUSA, #OneAmericaAppeal @SaveChildren. Hundreds of Springfieldians share the same unhappy look.

While The Simpsons have gone after politicians blue as Marge’s hair to red as Bart’s shirt, this direct, straight-faced indictment was something new.

Late Night

No matter who’s sitting in the Oval Office, late night talk show hosts have always skewered POTUS and politics.

Jimmy Kimmel, however, has used a number of his opening monologues not to roast Washington shenanigans, but to hold them to a non-humorous fire. In May, Kimmel opened his show with this thirteen minute, harrowing story of the discovery of his newborn son’s heart defect and subsequent open-heart surgery. He pleaded for Congress not to repeal Obamacare so that parents could afford to keep their children healthy.

Later, Kimmel would criticize Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), one of the lawmakers behind the most recent GOP health care bill, for lying to his face about what Cassidy called "The Jimmy Kimmel test."

And following the mass shooting in Las Vegas last week, Kimmel delivered an equally impassioned, tearful plea for action on gun control.

Trump has found shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Show so politicized that he evoked the "equal-time" rule. The FCC regulation requires that if a TV station gives a certain amount of air time to one candidate (say, an interview), it also has to offer the same opportunity to “other such candidates for that office.”

In a series of tweets this past Saturday, the President wrote:

Sports

Outlets ranging from ESPN to Fox Sports to small-town papers have been dominated by talk of the NFL demonstrations: players taking knees (or not) during the national anthem.

Over a Friday and Saturday in late September, President Trump criticized NFL players who protest during the national anthem. Every team that played on Sunday, ESPN wrote, "participated in some form of demonstration — from players, coaches and executives who stood together arm-in-arm along the sidelines to others who sat, knelt or raised a fist to whole teams that stayed in the locker room or tunnel for the duration of the anthem."

In response, several NASCAR team owners and executives banned protesting. Richard Childress, who was Dale Earnhardt’s longtime team owner, said of protesting: "It’ll get you a ride on a Greyhound bus."

Regarding Pence’s recent protest of the protesting, Trump tweeted:

Award Shows

"This year’s Emmy’s didn’t even pretend not to be political," an L.A. Times headline read the night after the September ceremony. “You can’t deny that every show was influenced by Donald Trump in some way,” Stephen Colbert, the show’s MC, opened his monologue. “All the late night shows, obviously. ‘House of Cards.’ The new season of ‘American Horror Story’…and of course next year’s Latin Grammys, hosted by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.”

Later in the evening, Donald Glover became the first black director to win in the comedy category for his show "Atlanta." Following his win in the acting category, Glover said:

"I want to thank Trump for making black people No. 1 on the most oppressed list. He’s probably the only reason I’m up here."

"It was impossible to divorce politics from the awards on stage," the Times wrote. “Even a reunion of the stars of ‘9 to 5’ turned into a brief red state-blue state situation” when Dolly Parton was “clearly uncomfortable” when co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin criticized Trump.

Broadcast your voice

When it comes to entertainment, the voice – and viewership – of the people is critical. Trump supporters have called for a boycott of "Snowflake" Jimmy Kimmel. Trump himself, understanding the power of the people, called for fans to tune out of NFL games.

What do you think? Are you OK with these political cameos in your entertainment? Or should there be a separation of celebrity and state? Take to the digital airwaves and tell Countable what you think. Then hit the Take Action to tell your reps.

—Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: urfingus / iStockphoto)