{"id":1739014,"date":"2022-11-15T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1739014"},"modified":"2022-11-15T08:03:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T13:03:24","slug":"morning-show-still-the-king-at-skewering-identity-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/morning-show-still-the-king-at-skewering-identity-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMorning Show\u201d Still the King at Skewering Identity Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmorning-show-still-the-king-at-skewering-identity-politics%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1739014&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/The_Morning_Show_identity-politics-2.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><strong>The second season of Apple TV+\u2019s \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d debuted roughly this time last year, but there\u2019s still nothing quite like it on TV.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The series, spun from a Matt Lauer-like crisis at a broadcast TV staple, put the streaming platform on the proverbial map like \u201cHouse of Cards\u201d did for Netflix in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell turned the MeToo movement into a bingeable drama that earned the show<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt7203552\/awards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> critical huzzahs.<\/a> \u201cMorning Show\u201d anchor Alex Levy (Aniston) must grapple with her longtime TV partner Mitch Kessler (Carell) being outed as a sexual predator.<\/p>\n<p>Or is he?<\/p>\n<p>Witherspoon enters the story as Bradley Jackson, a rebellious news reporter elevated to anchor status but unwilling to play the network game.<\/p>\n<p>Or is she?<\/p>\n<p>The series did more than run with a ripped-from-the-headlines topic. It dove head-first into the complexities of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/exclusive-prager-no-safe-spaces-clip\/\">Identity Politics<\/a>, the woke subset which currently rules Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>Remember how the most powerful actress in Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson, backpedaled for the crime of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/chet-hanks-ziwe-apologize-woke\/\">accepting the \u201cwrong\u201d role in 2019?\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No other major film or TV show has tackled Identity Politics since \u201cThe Morning Show,\u201d at least not with the clarity and cynicism seen on the Apple TV+ series.<\/p>\n<p>Not even close.<\/p>\n<p>Power is everything at the fictional \u201cMorning Show\u201d in question. Alex and Bradley are the key players, but everything that happens behind the scenes represents a clash of egos run amok. They\u2019ll do anything to climb the corporate ranks.<\/p>\n<p>That means every weapon is on the table.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Long-term business relationships<\/li>\n<li>Contract talks<\/li>\n<li>Juicy interviews<\/li>\n<li>Ratings updates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s only natural for the characters to use their victimhood status as a cudgel, no matter who might get hurt along the way. The show\u2019s second season leans into this reality without suggesting it\u2019s the right thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>Except audiences understand how corrosive it is without a line of dialogue saying as much.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/bodied-review\/\"><strong>RELATED: \u2018BODIED\u2019 KNOCKS IDENTITY POLITICS OUT COLD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Take Daniel (Desean Terry), the frustrated co-anchor of the show\u2019s frothy \u201cTwist\u201d segment. He yearns to be the official co-anchor, but the gig keeps slipping through his fingers. That convinces him to play the Race Card, suggesting his black skin is the reason he hasn\u2019t secured the coveted slot as of yet.<\/p>\n<p>Witherspoon\u2019s Bradley flirts with her own victimhood narrative on the show. She doesn\u2019t identify as gay and is sexually attracted to men, but she starts a romance with a fellow news anchor (Julianna Margulies) mid-season.<\/p>\n<p>Bradley toys with coming out as a lesbian to snag a sweet debate moderator assignment, but she backs down at the last minute. It\u2019s still clear\u00a0she could get a sizable career boost with the confession.<\/p>\n<p>Stella, the Asian-American news executive played by Greta Lee, also wants to flex her power. She\u2019s not above mentioning her minority status, over and again, and how her presence can\u2019t be more than as a surface-level token.<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone on the show benefits from Identity Politics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">On \u201cThe Morning Show,\u201d bisexuality is ground zero for the \u201cidentity politics\u201d debate<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hKsp3tKEa7\">https:\/\/t.co\/hKsp3tKEa7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \ud83d\udc96\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udc99 biscuit (@we_are_biscuit) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/we_are_biscuit\/status\/1447233398272151561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 10, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Weatherman Yanko Flores (Nestor Carbonell) gets into trouble when he uses the term \u201cspirit animal\u201d during an off-the-teleprompter moment. Social justice warriors pounce via Twitter, suggesting it\u2019s culturally appropriating Native American culture.<\/p>\n<p>Yanko is outraged at the suggestion, mentioning that as a Cuban-American he understands the subject better than most. He also knows a quick, on-air apology might smooth things over.<\/p>\n<p>Except his apology isn\u2019t good enough, apparently, and his superiors want him to meet with Native American leaders for an on-camera <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/get-ready-for-the-struggle-session-11552003346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cStruggle Session.\u201d<\/a> That\u2019s not the way \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d phrases it, but it\u2019s an accurate way to describe it.<\/p>\n<p>All of the above\u00a0makes for a compelling narrative on a show teeming with meaty themes. So why haven\u2019t other TV shows copied that approach? Do they fear taking the \u201cwrong side\u201d on the issue could bring unwanted heat upon them?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s possible given Hollywood\u2019s current climate.<\/p>\n<p>Will \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d continue that thread in season 3, which will feature a new showrunner and still lacks a release date?<\/p>\n<p>That remains to be seen. For now, it\u2019s vital to savor what the show has accomplished and why it\u2019s nothing less than groundbreaking in today\u2019s Hollywood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The second season of Apple TV+\u2019s \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d debuted roughly this time last year, but there\u2019s still nothing quite like it on TV. The series, spun from a Matt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1739017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1739014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1739014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1739014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1739014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1739017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1739014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1739014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1739014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}