This probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the hit reality show Politics, but a politician has broken a promise.
This particular politician is named Barack Obama, and so far the first season has failed to live up to the hype. We are only a few months past the pilot episode, but it looks like the next few years may end up looking not too different from the less successful series The Bush Years, whose low ratings resulted in it being canceled. While a surprise plot twist may still be in the cards, Obama's intended role as The Anti-War Candidate is turning out to be a bad fit.
What I'm referring to is Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan. The transference of 30,000 troops into the tiny impoverished nation is the result of not so much a new approach to foreign policy as a slight reshuffling of priorities. This is not the change that audiences had hoped for and disappointment seems to be the result.
While many fans are thrilled to see the replacement of Obama's predecessor and overall change of cast, the script remains largely the same. Despite a consistent lack of evidence, the Obama administration has been unable to stray from the same set of premises that audiences grew tired of in the Bush years.
The idea that the shattered remnants of al-Qaeda are still a grave threat to the safety of viewers everywhere seems to be closed to debate, as are the ideas that they can be destroyed with massive ground invasions and that al-Qaeda has the same goals as the Taliban. Audiences are bored with the same old policies, and this viewer is in the mood for something a little more ambitious - like a reduction of troop levels or an outright withdrawal.
The policy of creating allies in a hostile region through nation-building was a major theme in the authoritarian genre and saw considerable use in both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, winning (or conquering) audiences all over Europe and Asia. The Soviet Union tried to expand into Afghanistan during the '80s, but the high cost of marketing eventually resulted in this show being canceled due to lack of funds.
The producers of Politics would do well to reexamine these lessons, as the United States has been running at a loss for decades. Issues like unemployment, global warming and the erosion of the middle class are not given nearly the airtime they deserve, and are much more pertinent to most viewers' lives. Regardless, it looks like viewers have several more years of war to look forward to.
Also, with stop-loss measures already in place and being utilized to their fullest, Obama will be hard-pressed to find the additional cast necessary to extend the war into a second season. He had better deliver on his promise of change or else he may very well end up being replaced.
Even if this does happen, it is unlikely we will witness a change of script any time soon as the show's producers are quite content with a continuation of the same old show carrying on indefinitely. It is true that Obama has won over a great deal of new viewers, but his lack of originality may very well result in the show's return to the previously dismal viewership of less than half the nation.
With villains and comic relief like Sarah Palin, the show can be downright enthralling at times. However, if the main character turns out to be a limp noodle, audiences will once again choose to change the channel and lose track of the story's progression. It may be that Obama is simply not used to his new role, and it will take some time before he is able to find his place as the star of the show.
Hopefully he finds his voice soon, because with co-stars like Hillary Clinton, Dave Patraeus and Timothy Geithner, the show might have to once again take a back seat to more popular programs such as American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. But with audience participation as it is, I suppose you get what you pay for.
Mike Thurau writes for the The BG News at Bowling Green State University.
4 Opinion
