TV Was On The Cutting Edge

On social issues, American TV used to be on the cutting edge of liberal, progressive thinking, years ahead of mainstream society.

Lucille Ball was one of the early pioneers, the first female character in a hit series to be shown smoking cigarettes, and having romantic conversations in the bedroom with her husband, and (later) the first to have a full time job (in a bank). All this was pushing the social limits for that time, especially in the Old South.

A few years later, Marlo Thomas (“That Girl”) was an early role model for young, single women, working and living on her own in a big city, back when most “nice” girls were expected to stay at home with their parents until married. Then, Mary Tyler Moore took the concept to the next level, putting her career ahead of marriage and men, by choice. Both characters were shocking to conservative audiences.

On the original “Star Trek”, William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols shared TV’s first interracial kiss, at a time when such things were still illegal in many Southern states. Nichols was also the first black female ever shown on American television doing a job that involved handling important responsibilities.

Not long after student anti-war sentiment fueled nation-wide peace protests, M*A*S*H made it a mainstream point of view.

Billy Crystal (“Soap”) was the first openly gay character on TV, when the great majority of Americans were saying in opinion polls that homosexuality was morally wrong and should not be tolerated.

Probably, the last time that Hollywood did anything big to challenge America’s thinking was the first season of “Will and Grace”. Before that, most of us were aware of gay men like Jack, the confrontational, attention-loving, flaming queer who never worried about offending straight people, but not all of us knew about guys like Will, who never bothered anyone or stood out in a crowd. That character motivated a lot of people to re-examine their stereotypes and biases.

Some people think Hollywood has wimped out or simply lost its edge, but maybe they are just running out of issues due to a long string of success stories. We don’t appear to have a lot of remaining social issues other than recreational drug use, and there are plenty of recreational users on TV, especially HBO.

It has always been hard to get storylines involving casual and promiscuous sex (straight or gay) past network censors and corporate TV sponsors. That issue has mostly been left for movies to deal with.

 

Don't forget "All in the Family". That was probably the most controversial weekly series ever shown on American television.

 

Indeed! A young hippie and an old far-right conservative in the same house? A lot of people used to live that conflict at home, and couldn't believe that a network TV show dared to go there. A lot of those episodes remind me of HF threads.

Very true. Now, the public itself has become Ed Sullivan. I see this as an example of the internet at its best. :cheers2:

A few years later (better known to my generation), there was a good bit of variety on the Carol Burnett show too. Following in the footsteps of Lucy, she pushed back the limits of acceptable comedy for women.

 

i remember when I was a teenager Dawson's Creek was considered cutting edge because it was one of the first shows that really took teen sex seriously.

I went back and watched a few episodes on netflix recently and man is that show awful. I loved it so much when I was a teen for some reason.

I can't really think of any recent shows that are pushing social boundaries.

 

:cheers2: Also, Mahr helped launch a news documentary show that came on right after his talk show last winter. It's excellent. I can't think of the name, and it's taking a break right now, but I hope it will be back on soon. It can show and talk about all kinds of things that regular TV can't or won't cover, because it's HBO, and because Bill Mahr wouldn't settle for anything less.

Jon Stewart doesn't pull any punches either, and it's a part of basic cable, not a premium channel that costs extra. He dares to say what everybody else is thinking, even if it's rude and disturbing. Not quite as extreme as Mahr.

Isn't it funny how some shows age so much better than others? I can remember when I thought the original TV series Star Trek was so over my head and complicated that I could never understand it, because I wasn't a science person. Now, just having the kind of ordinary science background knowledge that a lot of middle-aged adults have, I can see so many flaws in those old shows that I can barely sit through one!

The one thing they handled really well on that series was social issues. They covered a lot of things that technology and time don't alter at all, unless we choose to make changes. I'll never forget the one about the two space aliens who hated each other, because one was half white and half black, while the other was half black and half white (mirror image). They looked about the same to us, but they thought the difference was a huge deal. The main point was, human racism would surely seem very stupid to people from other planets. It's hard to argue with that.

Some of the best old Star Trek episodes about human nature and society were written by D.C. Fontana, who used her initials because nobody back then respected science fiction writing that came from a female. Ironic, is it not? Students of the future, stuck in the past, at least when it came to sexism.

 

Soap!

 

Mary Hartman-Mary Hartman took on the ridiculousness of cults. --Boga-sita-boga-sita. I loved that show. And no laugh track.

 

That's an excellent point. There aren't many tv shows that hold up through the years (unlike me .. haha). This is especially true of comedies, seems like. I guess that's saying that our perception of what's funny changes over time, which is kinda strange, don't you think?

