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Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - nomad2u2001 - 02-17-2017 07:05 PM
By the Atlantic
Quote:Does the political party you identify with have an influence on what you find funny? Recent trends in TV viewing habits overwhelmingly suggest that it does. In 2011, a survey conducted by Experian-Simmons for Entertainment Weekly found very little confluence between the TV shows watched by Democrats and Republicans—perhaps a symptom of how the cultural divide has grown deeper over the last eight years. Liberals generally love quirky comedies like Community, Parks and Recreation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Mindy Project; conservatives tend to prefer reality shows and crime dramas including NCIS, Duck Dynasty, The Bachelor, and Top Gear.
But for 13 years there was a show that drew laughs from viewers of all political persuasions. King of the Hill—an animated sitcom about a bumbling Texas everyman and his family—which ran on Fox from 1997 to 2010, still stands alone in the way it portrayed the complexity of red-state America with wit, good humor, and vitality. I was 11 years old, growing up in a rural county in North Carolina, when the show premiered, and for me, it was the first contemporary show that genuinely reflected the world I lived in. Its characters embodied all of the desires, needs, and contradictions that make up the universal human experience, undermining assumptions about “red” and “blue” culture in the process.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Bull_Is_Back - 02-17-2017 10:35 PM
My wife and I loved that show
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - HappyAppy - 02-17-2017 11:13 PM
Love King of the Hill, one of the most underrated shows of all time, and I can see why it would appeal to both sides. Hank was an old school conservative, traditional guy, and a lot of the humor in the show was about the world changing around him. It poked fun at that but still made him a likeable and relatable character. Also wasn't afraid to make fun of the stereotypical militant, far left hippie types. Great stuff
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - shere khan - 02-17-2017 11:35 PM
The author still doesn't get it. It is amazing he gets paid to write articles.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - solohawks - 02-18-2017 08:16 AM
Parks and Rec wasn't a bad show at all.
The main conservative/libertarian character on the show was made to be very likeable and honorable
Nothing has changed since All in the Family. Archie was likeable and was portrayed as ultimately a good person. Follow that formula and you will be ok
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - bullet - 02-18-2017 08:58 AM
(02-17-2017 07:05 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote: By the Atlantic
Quote:Does the political party you identify with have an influence on what you find funny? Recent trends in TV viewing habits overwhelmingly suggest that it does. In 2011, a survey conducted by Experian-Simmons for Entertainment Weekly found very little confluence between the TV shows watched by Democrats and Republicans—perhaps a symptom of how the cultural divide has grown deeper over the last eight years. Liberals generally love quirky comedies like Community, Parks and Recreation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Mindy Project; conservatives tend to prefer reality shows and crime dramas including NCIS, Duck Dynasty, The Bachelor, and Top Gear.
But for 13 years there was a show that drew laughs from viewers of all political persuasions. King of the Hill—an animated sitcom about a bumbling Texas everyman and his family—which ran on Fox from 1997 to 2010, still stands alone in the way it portrayed the complexity of red-state America with wit, good humor, and vitality. I was 11 years old, growing up in a rural county in North Carolina, when the show premiered, and for me, it was the first contemporary show that genuinely reflected the world I lived in. Its characters embodied all of the desires, needs, and contradictions that make up the universal human experience, undermining assumptions about “red” and “blue” culture in the process.
Really did reflect small town Texas. Accents really accurate.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Bull_Is_Back - 02-18-2017 09:32 AM
(02-18-2017 08:16 AM)solohawks Wrote: Parks and Rec wasn't a bad show at all.
The main conservative/libertarian character on the show was made to be very likeable and honorable
Nothing has changed since All in the Family. Archie was likeable and was portrayed as ultimately a good person. Follow that formula and you will be ok
Yea, I think by it's nature it was more politically charged than KOTH but it did have a likable character.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Love and Honor - 02-18-2017 11:22 AM
(02-18-2017 09:32 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote:(02-18-2017 08:16 AM)solohawks Wrote: Parks and Rec wasn't a bad show at all.
The main conservative/libertarian character on the show was made to be very likeable and honorable
Nothing has changed since All in the Family. Archie was likeable and was portrayed as ultimately a good person. Follow that formula and you will be ok
Yea, I think by it's nature it was more politically charged than KOTH but it did have a likable character.
Parks and Rec revolves around a main character who worships Hillary and Biden while spending seven seasons trying to expand government in her community. Ron Swanson was a libertarian satire played by an outspoken Democrat. Considering how it was an NBC show there's no doubt they had some political messages to get out, but fortunately that doesn't matter. You get some likable characters (as you said) and make them funny, and I have little problem with whatever message you try and get across if it doesn't go overboard and hurt the comedy.
