Sweden Warns Parents: Quit Plopping Your Baby In Front Of Brain-Rotting Screens
When screen time is eliminated or reduced, children have more time to be outside, interact in person, and, critically, sleep.When screen time is eliminated or reduced, children have more time to be outside, interact in person, and, critically, sleep.Bluey's dad isn't so bad — and moms can be overly nurturing too
Does "Bluey" really "turn fathers into mothers"?
That's the claim Jeremy Pryor makes in a recent article for Align, arguing that that the mega-popular cartoon attacks the traditional family, especially in its depiction of fatherhood.
Any parent — father or mother — who fits Pryor’s description of 'Bluey’s' Bandit is in fact an active detriment to his or her children.
Bandit (the dad in "Bluey"), Pryor contends, is “constantly nurturing” and “always present.” He is no disciplinarian but “a plaything” in the eyes of his children.
Don't blame Bandit
First, let me be clear: I’m not sure that Pryor’s take is quite fair to Bandit, who seems in my limited exposure to "Bluey" perhaps overly gentle but not pathologically so. This is, after all, a preschoolers’ show.
That said, Pryor’s broader point about our mistaken postmodern paternal ideal is well taken. The idea that dads should always be accommodating and never be intimidating is, like most postmodern ideas, an infantile fantasy. It takes no account of human nature and creates misery wherever it is permitted to fester unchecked.
Pryor may have picked a poor example to make a valid point about what children need from their fathers.
Nevertheless, his critique of our modern investment in parental androgyny raises a question worth addressing: What makes an ideal father different from an ideal mother?
Nurture shock
Pryor contends that the very qualities he says make Bandit a lousy father — constant nurture, constant presence, always pleasant playmate — would make a woman an ideal mother.
Putting aside the question of whether Bandit in fact displays these traits to such excess, is that true? I would submit not.
Per Mary Wollstonecraft, the founding mother of feminism before it all went so terribly wrong: “Weak, enervated women” are “unfit to be mothers.” A woman who responds to her child’s every whim is not raising that child to engage the wider world but delimiting his capacity to engage anyone but her. The archetypal term for this insidious maternal figure is the “devouring mother.”
The devouring mother does have a long and storied history; she is an archetype for a reason. But she cannot be considered “traditional.” After all, women throughout most of history could not focus with such martyred self-abnegation on their children. They simply had too many other things to do.
Getting to good enough
Until industrialization, when middle- and upper-class women could for the first time in history devote themselves solely to the domestic welfare of their own nuclear families, nearly all women labored alongside their husbands and children on farms.
In these circumstances, the best a woman could hope for was to be a “good enough” mother: loving and strict and far too busy to be next to her child every second, like the mom in "Little House on the Prairie" or the one in the “Kirsten” books of the original "American Girl" series.
Fortunately, it turns out that “good enough” is what’s best.
Any parent — father or mother — who fits Pryor’s description of "Bluey’s" Bandit is in fact an active detriment to his or her children. Judging by today’s soaring rates of childhood misbehavior, mental health problems, and fragility, we do indeed have far too many such parents.
So if mothers should not be hovering pushovers any more than fathers should, what makes fathers unique and uniquely valuable?
Dad duty
Personally, I have two answers.
First, fathers provide a different kind of discipline — but only to a point. Yes, “talk to Daddy” is drawn as a leveling up of firmness in my house. Mommy is plenty firm, but Daddy has a different impact because Daddy is a man. But I also have four boys and no girls. If I had four daughters and no sons instead, I truly cannot imagine a scenario in which my husband would be the heavy; in fact, it would almost certainly go the other way.
Second, per Pryor, fathers do tend to offer a unique kind of “territory-expanding” and “training,” particularly to sons but also to daughters.
I am a “he’s fine” kind of mom. In part because it’s not my personality and in part because I know it’s not a good idea, I do not gasp or run over when my kid skins a knee or even a chin. I try to respond to what my kid says he needs (sometimes a hug, sometimes ice, often nothing), not react to what I saw.
But I am a mom, and I have my limits.