 

Indeed! I never especially cared for Star Trek, myself. But that's a very telling observation, Karen.

 

I've never been a true science fiction fan, but I have run across a few thought-provoking show episodes, movies, and short stories that were good at making you think about the real world from a different angle. That's just good writing. :cheers2:

 

tv being cutting edge pretty much ended around the time eisenhour got elected in 52.

 

This last decade, both in TV and Movies, theres been some pretty awesome stuff

The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, you wouldnt have seen shows like that even a decade previously, let alone 20/30 years ago. For me the ground breaking stuff came later.

The original star trek was kind of shit, a few firsts in TV history, but it got cancelled for a reason. It was the movies that really made ST big.

Just on the gay thing, still never seen that done even remotely close to reality. Even though funny, Will and Grace was irritating to watch. Even Queer as Folk clung to too many stereo types. Although presenting reality would make for boring TV.

The one show I really wish they'd reboot is Greatest American Hero - thats the one I remember from the 80s

I was sooooo obsessed with that show, the only soap I've really gotten into, and I used to hang for each episode. She really should have ended up with Dawson though

 

I agree that those shows seemed more progressive because society in general was more repressed... but there are many shows on right now that are extremely open-minded. The only difference is that it's not as controversial so it's more likely to be accepted as a given as opposed to people making a big deal about it and conservatives getting upset and protesting.

If you want strong women, Game Of Thrones features an incredibly strong female protagonist who is destined to rule the entire kingdom. She is also not just a 'male character played by a woman' like Xena or whatever... she leads through compassion and decency. She speaks multiple languages and overcomes gender bias to inspire loyalty in her troops. There are also homosexual characters who are knights and lords, and a dwarf as well. The gay people aren't even flamers-- they're warriors and 'real men' (pretty though they may be). The dwarf is also the biggest star on the show and won an Emmy for his character. This isn't progressive enough?

Breaking Bad featured a character with cerebral palsy who was often portrayed in an extremely dignified light, as well as a cool camaraderie between Hank and Gomez. There wasn't so much room for progressive characters because the cast was relatively small and including them would have been gratuitous... though Gus Fring was portrayed as a dignified businessman and it was strongly implied that he was gay.

The Shield (ended 2008, I think) featured a black homosexual cop who experienced workplace discrimination, was gay-bashed and experienced internal conflicts due to his religious beliefs. He was also shown in an extremely dignified light and was actually one of the most respectable, morally upstanding characters on the entire show.

As for sex-- I don't even think you can go through a single sitcom without hearing about it. The Big Bang Theory alone often includes multiple references to sex... and isn't there a show called 'Californication' on about a sex addict or something? What about this show 'Masters of Sex' that just came on... I don't know about it, but with a title like that I'm sure it's not going to be about your average all-American couple raising children in the suburbs.

I recently made it through a show called 'The Americans' in which the lead female character (white) was in a relationship with a black man, and not a lighter-skinned black man either. He was a socialist activist and intellectual who she had genuine feelings for.

I can't think of any more right now, but I know they're out there... an interracial cast isn't even a big deal. Having a black president isn't anything for people to get excited about. Having gay characters isn't a controversy. Having a strong female protagonist isn't even an issue.

TV is never going to shy away from breaking down barriers, because they will do anything to get people to pay attention. TV LOVES 'progressive'-- the problem is that there aren't enough controversies left for them to exploit.

 

fraggle_rock,

I think that you are making the OP's point. "Progressive" and "cutting edge" are in relation to society in general.

The depiction of interracial couples on the TV shows today is not cutting edge, because that is much more accepted in general than when Star Trek came out.

I think the OP's point is that while society's "edge" has moved, TV has not.

 

I guess I just don't understand how anyone could argue that it has 'wimped out'. What exactly do you think that TV is backing away from? What's the 'edge'?

 

That's a very good question. I suppose the issue today is mostly a matter of degree. Web sites can be more radical and aggressive, partly because they have less to lose. Nobody wants to take big risks with an empire that is worth hundreds of millions. TV steals ideas from the web whenever it seems safe to do so. They are in catch-up mode.

 

The web is full of so much propaganda, though... I would be pretty concerned if some of that stuff went mainstream.

There are sites that think Hitler was a good guy. There are sites that think pedophilia is the same thing as homosexuality. There are feminists who think all baby boys should be killed, and men's rights people who think that women are inherently inferior and should get back in the kitchen. I mean, it's completely insane.

I don't know what you're referring to specifically but if you think that TV is playing catchup to the net I have to ask if you would be comfortable seeing these kinds of opinions in the mainstream.