Studio 60: Sorkin's Prejudice is Showing
Aaron Sorkin may be one of the best writers in TV right now - but if he doesn't get the chip off his shoulders about Christianity and Red States, his new STUDIO 60 is in danger of alienating a large percentage of his viewing audience.
This week, Mr. Sorkin drummed up a Red State boycott based on potentially offensive content on his sketch comedy show. Twice during the episode characters ran down a list of stations electing not to carry that week's episode. In each case, the words "Pine Bluff-Little Rock" were spoken with unnecessary disdain.
Sorkin seems to be under the impression that Little Rock, Arkansas is a tiny hick town filled with bible thumpers that control what the population thinks. He forgets that the state capitol city launched Bill Clinton to prominence and is the home of his presidential library.
Pine Bluff on the other hand, was once the home of an incredible triple threat - the state penitentiary, a paper mill (mmmm smells GOOD!) and the nation's supply of nerve gas.
The Little Rock-Pine Bluff market is the 57th largest in the nation. It's not a booming metropolis in 'the corridor' but it's the largest city between Memphis and Dallas and it is fairly metropolitan in attitude.
If Sorkin had a better understanding of where the buckle of the bible belt is, he would have had the entire state of Mississippi boycotting his show. That actually happened with NYPD BLUE. I was living in Jackson, MS at the time and can assure you that not one single ABC station in the state carried a single episode of the first season.
So, what's my point? I'm not a church-going Bible-thumping type myself, but I am a Southern boy who knows respect for the common folk. Mr. Sorkin may find them to be undereducated Red Staters, but I prefer to think of them as 'most folks.'
I also understand that the key to success in television is appealing to a broad audience. Mr. Sorkin is an elitist. Always has been, probably always will be. He looks down his nose at the common folks while making uncommon television. If he doesn't knock it off soon, STUDIO 60 will get the boot in my house.
I don't HAVE to watch the show. I'd like to, but I'm not going to be insulted while doing it.
1 comment:
I can definitely appreciate Kemosabe's sentiments. I've been at home in Mississippi for 48 years now (though some folk meeting me still react with "You're not from around here, are you?") -- and my neighbors would probably think me a Blue Stater in a Red State. I'd probably be more of a "Purple Stater", and prefer to think of myself as simply "American". I know quite a lot of the local folk, and few (if any) fit the standard one-size-fits-all perception of a "typical" Mississippian one too often encounters.
It ill-behooves Mr. Sorkin or anyone else to buy into stereotyping an entire segment of one's potential audience and write them off as potential viewers. (Or potential buyers of your sponsors' products, fella!) Being topical or "cutting-edge" always risks alienating some viewers, but one should never make alienation one's goal. Networks want nice, meaty audience shares, while advertisers want a good return on their advertising dollars. If they don't get 'em from a show, guess what happens to that show?
Post a Comment