Dr. David Prindle teaches a popular course here at UT called "The Politics of Hollywood," which examines the politics of the entertainment world and the effect of the entertainment industry on politics. Prindle's course includes a reading of Neil Postman's seminal book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," which addresses the deleterious effect of the medium (television) on our nation's political dialogue.
What has not been analyzed in much depth is the corollary of this relationship between entertainment and politics. The American political system, which advocates a well-informed and active voting populace, illustrates how well-organized civic action can bring about change. Political action, American-style, is beginning to have an effect on our entertainment.
The past few years have seen a polarization of our entertainment environment. On one end of the spectrum, we have a surplus of "Nanny" and "Wife Swap" shows, and on the other, we have the recent boom in hard-hitting serial dramas like "24" and "Lost." These thought-provoking story-driven programs recaptured the attention of viewers who had migrated to cable programs like "The Sopranos." This past season was flooded with serial dramas.
Unlike the numerous incarnations of "CSI" and "Law & Order," which only require a one-hour viewer obligation, serial dramas demand an unheard-of investment from viewers.
In order to keep up with "24," a viewer has to commit to one hour every Monday for 24 weeks. With "Lost," a viewer must watch every episode while consulting online forums and fan wikis (not to mention psychics and tarot card readers).
Not many viewers can afford that level of loyalty, so it's no surprise that most of these new shows were cancelled, regardless of their critical acclaim. For instance, NBC's "The Black Donnellys" disappeared mid-season, right alongside "Drive," "Kidnapped," "Six Degrees," "The Nine" and "Vanished."
Long ago networks learned to be prepared for and respond flexibly to outcry over cancellations. "Star Trek," "Firefly," "Farscape" and "Veronica Mars" are just a few shows who were saved by their fans.
But nothing could have prepared CBS for the revolution that occurred the day they cancelled the post-apocalyptic drama "Jericho." The intrigue-driven story full of Cold War nostalgia retained a hard-core fan base, even after a mid-season hiatus that resulted in a 20 -ercent ratings drop.
Over 8 million viewers tuned in to watch the season finale, via broadcast, CBS' Innertube (streaming internet TV) and iTunes.
Lobbying CBS as if it was their civic duty, "Jericho" fans have organized in an unprecedented fashion. Calling themselves Jericho's Rangers and taking cues from their ex-military members, these activists are conducting operations according to the unconventional warfare and civil disobedience handbooks.
What began as a few devoted fans has snowballed over the past few weeks, numbering at over 75,000 according to an online petition at www.jericholives.com.
After thousands of e-mails and phone calls, CBS issued a statement that they would consider some sort of conclusion for the show, to provide a sense of closure.
As numerous entertainment news sources and CNN have reported, the fans' retort was "Nuts!" in homage to the famous American response to the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge and "Jericho's" season finale.
To compliment their letter writing, print ads, e-mails, phone calls and faxes, Jericho's Rangers have shipped over two tons of nuts to CBS' main offices in New York and Los Angeles.
In an almost comedic parallel of today's foreign affairs, the mainstream Save Jericho organization has even had to rein in splinter groups conducting disruptive guerilla campaigns of Internet and fax spamming to CBS' executive offices.
Television networks should take notice, because this sort of entertainment disobedience will only become more prevalent in the future as Americans find that, in today's comfortable world, it's fairly easy to fight passionately over entertainment.
Puri is a psychology senior.
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