Checks and balances
I “let grow” pretty well, but when my kids aren’t back to my side exactly when I expect them to be — say, from the library across the street or from a bike ride around the block — I am always on the precipice of running to find them.
My anxiety is inevitably written all over my face. And my kids would surely see that, were I to follow my impulse and dash off at the first suspicion that they might be trying without immediate success to find their way back to me. Fortunately, my husband’s voice is always in my head, and often in my ear: “This is about you getting reassured, not about them being safe. They are fine. They will be fine. Do not worry them with your worry.”
I am beginning to notice that my sons tend to stay calm even when they are unsettled precisely because they have a dad who models that kind of stoicism consistently. Dads do tend, I think, to keep their sights trained more steadily than moms do on the endgame of raising adults who can manage real life, including when it’s scary.
So part of being a “good enough” mom, I guess, is knowing when to get out of the way and let Dad do his job.
'Love Island USA' reality star accused of threatening to kill cop amid disorderly arrest
"Love Island USA" reality star Hannah Smith was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill a police officer in Atlanta, according to multiple reports.
Smith — a 26-year-old North Carolina native who appeared in the sixth and most-watched season of the "Love Island USA" dating show — attended the Gracie Abrams show at the Coca-Cola Roxy concert venue on the night of Sept. 30.
'Smith, who was still yelling, cursing, and dropping items out of her purse, began to walk toward me and attempted to punch me.'
Citing police documents, TMZ reported that when police were removing Smith from the concert around 11 p.m. for being disorderly, she allegedly "tried punching the cop with a closed fist."
Smith also punched a member of emergency medical services who was assisting, according to a Cobb County officer supervising the situation.
Smith was placed under arrest.
"Smith, who was still yelling, cursing, and dropping items out of her purse, began to walk toward me and attempted to punch me," the officer said in the report, according to NBC News. "However, before she made contact I grabbed her arm and put her on the ground and placed her under arrest."
After being handcuffed, Smith reportedly attempted to kick the officer "multiple times" and soon was placed in a police cruiser.
During the drive to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center, Smith repeatedly threatened to kill the officer and his sister, according to the police report. The report does not specify in what way the officer's sister was relevant to the arrest.
“While transporting Smith to Cobb [detention center] she stated, ‘I am going to kill you and your sister,'” the report read. “She stated she was going to kill me and my sister multiple times.”
Smith reportedly declared that she would not exit the police cruiser until the person in the passenger seat was arrested — except there was no one in the passenger seat, according to police.
“I advised to her that no one was in the front seat of the vehicle, however Smith still refused to exit the vehicle,” the officer wrote in the report.
Smith was booked and charged with two felonies: terroristic threats and obstruction or hindering an officer.
Smith's bond was set at $8,000, and after it was posted Oct. 1, Smith was released, according to WAGA-TV.
As part of her release, Smith was ordered to not consume alcohol and submit to random alcohol and drug testing.
Officials said Smith was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Smith debuted as a contestant in season six of “Love Island USA,” the American spin-off of a massively popular British dating show. Smith was the first woman eliminated from the season.
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Instead Of Whining About The Woke Emmys, The Right Should Get Behind Better Films
Another Emmy season has come and gone. This year’s winners and nominees are once again a sweeping validation of the left-leaning Ford Foundation’s strategy to sponsor and cultivate progressive films and filmmakers. The Ford Foundation’s biggest winner this season, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” an artsy biopic about a poet and activist, won […]Is It Really ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Without Pat Sajak?
Ryan Seacrest seems more straightforward in his approach and may eschew humor as he builds into the hosting role.Wednesday Western: The top Western social media accounts
Social media has played an interesting role in the revival of Western cinema. I’ve compiled a list of social media accounts dedicated to Westerns.
This article doesn’t include blogs, podcasts, websites, or magazines. I’m currently working on an article for each, so definitely let me know any of these that I need to know about in the comments section, or send me an email.
