‘Duck Dynasty’ star Phil Robertson’s diatribe against homosexuality in a recent GQ interview has sparked outrage that’s fallen along the same ideological fault lines as many other political debates in the country.
The "Duck Dynasty" flap has managed to goose ideologues across the political spectrum.
With the comments made by the show's patriarch Phil Robertson equating homosexuality with bestiality in the now infamous GQ interview that hit the Internet last week, a show once considered escapist entertainment has become another beachhead in the ongoing ideological war in the United States.
For a population that's divided along partisan lines, A&E's suspension of the star of the highest rated show in network history has been seen as either an attack on Christian beliefs or a slap on the wrist for a blatant homophobe.
RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ FLAP SHOWS ENTERTAINERS SHOULD STOP FLAPPING LIPS[1]
Either way, it's a different kind of reality television.
"One of the first thing you have to conclude about this story is how ridiculous our political discourse in this country has become," says Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Zach Dilgard/AP
The evangelical Christian beliefs voiced by brothers Silas "Uncle Si" Robertson, left, and Phil Robertson from ‘Duck Dynasty’ have turned them into darlings of the right.
"That's one of the profound lessons to be learned, even in this show that's supposed to be the epitome of escapist entertainment, there's no such thing as escapism - it's a myth, it's a utopia, it's the end of the rainbow. The fact is that when you live in a democratic republic, there's no escape — and there probably shouldn't be."
RELATED: 'DUCK' STAR PHIL ROBERTSON SAYS HE IS 'LOVER NOT A HATER'[2]
For many gay rights advocates, the 67-year-old duck-call maker's calls are blatant hate-mongering.
"It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man's anus; that's just me," Robertson, who is an Evangelical Christian, told GQ. "I mean, come on, dudes! ... It's just not logical."
He continued with what he does consider logical:
PHOTOS: STARS WHO RUN THEIR MOUTHS INTO SCANDAL[3]
Sarah Palin via Facebook
Sarah Palin and Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson meet up at a book signing in Monroe, Louisiana, in December.
"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there," he explained when asked by GQ's Drew Magary what exactly he considered sinful, "bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."
GLAAD quickly condemned Robertson's comments.
"Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil's lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe," GLAAD spokesman Wilson Cruz responded in a statement.
RELATED: CRACKER BARREL PRESSURED TO REVISE BAN ON ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ MERCHANDISE[4]
But plenty of Christians not only don't shy away from Robertson's views, they embrace them.
To evangelical Christians, A&E's quick trigger on punishment is further proof that the balance of popular culture skews left.
The show about the Robertson clan, which includes Phil's brother, Si, and sons, Willie, Jase and Jep, drew 11.8 million viewers for its fourth season premiere - the highest in A&E history.
"Someone expressed their faith and they got suspended for it right away," Christian Toto of Breitbart's Big Hollywood, a conservative-leaning entertainment news site.
RELATED: BRISTOL PALIN SLAMS 'HYPOCRITICAL' GAY COMMUNITY OVER 'DUCK DYNASTY' FLAP[5]
"What he said, however crude it was, is not unconventional for a part of the population that — and he's facing significant heat for those beliefs."
The show about the Robertson clan, which includes Phil's brother, Si, and sons, Willie, Jase and Jep, drew 11.8 million viewers for its fourth season premiere — and many of them are fellow Southern Christians who vote resoundingly Republican.
Since last Wednesday, right-wing heavyweights Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin have been among Robertson's most vocal supporters.
"Pop culture does matter," says Toto, " There's a culture war going on and [the ‘Duck Dynasty’ case] involves a free speech debate, faith, same sex marriage, boycotts — everything is intersecting."
References
- ^ RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ FLAP SHOWS ENTERTAINERS SHOULD STOP FLAPPING LIPS (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: 'DUCK' STAR PHIL ROBERTSON SAYS HE IS 'LOVER NOT A HATER' (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ PHOTOS: STARS WHO RUN THEIR MOUTHS INTO SCANDAL (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: CRACKER BARREL PRESSURED TO REVISE BAN ON ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ MERCHANDISE (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: BRISTOL PALIN SLAMS 'HYPOCRITICAL' GAY COMMUNITY OVER 'DUCK DYNASTY' FLAP (www.nydailynews.com)
0 comments:
Post a Comment