Liberal bias - Murphy Brown (1988) Discussion

[–] akbarnali 14 years ago

I hate to break it to you, but "Murphy Brown" is a show about an uber liberal woman written by liberals for liberals (like me!). It caters almost exclusively to traditional liberal viewpoints, evidenced in the plethora of episodes where Murphy (and the show's writers and producers) clearly stake out traditional liberal positions when it comes to issues like abortion, single parenthood, economics, homosexuality, gun control, etc. If you are easily offended by its none too subtle portrayal of conservatism, you ought not to bother with the show.

There is of course the infamous episode where the show took on conservative darling and Vice President Dan Quayle who attacked Murphy for what he perceived was her flippant attitude toward raising a child as a single mother. Needless to say, the show did NOT hold back from hitting Quayle smack gob on his potatoE addled head.

Of course, much of the show's run lasted while Clinton was in office so there are no shortage of Bubba jokes, but the most incising humor seemed to come at the expense of Bush Sr., Reagan, and of course Quayle. Which isn't to say that conservatives didn't play along: Bob Dole and Orrin Hatch (among others) appeared on the show; this was back when Americans didn't base their hatred of one another on whether or not one's name was followed by a (D) or an (R).

The episode you mention is meant to be a spoof on Arianna Huffington who was a bigtime Republican cheerleader in the mid 90s. Ironically, she is now the leader of the progressive liberal blogosphere at Huffingtonpost. Oopah!

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[–] furienna 14 years ago

I did suspect, or rather fear, that it was a show about a liberal woman written by liberals for liberals. I just wish it wasn't that way, because otherwise, I rather like this show. I've actually only seen a handful of episodes, where this liberal bias becomes that obvious. Maybe that's because I haven't seen every episode yet, or maybe it's because I'm Swedish, so some things might go over my head. But there are actually only a few episodes, like the one about the conservative rival, Athena something, that have really annoyed me. For example, I haven't seen any episode about abortions or homosexuality yet, even though such episodes might exist. And if an episode would be about economics or gun control, that probably wouldn't have bothered me, as those issues aren't as important to conservatives here in Europe as they are in the US, but I don't think I've seen any such episode either. But I really wish, that this show could have stayed politically neutral, or if they had to bring up a controversial issue, they would have let both sides have their say, instead of ridiculing conservatives just because we are, well, conservatives, and thereby alienating half ot the potential viewers from the show.

Yes, it's true! IMDB has reached Sweden!

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[–] Hollywoodwhore99 14 years ago

The show is excellent because it was "that way". I wish Mormon's weren't Christian Moron's but that is what makes the Mormon. If they were not Christian Mormons then what would they be?

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[–] ChristmasStan 10 years ago

THE SHOW HAD A POINT OF VIEW. This show started when Reagan was ending his 2nd term and Bush was about to be elected. Every Liberal felt strangled in the 1980's (and early 1990's). This show a a breath of fresh air and held a mirror up on how stupid the Conservatives were. The show thank God came along! It helped getting Bush out of office!

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[–] leader-7 10 years ago

Hear Hear! Thank you for that, Stanton67! Yes!

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[–] MyMovieTVRomance 9 years ago

THE SHOW HAD A POINT OF VIEW. This show started when Reagan was ending his 2nd term and Bush was about to be elected. Every Liberal felt strangled in the 1980's (and early 1990's). This show a a breath of fresh air and held a mirror up on how stupid the Conservatives were. The show thank God came along! It helped getting Bush out of office!

And now, for almost a decade, conservatives have been feeling like they're being strangled!

Maybe it's time that a conservative version of Murphy Brown comes along, to hold up a mirror to show how stupid and hypocritical liberals are? I think so!

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

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[–] NoahBody 14 years ago

Just for the record. bob dole is not a conservative.

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[–] ccr1633 10 years ago

akbarnli wrote:

I hate to break it to you, but "Murphy Brown" is a show about an uber liberal woman written by liberals for liberals (like me!).

Which is a big reason why it was devoid of laughs. The underlying smugness was insufferable. Never once did I feel I'd enjoy the company of any single character on the show.

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[–] coxm-1 14 years ago

"shallow, small-minded person"

Add in greedy and that exactly what a conservative is!

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[–] furienna 14 years ago

Oh? So you know exactly what every conservative in the world is like? I don't think so. I'm not shallow or greedy. But I am conservative. So take your prejudices somewhere else.

