@arthurzey Do you watch The Resident? S2E20 "If Not Now, When?" manages to present a critical issue in a way that is poignant and brilliantly emotional in all the right ways. It leaves you feeling quiet and wrung out, doing the message all the service it deserves. Shonda could take a lesson in how its done. No one likes triteness and being scolded.
@daybreak1012 I have not watched that show at all, but thank you for the recommendation! (Nowadays, I'm very wary of adding any new shows to my life...as it is, I already have a huge backlog!) The way you describe its treatment of issues reminds me of how good scifi wrestles with contemporary philosophical issues using metaphor and drama, not drive-by pot-shots.
@arthurzey I know what you mean by backlog! The list of shows I'd love to get to is daunting. I am picky when shows try to tackle societal or philosophical issues. It's so easy to handle it poorly, either falling short of doing it justice or turning it into a lecture. So few shows get it right. Poor handling of it led me to stop watching Scandal and Law & Order: SVU. I only stick with Grey's Anatomy through its fumbling of these episodes because I've been invested in it since the beginning. Madam Secretary does a good job with philosophical issues or hypothetical situations, but the few times they have ventured into "ripped from the headlines" themes, it's disappointing. I think the show that handled it best may have been Boston Legal who addressed issues in its trademark somewhat lighthearted manner but always presenting both sides and leaving the viewer to choose their own position. Good luck with your backlog!
Shout by Arthur ZeyVIP EP 8BlockedParent2019-05-03T15:11:42Z
Look, I agree with some of the ideological/political points they're pushing in this episode, but it's really obnoxious to beat us over the head with what amounts to little more than vacuous propaganda.
For the viewpoints that are right, they're doing them a disservice by attempting to support them in an intellectually superficial way (instead of robust, fundamental philosophical principles). And it's a drama, so there's no time for that, I get it, but then just leave it out of the episode.
For the viewpoints that are wrong, they're dishonestly oversimplifying complex issues and implicitly strawmanning dissenting opinions.