As an occasional (but not regular) consumer of American mainstream television series such as The Finder, Castle, The Big Bang Theory and others, I find it difficult to understand why there is almost no politics and political talk in these shows, arguably among the most watched ones.
I do not remember, for example, any mentions of current political debates and events in the dialogues of Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter and their friends. As if they are living in a parallel California state where talks about cutting university funding are not taking place at all.
Once in a while Raj will point out to his status as an Indian immigrant who fears being sent back to his home country. And that is all.
It is amazing to think that such an active writing-all-kind-of-stupid-things Sheldon, would not think of writing a protest letter to his candidate, or sending a message to his governor.
It is amazing to think that such an active writing-all-kind-of-stupid-things Sheldon, would not think of writing a protest letter to his candidate, or sending a message to his governor.
As for Castle and The Finder, these two mention politics only in connection with murders, money laundering and other nefarious things.
What seems to be the most political character of the Castle series, the United States Senator William H. Bracken, is being constructed as an unscrupulous man who has used dirty money in order to finance his campaign and has killed the mother of Johanna Beckett, Kate's mother.
At various points in the series, politics is mentioned neutrally - I am somehow confused of how the two characters could investigate the bombing of "Takeover Wall Street" protest (an euphemism for the real Occupy Wall Street) without making any comments on the movement itself!
Instead, during that episode Becket has a sudden influx of memories concerning her shooting so everything is being moved on the personal scene.
But most of the times politics is being presented only in negative tones: in another episode the Mayor of New York is being discovered to have operated transfers from charity to electoral funds in order to support his campaign for governor. And so on.
These two ways of demeaning politics in the entertainment industry - arrogantly (in The Big Bang Theory) and filthy (in Castle) - contribute to create an image of the "normal", "good" and "moral" world as a place with no politics and political activity at all.
After all, if politics is so dirty and insignificant, why bother with it in the first place?
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