Intelligence and purity.

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[–] Army624 14 years ago

Furi-

I'm not sure if there is a show about homosexuality, but if I remember correctly, Murphy agonizes over whether or not to have a baby. There is an emphasis on her final 'choice'.

Ironically enough, VP Quayle blasted the fictional character for her lifestyle choice and lack of respect for family values. You do have to wonder what he would have had to say if she had chosen to have an abortion.

I am a true moderate. But, even I wince at the speaking powers of Bush II, Quayle and Sarah Palin. My guess is all their speechwriters have had nervous breakdowns whenever they go off the teleprompter.

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[–] furienna 14 years ago

Yeah, I remember that episode, when Murphy doesn't mention the word "abortion", but does emphasize on the word "choice". I don't believe there was an episode about homosexuality, except maybe the one, where Miles wondered if he was gay after he had a dream about a gay co-worker.

I don't know much about Dan Quayle, I was only a little girl back then, so he was before my time, but it seems like he sure did a mistake there. I can only assume, that he hadn't watched the show, at least not properly, so he misunderstood the whole situation. It seems like he believed, that Murphy had used a sperm donor, so she could have a baby without having a man in her life. If she had done that, Quayle might have had a point. But since Avery was the result of a short fling, and Murphy chose to not have an abortion, even though his father was a dead beat, it all came out wrong. I don't even blame the people behind the show to react on this.

But since I started this thread, I've come to realise, that it wasn't so hard on conservatives as I once thought. Of course, Murphy and Frank were die hard liberals, "the Reagan years" were often referred to as a bad time in US history, and I still don't like the Athena episode. But even if Jim, Corky and Miles maybe didn't call themselves conservative, they at least showed sympathy for Republican values, and the show even had a minor character, a camera man or something, tell Murphy about how he was a Republican, but not all of them agreed with Dan Quayle about what he had said about her.

And what's wrong with the speaking powers of Bush II, Quayle and Sarah Palin? Are there Republicans, who are better at speaking? Are there Democrats, who are better at speaking?

Intelligence and purity.

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[–] Army624 14 years ago

Bush II even poked fun at himself for his butchery of the English language.

Quayle was notorious for his bloopers. My college speech teacher had a whole list of what not to say. Sarah needs some elocution lessons. She shrieks.

Bill Clinton was an intelligent and effective speaker.
Ronald Reagan was a good speaker and is often quoted.

All three Kennedys had good speaking abilities.

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[–] SRECCLES 14 years ago

I remember an episode shortly after the Republicans took back Congress in 1994.

Murphy and Frank were upset about it, while Corky and Miles seemed to be o.k. with it. Jim expressed fatigue over the whole "left" vs. "right" thing and asked rhetorically what was wrong with middle-of-the-road.

Then even Frank acknowledged that with his income, taxes were too high and maybe Republicans would cut them.

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[–] richard.fuller1 11 years ago

Murphy Brown was painfully liberal, which if there was a conservative sitcom like this, it would be overwhelmed with complaints.

Or if we want to deduce Archie Bunker was the narrow-minded, bigoted conservative, then how does that compare to Murphy Brown? Was she his liberal counter? That isn't necessarily a good thing, it seems to me.

I've been rewatching Maude, and quite honestly, the logic and assumption that "you're not white conservative, I must pity you and be your friend" seems a very damaged way to think, yet Maude did this (and Carol Burnett even made fun of it once on her show, with Isabel Sanford as Florida).

The idea of screaming someone down with namecalling and insults, such as is done on Murphy Brown if someone disagrees with them politically, to me is no different than Archie Bunker's narrow-minded bigotry.

Everytime an actress has portrayed Sarah Palin, she wins an Emmy. This is Hollywood.

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[–] furienna 11 years ago

I've only watched a few episodes of "All in the family", but I actually like Archie Bunker. I maybe can't agree with him on every issue, but we also must understand that he was born in the 1910s or the 1920s. I also suspect that there have been many families in real life, where the father-in-law is more conservative than his son-in-law. Archie was also rather harmless really, and the actor playing him did a really great job, especially as he seems to have been a die hard liberal.

I've never watched "Maude", so I can't comment on that show.

Intelligence and purity.