The following list is by no means comprehensive. And at first glance, it may seem like a random assortment. The accounts vary in audience size, output, and content organization. They employ different media and delivery methods. Some are public; some require you to answer a questionnaire. Each of them is unique.
What unites them is a frontier spirit, a liveliness.
Official John Wayne - Instagram
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of The Duke.
The official John Wayne Instagram page is probably my favorite Western social media account. The X account is also solid. But the Instagram account is far better.
It delivers the perfect number and flow of posts. And the descriptions, titles, and photos are all flawlessly assembled. I’d be shocked if it weren’t run by social media or marketing/PR professionals.
This is the proper handling of the John Wayne legacy. The people in charge of maintaining it make sure that the Duke’s legacy is truly an experience. All of it is interconnected through John Wayne Enterprises: the John Wayne Museum, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, the John Wayne Grit Series, among others.
You can buy John Wayne cookbooks and a collection of cocktail recipes, coffee, ornamental cups and top-class clothing — all of which will appear in this series in exciting ways.
All of these converge at the Instagram account.
It’s comforting to see a passionate group of people devoted to the upkeep of the Duke’s invaluable legacy.
If all that weren’t good enough, they just launched a collaboration with Broken Bow Country, a friend of the Wednesday Western series, as captured in this profile.
In fact, during our interview, we connected on the Duke and our admiration for the official John Wayne account.
Scrolling through this account, it feels like you’re reading a biography of the Duke, told in vignettes and accompanied by pictures, music, and video.
Some of the posts are simply gorgeous. They provide a holistic view of the Duke, a man unlike any other. They offer great commentary on various Wayne films and media appearances. They help you understand who John Wayne was behind the legend, as in this post about his prolific love of chess.
Other times, it’s playful, as with the incredibly creative inclusion of holidays, like this recent celebration of National Sunglasses Day.
The posts hit every emotion as we navigate John Wayne’s love life and comforts and disappointments and truest victories.
And America, you become closer to this great country. Just check out this 4th of July post. And, man, how about this one? Who else deserves to be the biggest movie star of all time?
Just Westerns - YouTube
Just Westerns is an entrepreneurial feat animated by one man’s love for Westerns. He has mastered the possibilities that YouTube offers.
And that narrator’s voice: That’s Marc Reynard, the Englishman in charge of Just Westerns, the unofficial home of Westerns on YouTube.
This dude is undoubtedly one of us.
He examines the genre from creative and at times surprising angles, like this video about the fate of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly 2.” You read that right: There was supposed to be a sequel.
His videos are smooth, well produced, well crafted, well written, sharp, fun, lovely, informative.
He also does something that I wish we had more of: He hypes upcoming and anticipated Westerns and compiles year-end lists and legitimizes the artistic merit of video games: “20 Best Western Video Games.” He also covers Wednesday Western favorite "Old Henry" (2021)
We need more of all of this. Best of all, you can feel his passion.
My only complaint is that the channel has only 30 videos. I went through them all at a steady clip.
But even this turns out to be further proof that you’re getting content that is authentically wholesome. Marc addresses it in his YouTube bio: “Please bear with me, I am a solo creator without the resources or manpower that larger channels typically have, so I am unfortunately unable to upload as regularly as I like, especially as I am committed to prioritizing quality over quantity.”
Take your time, brother. Personally, I think it's worth the wait.
r/Westerns - Reddit
Reddit can be a nasty place, especially if your politics are anything to the right of Bernie Sanders. And you can’t avoid the ideological slapfests, either. Leftist goons stir it up in every subreddit, constantly, and they’re almost always combative, even in the subreddits devoted to woodwork or kittens.
The Westerns subreddit is a clear exception. It’s a community. It feels like the town square of a dust-ridden Western town.
Check out this thread about “For a Few Dollars More.”
The mixed-media format of Reddit allows for a variety of sources: pictures, movies, trailers, interviews, text-only, even gifs. It might be the most versatile resource on this list.
It’s a great place for recommendations and commentary. Unlike much of the rest of Reddit, which is disproportionately loaded with young white liberal men, there’s an even spread of people of all ages.
