The Four Color Media Monitor: Supergirl TV series trashes the right, condones gun control politics

I was afraid something like this would turn up, recalling that Smallville had similar problems, especially in its latter half. Newsbusters (via Truth Revolt) says the Supergirl TV show on CW called America's right "xenophobic":

When it was announced that former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter was playing President Olivia Marsdin on season two of Supergirl, I expected not-so-subtle references to a certain not-so-subtle (or honest) presidential candidate Hillary Clinton - and I wasn't disappointed. Not only did she arrive wearing the world’s warmest summer coat like Clinton, this female president also spouted much of the same insane and dangerous rhetoric in the episode “Welcome to Earth.”

If you thought giving amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in America was crazy, try giving amnesty to ANY alien that shows up on Earth. That’s right. According to the president’s Alien Amnesty Act of 2016, all aliens will be “granted the full rights and privileges of American citizens.” Though the show doesn’t emphasize aliens that land in China, Great Britain, Egypt, or literally any other country but the United States, I guess it includes them as well.

Not wanting to be even the tiniest bit vague, the hero herself, Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), immediately writes a biased report about business owner Lena Luthor, who is against amnesty, being tied to “America's xenophobic right,” the country’s “lowest common denominator.” Because, just like it’s xenophobic to be wary of aliens with godlike powers who may or may not want to destroy our planet being welcomed to America’s privileges, it’s xenophobic to be wary of endlessly allowing refugees into our country who may or may not want to execute terrorist attacks (which even Clinton herself secretly said was impossible to thoroughly vet).

It sounds like General Zod, Darkseid and maybe even Granny Goodness have full permission to set up shop here on planet Earth and make plans for a takeover in the episode's logic. What's so great about this adaptation then? They've mired it in politics just as bad, and possibly worse, than Smallville had.

And since we're talking about a TV product featuring Lynda Carter, this isn't even the first time she was involved in something with a negative stance on rightists. Towards the end of the late 70s Wonder Woman series, there was an episode called "The Starships are Coming" where a right-wing military officer in a small town came up with a fake alien invasion scheme to serve as a cover for his plans to nuke China! And yes, the character did come off sounding rather nuts. In hindsight, it was a bit less subtle than other examples of the time, and that made it all the more irksome. Let's also recall Carter put down Sarah Palin in 2008, calling her an "anti-WW", but not for any concrete reasons. So Carter's own leftism is hardly new, and as a result, her association with a story on TV where she plays a premier who makes no distinctions between the different travelers from beyond the galaxy is no shock.

So there you have the dismaying downside of Carter, one more Hollywooder who's made the error of dishing out political commentary.

The Supergirl series also takes an anti-firearm stance (also via Truth Revolt):

After a gang attacks National City armed with alien weapons supplied by a secret organization known as Cadmus, people rightly question what they can do to protect themselves. When the suggestion to arm the populace is thrown out, Supergirl/Kara (Melissa Benoist) simply responds, “Alien guns are bad no matter who controls them,” sounding like every other vapid Hollywood lefty who thinks all guns are bad simply for existing. Yes, because we can clearly see it was the alien guns alone that pulled their own triggers and blasted a children’s hospital, not the evil men holding them.

I guess if these were evil sorcerors using magic spells and wands to annihilate innocents, the magic potions would be the culprit, not the wicked wizards casting them, right? As far as I know, this series, much like Flash and Arrow, has also gone out of its way to concern itself with homosexual relations presented otherwise normally, and that makes them more a political statement than something that can stand on its own as tasteful escapism. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel's current TV products boast similar leftism in what's been produced so far.

And that makes a prime reason why I'm discouraged from trying out a lot of these modern superhero-based products, because the producers are obsessed with PC, and it could get worse now that Donald Trump's been elected president.

Labels: dc comics, politics, Supergirl

Presumably, President Marsdin was created as a stand-in for Hillary Clinton, who was widely expected to win.

The Left calls for "background checks" (which, BTW, are already required by law) for gun buyers, but not for aliens (whether from Apokalips or Syria) entering the US. (And if you suggest that a voter at the polls be required to show the same I.D. that he would be required to show when buying a six pack of beer, they accuse you of voter suppression.)

And, did the president's Alien Amnesty Act pass through Congress? Or was it a unilateral (and unconstitutional) executive order? If Trump issues an executive order deporting illegal immigrants, will the left be OK with it? (Actually, such a move would be perfectly legal, since it would be enforcing an already-existing law, rather than passing a new one.)

Also, the president of the US issued the order, allowing American citizenship for the aliens. What about other countries? Are they taking in alien immigrants? If not, why not? (And why does the US have an obligation to take in Syrian refugees when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE won't?)

Snapper Carr was absolutely right in telling Kara to report facts, and to keep opinions out of it. It tells you something that the only character on the show who seems sensible is the one who is portrayed as an antagonist.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:15 AM

"And, did the president's Alien Amnesty Act pass through Congress? Or was it a unilateral (and unconstitutional) executive order? If Trump issues an executive order deporting illegal immigrants, will the left be OK with it? (Actually, such a move would be perfectly legal, since it would be enforcing an already-existing law, rather than passing a new one.)"

Eisenhower just up and did Operation Wetback, he didn't have to deal with Congress at all. So, yeah, it can be done. And poor Scott Pelley didn't know about that, back when he interviewed Trump and Trump mentioned OW, some time ago.

Avi already pointed out Carter's leftist idiocy (as I do recall what she said about Palin), so it isn't a surprise. Unfortunately, this series really suffers from Current Year syndrome, as while it wants to play with the Silver Age elements of the Supergirl canon, which is nice, it still needs to apologize some of what they think is the more "problematic" aspects of the past canon (like the "girl" vs. "woman" debate that Miley Virus complained about, recently). So, looks like we have to deal with the standard "TV writers are liberal" problem once again, which I don't know if Season 1 had the same problem, as I only read the agony booth's recaps, which is better than watching the show, frankly.

Also, it gets better in terms of accepting refugees:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/australia-strikes-deal-to-resettle-refugees-in-u-s-1478997228

Meanwhile, Whedon is freaking out big time over Trump, so probably should be Avi's next post.

Posted by Killer Moth | 1:25 PM

And once again, live-action bungles things.

Posted by Anonymous | 7:14 PM

So Supergirl made the move to The CWand I have to sayI'm impressed with how noticeably differentthe show is! http://a2livetv.com/amc-live-streaming/

Posted by Rose | 2:15 AM