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[–] richard.fuller1 11 years ago

All In The Family was a breakthrough program and Carroll O'Conner did indeed do a good job bringing the character to life (Mickey Rooney was an earlier choice to portray the character).

The show really tanked with Edith speaking against Archie, which the '50s wife would never do, but yea, Archie's character is very easy to follow in his bigotry.

If Murphy Brown had to contend with things in her life as Bunker did, she would definitely not be as pretentious as she was on the show, going from her sheltered office to her sheltered bar to her sheltered home, tho once again, her resentment of those who politically disagree with her borders on the same hatred that Bunker had toward those of another race.

I really have no idea how All In the Family first began, how it was perceived as I was too young. I know Edith was not as dumb when she first began, tho again she wasn't overly smart.

I've seen some episodes of Til Death Do Us Part, the English show it was based on.

One of the biggest standout episodes of All In The Family, however it was intended, is when the draft-dodger friend of Mike's shows up and joins the family for a holiday dinner.
Eugene Roche is a vet Archie greatly admires. When Archie rants at the draft-dodger, Roche welcomes the young man to the table.

Gloria, Mike, Edith, Roche and the other fellow all sit and eat, leaving Archie Bunker standing by himself. Again, I don't know how this episode was supposed to be seen back then, but today it watches as a man truly standing by himself with his own convictions, as we all have felt at one time or another in our lives.

I seriously doubt if there was ever an episode like this on Murphy Brown, where she is wronged, shamed, humiliated in the face of a conservative bigot.

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[–] Loves-Bitch 10 years ago

which if there was a conservative sitcom like this, it would be overwhelmed with complaints

Have you seen Last Man Standing? Tim Allen is a conservative republican and the show is a conservative sitcom. Yet you don't see overwhelming complaints. Sure there are some complaints, but they happen to be the exact same "I like the show, but....." that this exact topic is. The difference is that since you agree with that side, you notice the complaints because you think the concept is right and therefore the complaints stick out to you as "wrong", while the same complaints against the liberal show don't stick out to you (though the complaints of "liberal" shows are constant) because you consider the complaints "right". Since you agree with the conservative side, you see arguments against it as outrageous (and thus they stick out to you) while the shows you see as "liberal" seem wrong to you and thus arguments against them seem natural, normal and thus don't stick out.

To Love and win is the best thing. To Love and lose, the next best.

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[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

Love-Bitch: "Have you seen Last Man Standing? Tim Allen is a conservative republican and the show is a conservative sitcom. Yet you don't see overwhelming complaints. Sure there are some complaints, but they happen to be the exact same "I like the show, but....." that this exact topic is. The difference is that since you agree with that side, you notice the complaints because you think the concept is right and therefore the complaints stick out to you as "wrong", while the same complaints against the liberal show don't stick out to you (though the complaints of "liberal" shows are constant) because you consider the complaints "right". Since you agree with the conservative side, you see arguments against it as outrageous (and thus they stick out to you) while the shows you see as "liberal" seem wrong to you and thus arguments against them seem natural, normal and thus don't stick out."
----------------------------------------------------

Hey, thanks, friend, you're absolutely right and you read me like a book, except for a few things.

I never said I agree conservatively, it's just apparent shows such as Maude to Murphy Brown have a liberal bias and don't show the central character as offensive as Archie Bunker was done. Do you think Maude and Murphy Brown show the flaws and problems of that way of thinking?

If anything, Archie was to throw cold water on those who think like him (conservative or racist) and he became an icon.

And the reason there aren't 'complaints' about Last Man Standing is because not much of anybody is watching it.

But I do like how you tell me what I think and what I see. That's interesting.

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[–] leader-7 10 years ago

All in the Family.
Archie Bunker: conservative.

End.of.Story.

The whole idea of Murphy Brown was her liberal "bias."

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[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

leader-7: "All in the Family.
Archie Bunker: conservative.

End.of.Story.

The whole idea of Murphy Brown was her liberal "bias."
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And those 'classic' moments when Murphy's 'bias' came back to bite her in the arse were . . . um, . . . well, gee. . . . can't seem to think of any.

Whereas Archie had George Jefferson; Michael Conrad as the Polish cop; Roscoe Lee Browne in the elevator with Rueben Blades and Eileen Brennan; got drunk in the basement and thought God was the black man who entered before him; Ron Glass as the refrigerator repairman; the draft-dodger who showed up at Christmas; even the transvestite he picked up in his cab and did CPR.

