Ducks vs. bucks

Here’s an interesting take on the Duck Dynasty controversy, which posits that the show “got away” from A&E.

This is what happened. The whole idea of the show was to parade these nouveau riche Christian hillbillies around so that we could laugh at them. "Look at them," we were supposed to say. "Look how backward they are! Look what they believe! Can you believe they really live this way and believe this stuff? See how they don't fit in? HAHAHA"

When the producers saw the way the show was shaping up, different than they envisioned it, they tried to change course. They tried to get the Robertson's to tone down their Christianity, but to their eternal credit they refused. They tried to add fake cussin' to the show by inserting bleeps where no cussword was uttered. At best, they wanted to make the Robertson's look like crass buffoons. At worst they wanted them to look like hypocrites.

They desperately wanted us to laugh at the Robertsons. Instead, we loved them.

In short, A&E was uncomfortable with the real Robertsons, and with the fact that the family values displayed on the show struck a responsive chord among millions of viewers. Nonetheless, all that money coming in sure was nice, so there was an uneasy truce, until Phil, the patriarch, said some things in an interview which, despite a certain coarseness of expression, represent a completely orthodox Christian outlook on human sexuality – and that’s when the political correctness hit the fan, and the bloodthirsty humanitarians of the Left started baying about “tolerance”, and bawling for Phil’s ouster from the show.

Unlike practically all bloggers out there writing on the topic, who invariably introduce their posts with the words, “I’ve never seen the show…”, I am a regular viewer, and I thoroughly enjoy it. It does not really follow the same pattern as other so-called “reality” programs; it is far more like a regular sit-com, and, although Duck Dynasty is obviously scripted, the cast members reveal an extraordinary amount of natural comedic talent which, blended with their sincere religious faith and unfeigned loyalty to family and friends, portrays a world that is simple, yet delightful, and infinitely to be preferred to the cynical, oh-so-sophisticated, post-modernist hell depicted in the brain poison that constitutes so much of our TV fare.