These Redditors routinely swap personal stories about the various movies and actors. Some of their stories are poignant and evocative.
Back to the Old Western - Facebook
Facebook is a great place for Western fans. Instagram is too image-centered to accommodate text, and it doesn’t support links. Meanwhile, the microblogging experience of X is limited in its scope and impatient in its daunting pace — the temperament and vibe of Westerns don’t do well in such a frantic environment.
Facebook circumnavigates all of this, finally able to beat all the much lighter apps. For once, it finds an advantage to its cluttered user interface.
This bulk allows users to upload and share every type of content. No limitations. It’s the only platform capable of this, besides Reddit, but I’m not about to equate the megalith Facebook with the niche subreddit.
Besides, Facebook outperforms Reddit anyway. Its Pages function allows for an immersive blogging experience, run by moderators and admins who are passionate about their content and free to run their operation without much interference, right down to the parameters of the group’s privacy.
Back to the Old Western is the perfect example of these principles. It is active, with a constant flow of posts, often aggregated from fan pages — the Duke and Sam Elliot, mostly.
The comments sections are fairly quiet, but most of the time people add substance or passion to the movie or actor being celebrated.
Chatter isn’t as important as it is on Reddit. The admins really know their stuff, offering a healthy range of mainstream Westerns, cult classics, and oddities, like this post celebrating Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale for their roles in “The Legend of Frenchie King” (1971), a wild little movie that will get its Wednesday Western spotlight in due time.
A Word on Westerns - YouTube
BLAZING SADDLES! The fart scene changed my life, says Burton Gilliam A WORD ON WESTERNSwww.youtube.com
I made a point to place Just Westerns higher up than A Word on Westerns, because Just Westerns is the passion project of an ordinary guy who loves Westerns, while A Word on Westerns is a proper television series. An exceedingly good one, with just as much passion and gusto.
It’s a fantastic channel. A Word on Westerns is sort of like a Western-only version of TMC, which is a thrilling reality. That’s the dream.
The channel features entire movies, each with a brief but thorough introduction by Rob Word, a double feature as part of the segment Word’s Wayback.
These are mostly 1930s and 1940s Westerns.
YouTube is an oddity on this list, because so many of the major Western channels exclusively post full movies. What a joy it is to find a rare Western on YouTube. But these channels lack the commentary and artistry that characterize the two YouTube channels I’ve included on this list.
A Word on Westerns blends the rustic ease of the Old West with the hypersonic immediacy of our infinite now. You can also access lectures, speeches, and clever projects like this "Gunsmoke" mash-up.
Smartest of all, it makes good use of the Shorts function on YouTube, will brief clips about various topics, from Robert Mitchum to stories of mutilation.
Western Podcast - X
The Western Podcast X page is small but mighty, with some impressive followers and praise from True West magazine.
Have you seen #HorizonAmericanSaga yet? If so, share your thoughts with us! We'll record a full podcast episode about the film in two weeks when Andrew is back from his vacation in Europe. In the meantime, here's Matt's highly positive take on Kevin Costner's latest Western epic. https://t.co/baVzZE4vPK
— @WesternPodcast (@WesternPodcast) June 28, 2024
It’s an offshoot of the marvelous podcast hosted by our friend Western apostle Andrew Patrick Nelson and the excellent Matthew Chernov, a screenwriter and a journalist with bylines in Variety, Entertainment Weekly, IMBd.com. Yahoo News, and about a hundred other outlets. His insight thrives with the joy of curiosity.
Andrew's Instagram account will keep you up to date with his media appearances and projects, with the occasional infusion of Hair Metal.
These boys are the real deal. Andrew just began his new job as chief curator of Western Spirit, Scottsdale's Museum of the West. Before that, he taught film history. As a professor at the University of Utah, Andrew guided his students through the badlands full of robbers and coyotes, only to unmask the villains hiding behind all their props and plywood scenery.
Why Millennials & Zoomers Should Watch Westerns | Andrew Patrick Nelson | Alignwww.youtube.com
Both of them are impressively smart with a tenderness for beauty, but not at the cost of a good story or a complicated hero.
