Among the post-1960s ideological generations nobody whinges and whines like the right-wing. They whinge about the decline of the family. They whine about abortion. They whinge about liberals. They whine about socialists. They whinge about feminism. They whine about the make believe war against Christmas and Christians, the supposed decline in family values, cigarette restrictions, seat belt laws, gun control restrictions, and vegans, who are around 2% of the US population. They whinge about being victimised. They whine about films. They whinge about TV. They whinge, whinge, whinge and whine, whine, whine, something right-wing radio does all the time because they know it attracts listeners, manipulates emotions, and sends listeners to the polls.
Recently, I ran across several right wingers whinging and whining in their typical declensionish way about the Canadian television show, Murdoch Mysteries at the questionably critically literate Amazon.com. In their "reviews"--a term I use advisedly here since they are less reviews than expressions of feelings--of season fourteen several posters deplored what they saw as the increasing political and ideological correctness of Murdoch Mysteries all, ironically, in an apparently unrecognised politically and ideologically correct way. Please take a moment to marvel at that. These "reviewers" don't, as they often don't, delineate exactly what they mean by agendas, pandering to bs, or preachiness. They simply assert it in empirically deficient declarative sentences raising the question of what all this right-wing gnashing of teeth is about. Are they upset that there are representations of alternative sexual lifestyles in Murdoch? Are they upset that there are Black Canadians in Murdoch Mysteries? Are they upset that there are too few serial killers in the show? They are certainly not upset, one assumes, over the respect for religion, the respect for tradition, the respect for scientific knowledge and its forensic abilities, and the respect for intellect Canadian Tory Michael Taube finds and praises in the show or the cameo of Taube's friend and then Canadian Tory prime minister Stephen Harper in the show.
Some of the reviewers of season fourteen of Murdoch Mysteries claimed that this political and ideological correctness of the show has increased recently. One claimed that it had increased after season five, when the Rogers Corporation owned Citytv axed Murdoch and the CBC, a knee jerk target of many right wing Canadians and their fellow travellers just as the BBC is the knee jerk target of the Daily Mail and Murdoch News Corp ethically and morally challenged right in the United Kingdom, picked up the show. These posters seem to forget about the sympathetic treatment of Blacks, at least by Murdoch and coroner and doctor Julia Ogden, and the critique of the cultures and ideologies of racism in the first season episode 'The Knockdown". They seem to forget about the sympathetic portrayal of gays and the critique of homophobia, including Catholic Murdoch's, in the first season episode "Till Death Do Us Part". They seem to forget about the sympathetic portrayal of women trapped in the iron cage of patriarchy in the third season episode "Victor, Victorian". They seem to forget that one of the themes of the show is how modernity impacts the faith of the Catholic Murdoch throughout the show and the real tensions and debates these often bring. Some of them even appear to have difficulty understanding the fact that there were political, ideological, intellectual, ethnic, sexual, and gender countercultures and subcultures during the Victorian and Edwardian eras and distinguishing a fictional television show from Victorian and Edwardian non-fiction. But then empirical analysis and accuracy have never been amongst the strong suits of right-wing political and ideologically correct types.
Right wing identity groups, of course, will never be nutted by this reality. They create their own reality in the political and ideological image of the demagogues that pied piper them and the elites these demagogues ultimately serve. That, unfortunately, is how so much of the world too often works these days. In contemporary right wing North American discourse they--fill in the evil other blank--are keeping the pie from our sky is the order of the emotional right wing day and they whinge about it all the time. This whining, sadly, ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
But do these politically and ideologically correct posters have a point even if it not quite the one they were trying to make in a rather unempirical way? Has Murdoch Mysteries gotten a bit long in the narrative tooth? One Amazon poster, who may or may not be right-wing, claims that the show needs new writers to presumably breathe new life in a show that has, as I write, been on for fifteen years, something that in and of itself may be a reason for any perceived decline in the show. I am not sure. I tend to binge watch Murdoch, which may not be the best way to watch the show, but I still enjoy it immensely after all these broadcast years. It remains, along with the Canadian show Heartland, also in its fifteenth season, and the Danish show Seaside Hotel, one of my favourites among the current crop of television shows I have seen. I still enjoy its stories, its character arcs, its character centred interactions, its humour, its satire, and its sometimes emotional and intellectual heft. I will likely keep on watching it when I can until it goes off the air, as it inevitably must.
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