Illustrations by A.S. Treadwell
Talking trash
In defense of TV talk shows
On October 26, William Bennett, the conservative Republican and former U.S.
Education Secretary, held a joint news conference in Washington, D.C. with
Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) to launch a new
crusade against current popular culture. Their target this time is daytime
talk shows, which they described as "indecent exposure," "a case study of
rot" contributing to "the pollution of the human environment."
Bennett and his allies are calling not for censorship
or legislation but pressure on commercial sponsors to "shame" producers into
a sense of moral "responsibility" to "American society and children".
This bipartisan coalition has already tasted victory: the widely publicized
attack on gangsta rap earlier this year by Bennett, Lieberman, and civil
rights activist C. Delores Tucker led to Time Warner's divestment in
September of Interscope Records, a gangsta rap label.
I resent the blatant condescension
and snobbery in discussion of this format even by established TV
critics. Television is our best window into the popular mind.
As a steady watcher of daytime talk shows since Phil Donahue's pioneering
program went national in the mid-1970s, I resent the blatant condescension
and snobbery in discussion of this format even by established TV
critics. Television is our best window into the popular mind.
Conservatives understandably try to control or combat the pagan mass media, with their boisterous sexual sensationalism. Talk shows have been one of the
major liberalizing forces in contemporary culture. Phil Donahue did more to
win acceptance of gays in middle America than the entire gay activist
establishment, which mistakenly believes that toleration can be achieved by
legislative intrusion and governmental oversight. Donahue used
melodrama -- personal testimonials by gays and their parents -- to sway people's
emotions and appeal to their better natures.
Next page: The artistic decline of daytime talk shows