They take their time with content, even tweets, but this adds to the reverence of their decision-making process. If you haven't taken the dive into their work already, do it.They have a gift for revealing the beautiful, intricate paradoxes of Western movies. They speak with screenwriters, historians, authors, journalists, musicians, directors, costume designers, and more.
They tell stories. They examine personal reactions to various films. They navigate themes of universality and timelessness within the motion of transcendence, while also exposing the flimsiness of any given cultural era.
Is Stagecoach the best movie ever made? Interview with Andrew Patrick Nelsonwww.youtube.com
They have a gift for discerning the role of Western movies in relation to our unexplained world, differentiating these fictions from their context and influence. But also, more impressively, they succeed in witnessing the presence of our entire universe in one tiny section of cinema history.
Both of them have helped yours truly at many points along our journey so far. They have guided me through the desert more than once.
Kevin Costner and Modern West - X
Kevin Costner & MW (@modernwest) on X
Kevin Costner is this era’s Clint Eastwood. He fights to keep the Western in public view, devoting himself to projects animated by passion, even if his wallet takes a hit. The victory is worth the risk.
He has ushered in a new era for the genre. His success with "Yellowstone" and its Western universe of shows has accelerated the Western’s resurgence. But it’s more than that. We're also witnessing a flourishing of the Western as an ethos, a style, a mode of thought, an approach to life.
So did you realize that Kevin Costner has a country band? Founded in 2007, Kevin Costner and Modern West deliver rowdy songs written for the culturally forgotten people of America. The band's history is tinged with tragedy.
The Kevin Costner and Modern West account is technically the band’s, but it posts tons of Costner content, all hand-picked and polished by a team of social media professionals.
Best Cowboy Movies Forever - Facebook
There are several variations on the “Western” + “Forever” title, but I’m going with Best Cowboy Movies Forever. I enjoy the way the account profiles various actors, like this post about Lee Van Cleef.
It also includes Westerns from every different era. This is important. It’s good to hop around in this way. I’m partial to the 1939-1960 era of the genre, so I can plant myself in that time exclusively if I’m not careful.
The page rarely ventures into the current scene. But this isn’t a problem. It’s important to offer due reverence to the originators.
Old West - Actors, Films, and Legends - Facebook
Old West zooms in so that we get a portrait view of an incredible variety of Western actors, films, and legends, like this post devoted to Myron Halle or this homage to Elsa Martinelli. I value any source that prioritizes the lesser-known figures in the genre. Because, as we all know, the Western genre is overflowing with stories, entire generations of actors, producers, directors, screenwriters — you name it — whose fascinating tales deserve to be recounted.
As much as I love the giants of the genre, I derive incredible joy from learning about these forgotten figures.
Passion for Western Movies - Instagram
Passion for western movies (@western_movies) • Instagram photos and videosView this profile on Instagram
Passion for Western Movies makes great use of Instagram’s Reels format.
The account does a lot of this kind of multi-movie post, offering a list of movies connected by timeframe or theme.
Passion for Western Movies lives up to its name, able to glide around the history of the Western genre, seemingly without partiality. It also features lesser-known movies, like this post about "The Hunting Party," which features Gene Hackman.
Broken Bow Country - Instagram
I’m a bit biased on this one, because I think Colton is an absolute legend, but Broken Bow Country is perfect for this list.
The Western experience you get is fairly rough around the edges, in a distinctly modern way. But modernity never wins against Broken Bow Country.
It’s unique for many reasons but primarily because, in addition to its Western ethos, it is a clothing retailer and printmaker. No other creator on our list offers this level of art and style.
Then you’ve got the lore, the storytelling that comes with his posts, the war hymns of country-Western rebels and the toll their rebellion often took on their lives.
The past month has been wild for Colton. Early in July, he landed a collaboration with John Wayne Enterprises. The T-shirts are fantastic. In fact, I’m wearing one of them in the cover photo for Wednesday Western.