These are all just off the top of my head. There's also Bea Arthur's first appearance as liberal cousin Maude.

Now let's see, those 'classic' moments with Murphy Brown, as relayed in a recent online article, consisted of a bunch of guest stars and likewise as her secretaries.

By comparison, had ARchie Bunker been a conservative figure on tv, he would have been humiliated, ridiculed and totally trashed on too many numerous episodes to count. Ted Baxter was made the fool more on the Mary Tyler Moore show than anything like that ever even being allowed to happen to Murphy Brown.

Name one. Just name one, friend.

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[–] HaddonfieldMemorial 10 years ago

richard.fuller1, did Candice Bergen murder your dog or something? You look like a typical conservative, jarhead "America, fùck yeah!!!" tool.

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[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

HaddonfieldMemorial lovingly says: "richard.fuller1, did Candice Bergen murder your dog or something? You look like a typical conservative, jarhead "America, fùck yeah!!!" tool."
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Thanks, friend. You're nice.

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[–] HaddonfieldMemorial 10 years ago

I'm not here to be loved.

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[–] dreaming (43) 7 years ago

Archer Bunker was a conservative figure on TV. So what's your point?

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[–] justitia 8 years ago

richard.fuller1

The idea of screaming someone down with namecalling and insults, such as is done on Murphy Brown if someone disagrees with them politically, to me is no different than Archie Bunker's narrow-minded bigotry.

Realize that this is three years later - but your description fits trump to a T

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[–] richard.fuller1 8 years ago

Justitia: "Realize that this is three years later - but your description fits trump to a T"
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Hence there is no difference in this behavior at all, on either side. They are all the same.

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[–] justitia 8 years ago

How did you know to come check here? Is there a way to set up IMDB to send you an email when someone replies to your post?

Whenever I want to check if there are any replies have to go to each of my posts over the years to look... That takes forever, so I usually don't do it.

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[–] richard.fuller1 8 years ago

Click on your profile name or something and check there. I get emails telling me there has been responses to my posts.

I had private messages turned off before I realized I had over a dozen messages, all rather sarcastic, so it didn't matter.

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[–] HaddonfieldMemorial 10 years ago

You had All In The Family and Family Ties that were very "family friendly" and a lot of the shows from the 70s and 80s have conservative undertones and guess what? People didn't mind, but once a blatantly liberal show is made everyone is up in arms. Enjoy the show, it's entertainment.

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[–] HellboundHero 8 years ago

I'm not sure if you're using All in the Family and Family Ties as examples of conservative shows, but I'd call them both more liberal. Well, mainly AitF, since it was clearly mocking Archie and siding with Mike's liberal views. Family Ties still used Alex Keaton's conservative attitude for laughs but he was a much less buffoonish character, so I guess you could say it was a little bit conservative and a little bit liberal.

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[–] dreaming (43) 7 years ago

For real---tired of these damn conservatives whining about every show that they claim doesn't reflect their conservatism. Guess what, y'all? Everyone in the whole damn world isn't conservative like you and they don't have to be. Being conservative
doesn't make you better or smarter than anyone else,any damn way. I liked Murphy Brown back in the day and frankly, I could have given less than a damn about its political bent back then,because I was much younger and didn't understand or give a damn about politics like I do now. I just liked the show and thought it was funny. Ain't seen it in forever, so I might want to revisit it after all this talk about it by whiny-a** conservatives who can't conceive of the fact that every damn thing/the whole world doesn't revolve around them/is not just about them or whatever the fck they believe. I don't know why the OP is so bothered by the fact that a show can have a liberal viewpoint. I mean the show was written and produced by a liberal Hollywood power couple,who were big names in TV at the time. No big surprise there if you're done the research on it. I mean,give me a break.

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[–] Stratego (29286) 6 years ago

Trump is president because of freakin morons like you. It's the lefty snowflakes who want everyone else to think and be like them.

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[–] xoxo (160) 6 years ago

I wish it was more moderate in terms of political views

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[–] McQualude (4231) 6 years ago

The US is a liberal country, based on liberalism, the Bill of Rights is liberalism codified, that isnt opinion. Murphy Brown is among the more left leaning shows so stick around, we are a much less angry and fun crowd.

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