I remember there being a NYT article about how the greatest predictor of voting patterns across the US last November being the popular TV shows of the region. Cultural stratification is driving apart much of the country in many ways imo, so the more we can integrate diverse opinions the better.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - rath v2.0 - 02-18-2017 11:38 AM
South Park doesn't care about parties. Equal opportunity satire.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - ericsrevenge76 - 02-18-2017 11:47 AM
One of my favorite KOTH episodes is were all the guys were reliving their version of something that happened, each was so hilariously biased in their favor.
Boomhauer's version had him speaking perfectly clear and proper and the other guys all mumbling. lolololololololol
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Bull_Is_Back - 02-18-2017 01:26 PM
(02-18-2017 11:38 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote: South Park doesn't care about parties. Equal opportunity satire.
Yea, southpark is some of the smartest satire of our age but I can't watch it with my preteens.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Bull_Is_Back - 02-18-2017 01:30 PM
(02-18-2017 11:47 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote: One of my favorite KOTH episodes is were all the guys were reliving their version of something that happened, each was so hilariously biased in their favor.
Boomhauer's version had him speaking perfectly clear and proper and the other guys all mumbling. lolololololololol
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - Gakusei - 02-18-2017 03:42 PM
The survey they mention in the beginning is very old. The current lists look a lot different:
http://www.newser.com/story/228423/the-10-favorite-tv-shows-of-republicans-democrats.html
Quote:Republicans
1. Supernatural
2. The Walking Dead
3. Scorpion
4. Arrow
5. The Flash
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. NCIS
8. Blue Bloods
9. Grimm
10. Last Man Standing
Democrats
1. Game of Thrones
2. The Haves and the Have Nots
3. Supernatural
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Suits
6. The Walking Dead
7. How to Get Away With Murder
8. Doctor Who
9. Empire
10. Nashville
From that list, I used to watch #4 and still watch #5 from the Republican side; and just #1 on the Democrat side. If anything, this tells me that people in general watch garbage TV.
King of the Hill is one of the greatest of all time.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - gdunn - 02-18-2017 03:53 PM
(02-18-2017 11:47 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote: One of my favorite KOTH episodes is were all the guys were reliving their version of something that happened, each was so hilariously biased in their favor.
Boomhauer's version had him speaking perfectly clear and proper and the other guys all mumbling. lolololololololol
That was the best. It's hard to find a bad episode.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - nomad2u2001 - 02-18-2017 04:56 PM
(02-18-2017 03:42 PM)Gakusei Wrote: The survey they mention in the beginning is very old. The current lists look a lot different:
http://www.newser.com/story/228423/the-10-favorite-tv-shows-of-republicans-democrats.html
Quote:Republicans
1. Supernatural
2. The Walking Dead
3. Scorpion
4. Arrow
5. The Flash
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. NCIS
8. Blue Bloods
9. Grimm
10. Last Man Standing
Democrats
1. Game of Thrones
2. The Haves and the Have Nots
3. Supernatural
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Suits
6. The Walking Dead
7. How to Get Away With Murder
8. Doctor Who
9. Empire
10. Nashville
From that list, I used to watch #4 and still watch #5 from the Republican side; and just #1 on the Democrat side. If anything, this tells me that people in general watch garbage TV.
King of the Hill is one of the greatest of all time.
The Flash and Arrow being on the conservative side doesn't surprise me. DC is for curmudgeons
In all seriousness, they do surprise me because I wouldn't have thought conservatives could be into comic book stuff.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - nomad2u2001 - 02-18-2017 05:20 PM
The episodes still air on Adult Swim. I think the beauty of the show is that Hank's conservatism sometimes ends up being the best thing for the situation and sometimes he gets it wrong. He learns from it and grows from it.
I generally find the Dale-specific episodes to be the best. Also a shout out to Cotton Hill, voiced by Toby Huss, who had an early role in the best kids show of all time: The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - DexterDevil - 02-18-2017 06:39 PM
Is Ron Swanson really satire though? Also Arrow just had an episode based around gun laws, I felt it painted the right to have one in a bad light personally but it isn't going to stop me from watching anything Arrowverse related.
RE: Was King of the Hill the last bipartisan comedy - gdunn - 02-19-2017 10:00 AM
I'm a season behind on Arrow and Flash. Season and a half now.