Then, a gunman on a sloped roof tried to murder former President Donald Trump, who was days away from officially accepting his party’s nomination.
In the panicky hours that followed, many people succumbed to their emotions, others to their resolve. I won’t pretend to have remained cool.
But Colton did. Following the Trump assassination attempt, he designed a T-shirt honoring one of the most American moments in human history, as Trump rose with his fist in the air. And he donated all of the money to a charity for Corey Comperatore, the man who died shielding his family from one of the gunman’s bullets.
This was a controversial move. He even faced the nasty comments about how the shooter shouldn’t have missed or that the deaths of the victims were “completely deserved.”
He lost a few thousand followers, but he describes it as “inconsequential when you think about the people that it's helping to support.”
In a press release, he said, “This has nothing to do with politics, I was incredibly moved by what happened and I wanted to use my platform to do something that extended beyond the controversy and the arguing.”
Lancer TV Blog - Facebook
Last and certainly not least, Lancer TV Blog on Facebook. It is run by a friend of mine, an avid supporter of Wednesday Western.
Unlike every other entry included on this list, Lancer TV Blog focuses entirely on one show, a show that hardly anyone knows. This reversal in focus is good for a movie lover’s mental sharpness.
I’m working on a deep dive into "Lancer," so I won’t say too much.
Beyond the merits of the show and its cast, "Lancer" is an underdog story still in the middle stages, badgered by uncertainty. Because the show hasn’t had a reboot, despite success throughout its two (long) seasons on CBS. So it’s not an issue of merit; the show deserves a second wind. It would very likely expand its audience.
But none of that matters for the art trapped in the murk of a waiting area, a zone of uncertainty. And the gifted athlete eventually starts to wobble. Filmstock degrades. All technology collapses. Call it the inevitable disintegration of a lively body, in this case a body of art.
Even the most perfect masterpieces eventually crumble. But what if that happens to be your masterpiece? What if it’s your tiny heaven, all tangled up in red tape? Life has enough of this disintegration as it is. Our entertainment needs to be clean, enjoyable, and easily accessible. Or so claims the majority.
Well, thank God for the passionate workers of cultural excavation. They dig and fight. They protect, sustain, and preserve. Without them, life would be less beautiful. Without them, our society would be weaker and tamer and less able to see a way out.
"Lancer" episodes run an hour. This extended run time fundamentally changes the character and depth of a TV show. It’s amazing what an episode can accomplish in one hour that it simply can’t in 30 minutes.
What you’ll find, as you scroll through the posts on the Lancer Facebook page, is purity. This fandom rewards people with a tiny kingdom, a crafted world they can always turn to. That experience should rile up every single person.
There’s a fidelity to their affection that is heartwarming. The Lancer TV Blog connects you to this incredibly pure relation. It’s just there, like sand across the winds of time.
Blaze News original: 9 popular TV shows with conservative messages
Television used to be the great equalizer — a place where Americans of all colors, creeds, and political persuasions could gather to turn off their brains for a while and zone out.
We may have had fewer choices — in both what we watched and when we watched it — but at least every bit of content (we called them "shows" back then) had more or less the same objective: to entertain us.
That generally meant avoiding the same topics you avoid at the neighborhood barbershop — politics and religion.
So much for that simple pleasure.
Now even the most lowbrow dating show must pass muster with the commissars of woke. Now TV producers fall all over themselves to shoehorn leftist messages about inclusion and choose-your-own-gender ideology into their sitcoms and procedurals and single-camera prestige "dramedies."
It's enough to make a man pick up reading.
But wait — don't touch that Dostoevsky! There are still some TV shows out there for conservatives — i.e., anyone who doesn't run from the room screaming at the slightest hint of traditional beliefs such as the importance of family and the value of personal responsibility.
We've compiled a guide — and it's got everything from heartland dramas and wholesome family-friendly sitcoms to crime thrillers, animated comedies, and programs celebrating small-town America.
'Yellowstone'
Set in rural Montana, "Yellowstone" follows the lives of an influential ranching family.
