Why has Hollywood forsaken conservatives?

It’s become normal for conservatives to be portrayed poorly: On “Boston Legal” the main character, Denny Crane, was a composite of just about every negative stereotype of a conservative: he sexually harassed women, carried a gun, and was oblivious to his ignorance. Alec Baldwin’s conservative character on “30 Rock” has similar undesirable qualities.

Furthermore, Hollywood has taken to developing and lauding bad characters with “good” qualities, like the meth-dealing father on “Breaking Bad,” the likable mob boss on the “Sopranos,” or the pot-selling mother on “Weeds.” That is essentially an open attack on the conservative belief that there is right and wrong, because it promotes relativism.

Doesn’t Hollywood realize that a chunk of their customers are conservatives?

Don’t get me wrong, there is balanced entertainment out there: A good example is “24.” Even though the series is often caricatured as a conservative show, it’s actually quite balanced. The hero, Jack Bauer, seems to be conservative, though thankfully you can’t be too sure who he would vote for because his politics are not discussed. The writers use his character to point out the failings of the liberal characters but they also use it to point out the failings of conservatives. The producers seem to understand that while viewers enjoy edgy, they don’t necessarily need or want to see lopsided jabs at liberals and conservatives, they simply want unbiased entertainment.

Unfortunately more and more entertainment is offensive.

Bias, no matter which way it is directed, harms both liberals and conservatives and anyone in between.

Just as we would stop doing business with a butcher who consistently and purposely offended us, we must likewise stop doing business with networks that do the same.

Before boycotting TV, which might not be all that practical, viewers should pay attention to the types of messages that get pushed through seemingly innocuous channels and vote with our clicker.

Another practical step we can take is to send e-mails to the networks and express dissatisfaction when you see bias. Until we let them know that we want and value balance in entertainment, it will be more of the same.

We have to let Hollywood know that by moving from entertaining to promoting a political philosophy, it has forsaken its customers. We can help change that.

Chris W. Bell is a freelance writer from Detroit.

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