Now, I really enjoy watching Blue Bloods. And I realize it's not a great show. The direction and writing are pedestrian, and the showrunning is probably detrimental. The main reason I like it (other than a soft spot for police procedurals generally) is that some of the acting is really exceptional. I like seeing actors like Tom Selleck, Vanessa Ray, and especially Donnie Wahlberg rise above the poor script handed to them. It's sort of a reminder that there's professionalism in art. Good actors know how to play a bad hand.
Anyway, that's my long-winded excuse for watching the show, but not my point. In watching the show, I've noticed that it's overbearing in its political agenda. But I've also noticed that its political agenda is, well, confused, to say the least. There are certain narratives that come right out of the middle class white dreamscape. Obviously, the cops are almost always honorable, people complaining about police abuse are almost always lying. Stuff like that. But there are also little things, like how the perpetrator of a bombing of Muslim buildings turns out to be a disaffected Muslim. How, when a black mother from the projects complains that her son's killer hasn't been found yet, she's the one that ends up learning a lesson in the end.
On the other hand, though, there are cliched liberal Hollywoodisms galore. Bridget Moynihan is the strong woman who doesn't need a man. Wahlberg's character is the gruff cop who is somehow also cosmopolitan, defending the essentially immigrant nature of NYC and sensitive to the concerns of the trans community. To put it another way, it's the kind of show where none of the main characters would ever be, say, gay, or something, but all of the main characters would totally be cool with gay people, nonetheless.
The epitome of this strange mix is Selleck's character, who is never prejudiced or biased at all, but for two different reasons. The show makes it clear that prejudice and bias would never enter the equation, because cops are essentially good, but it also makes it clear that such prejudice and bias is inherently wrong. Both of those are good reasons, but they are reasons that appeal directly to two different demographics.
Needless to say, walking this political line has led both the right and the left to attack the show at various times (lots of times; those are just two of the most readily available on a Google search). Anyway, it seems like the show is trying to appeal to everyone at the same time, and I guess it's working, since it's already been renewed for an 8th season. But if you're the kind of person to look for an overbearing agenda in a piece of art, the show is definitely strange. Rarely does a show try to hit both sides of the political aisle with such gusto.
Anyway, that's my long-winded excuse for watching the show, but not my point. In watching the show, I've noticed that it's overbearing in its political agenda. But I've also noticed that its political agenda is, well, confused, to say the least. There are certain narratives that come right out of the middle class white dreamscape. Obviously, the cops are almost always honorable, people complaining about police abuse are almost always lying. Stuff like that. But there are also little things, like how the perpetrator of a bombing of Muslim buildings turns out to be a disaffected Muslim. How, when a black mother from the projects complains that her son's killer hasn't been found yet, she's the one that ends up learning a lesson in the end.
On the other hand, though, there are cliched liberal Hollywoodisms galore. Bridget Moynihan is the strong woman who doesn't need a man. Wahlberg's character is the gruff cop who is somehow also cosmopolitan, defending the essentially immigrant nature of NYC and sensitive to the concerns of the trans community. To put it another way, it's the kind of show where none of the main characters would ever be, say, gay, or something, but all of the main characters would totally be cool with gay people, nonetheless.
The epitome of this strange mix is Selleck's character, who is never prejudiced or biased at all, but for two different reasons. The show makes it clear that prejudice and bias would never enter the equation, because cops are essentially good, but it also makes it clear that such prejudice and bias is inherently wrong. Both of those are good reasons, but they are reasons that appeal directly to two different demographics.
Needless to say, walking this political line has led both the right and the left to attack the show at various times (lots of times; those are just two of the most readily available on a Google search). Anyway, it seems like the show is trying to appeal to everyone at the same time, and I guess it's working, since it's already been renewed for an 8th season. But if you're the kind of person to look for an overbearing agenda in a piece of art, the show is definitely strange. Rarely does a show try to hit both sides of the political aisle with such gusto.