The show often features a rural-versus-urban bent, as the Dutton family must battle against deep-pocketed coastal elites attempting to take over their precious ranch land. "Yellowstone" highlights the dangers of government overreach, crony capitalism, and corporate interests seeking to acquire or develop land.
The show has conservative themes such as a pro-gun perspective, depicting traditional masculinity and gender roles, preaching self-reliance, valorizing work ethic, land conservation, the importance of individual rights, and preservation of heritage.
Kevin Costner portrays John Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family. Despite being an antihero with questionable morals, Dutton wants to preserve his family's legacy, traditions, and way of life.
The show has a prominent trope that progress isn't always progress.
'Last Man Standing'
The main character of "Last Man Standing" is Mike Baxter – an outspoken and unapologetic conservative who isn't afraid to air out his right-leaning views on various issues.
Baxter displays a strong work ethic at his job at Outdoor Man — a chain of sporting goods stores.
Baxter is the patriarch of a household with three daughters, and the show advocates for conventional family roles and values. However, Baxter holds traditional values that often put him at odds with the more liberal women in his household — and his son-in-law. Despite political differences, Mike is a family man who comically puts aside his differences and will do anything for his loved ones.
Baxter is played by actor Tim Allen, who is a conservative in real life, which gives his character and the show authenticity.
"Last Man Standing" delves into political issues, including immigration, culture war topics, government regulations, free-market capitalism, voter participation, political campaigns, gun rights, environmental policies, and education.
Though it was the second-most-watched ABC sitcom during the 2016-17 season, ABC canceled "Last Man Standing." Following the cancellation, nearly 440,000 people signed a petition to save the show.
"'Last Man Standing' is one of the only shows on broadcast television, and the only sitcom, that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers. And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been canceled," the petition read.
ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey contended that "Last Man Standing" was canceled for "business and scheduling reasons."
"Last Man Standing" was picked up by Fox in 2018 and ran on the network until 2021.
'The Ranch'
"The Ranch" is a Netflix comedy-drama series that may appeal to conservatives for numerous reasons.
The show is based on the Bennett family, who live on the fictional Iron River Ranch in Garrison, Colorado. The TV show has a coming-home plot of a failed semi-pro football player returning to his hometown to help run the family ranch.
"The Ranch" touches on the economic hardships facing small ranchers and other serious issues facing rural America in general.
The show notes the importance of community, self-reliance, work ethic, gun ownership, patriotism, the beauty of tight-knit small-town life, lessons of redemption, family traditions, and skepticism of liberal policies and political correctness.
'King of the Hill'
"King of the Hill" highlights traditional values while providing laughs to the viewer.
The animated TV series is based in the small fictional town of Arlen, Texas. The show centers around Hank Hill, a middle-class propane salesman with conservative values. Hank is a devoted family man who believes in hard work, personal responsibility, and the importance of community.
He has traditional viewpoints, such as patriotism, loyalty, work ethic, personal responsibility, limited government, traditional gender roles, fiscal conservatism, respect for tradition, community involvement, blue-collar pride, civic duty, and skepticism toward government intervention.
Hill often struggles to understand modern societal trends, which opens up comedic situations where Hank is completely perplexed. Hill often blasts political correctness.
"King of the Hill" was created by Mike Judge, who was also behind "Beavis and Butt-Head" and "Idiocracy."
'Blue Bloods'
"Blue Bloods" is a police procedural drama series that spotlights law enforcement and family values.
"Blue Bloods" revolves around the Reagan family — a multi-generational clan of Irish-Catholic law enforcement officers dedicated to serving and protecting New York City.
Frank Reagan is the family's patriarch and the New York City police commissioner. Reagan, played by Tom Selleck, is a wise and respected leader who upholds justice and integrity and often embodies strong conservative ideals.
Frank's eldest son, Danny, is a seasoned detective, family man, and Iraq War veteran. Frank's daughter, Erin, is an assistant district attorney. Frank's youngest son, Jamie, is a Harvard Law School graduate and the family's "golden boy" who becomes a sergeant. Frank's father, Henry, is a retired NYC police commissioner.
"Blue Bloods" stresses tight family unity, intergenerational wisdom, loyalty, faith, law and order, justice, ethics, public service, personal responsibility, critique of the media, and respect for law enforcement.
'Kevin Can Wait'
Many consider "Kevin Can Wait" to be family-friendly entertainment that is geared toward conservatives.
The sitcom stars comedic actor Kevin James as Kevin Gable, a retired police officer and father living in a suburban Long Island with his wife, Donna, and their three children. The show highlights the challenges of balancing blue-collar work and the importance of family life.
The TV show hits on conservative topics such as working-class concerns, being family-centric, traditional gender roles, hard work ethos, pro-law-enforcement, a sense of community, individual responsibility, patriotism, integrity, loyalty, protectiveness, and commitment.
While not overtly political, there have been episodes of "Kevin Can Wait" that have addressed topics such as gun rights, community values, and patriotism.
'South Park'
"South Park" is definitely not a conservative television show. However, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are equal-opportunity satirists who have never shied away from roasting sacred cows on the left, right, and anything in between.
"South Park" has featured some of the most cutting comedic criticisms of liberals since it debuted in 1997 and regularly challenges progressive orthodoxies. "South Park" has taken on the white savior complex often associated with liberals, satirized woke culture, exposed the dangers of censorship, poked fun at Al Gore's obsession with climate change, lambasted liberal celebrities for their political activism, and highlighted the hypocrisy of Disney's support of liberal politics.
P.C. Principal is the principal at South Park Elementary who is dead set on bringing an extreme politically correct agenda to the school. P.C. Principal was first introduced in the premiere episode of the 19th season, titled "Stunning and Brave": P.C. Principal ironically lampoons liberals regarding language-policing.
"South Park" also hilariously shamed progressives for supporting transgender men playing in women's sports in Season 23's episode titled: "Go Strong Woman, Go."
The show often takes a libertarian stance, emphasizing individual freedom with a healthy skepticism toward authority and government intervention.
'Heartland'
"Heartland" is a long-running Canadian series that follows multiple generations of families on their Alberta ranch.
The television series "Heartland" appeals to conservatives due to its focus on depictions of rural lifestyles, close-knit families, overcoming personal challenges, and embracing long-standing traditions.
Throughout the series, family unity and support are reoccurring themes, with storylines often revolving around overcoming personal challenges and maintaining familial relationships.
"Heartland" celebrates rural life and conservative values associated with it, such as hard work, resilience, and self-reliance. The characters have a deep connection to the land and their commitment to preserving their way of life.
Woven into the show are themes of accountability, integrity, loyalty, honesty, and perseverance. There are messages of healing, personal growth, and the importance of a loving home.
The show reinforces conventional family dynamics, and the characters portray traditional gender roles and responsibilities.
"Heartland" is rated for children age 10 and up, according to Common Sense, an independent source that evaluates entertainment for families and schools.
'Home Improvement'
Before Mike Baxter, there was Tim Taylor. Tim Allen's debut sitcom, "Home Improvement" resonates with conservative viewers who appreciate its depiction of typical middle-class suburban American homes, the conventional nuclear family structure, and stereotypical gender dynamics.
As in "Last Man Standing," Allen's character embodies a traditional masculine archetype: He has a passion for tools, cars, sports, and activities typically associated with conventional masculinity. In fact, he hosts a home improvement show called "Tool Time."
Jill is a supportive wife as well as an assertive homemaker and mother. Tim and Jill have three sons: Brad, Randy, and Mark.
The show frequently offers lessons about family, communication, and solving familial disputes.
The Taylor family has a Christian faith. There is also a sense of community, as Tim often seeks advice from his neighbor, Wilson.
"Home Improvement" stresses attributes such as hard work, personal accountability, patriotism, the significance of maintaining a strong moral compass, and the importance of family unity and values. The show celebrates skilled trades, small business ownership, ingenuity, and masculinity.
Allen is a staunch Republican and supporter of former President Donald Trump.
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