Television used to be a space for escaping the news, but the rise of identity politics changed all that. It’s now impossible to tune in without seeing some pro-social justice reference. Even classic favourites such as Gimme Gimme Gimme now carry a ‘discriminatory language’ warning, despite the show’s cast being highly diverse and equally ridiculed.
Nowadays, for a film to qualify for a Best Picture award at the Oscars, it must meet the ‘representation and inclusion‘ standards consistent with identity politics and current progressivism. The resultant zeitgeist (DEI-geist?) obliges scriptwriters to deliver a strongly progressive message. Hardly surprising, then, that unrealistic storylines and one-dimensional characters cast in the same woke mould have replaced originality and depth of narrative. But the problem is graver than preachy scripts. We’re witnessing the deconstruction of Art. The right to create organically is being stripped away.
‘Tell, Don’t Show’
HBO Max’s 2023 show, ‘Velma,’ had real potential. This ‘Scooby-Doo’ prequel is told from the perspective of the title character. In the original show, Velma is overlooked for not being conventionally attractive. The 2023 series would have enabled her to tell her side of the story, subvert the values of the original, and reveal her true self (an approach known as ‘Daemonization’). Unfortunately, Velma was cast for woke approval — something that entailed a race change. In theory, there should have been nothing wrong with updating the character from a white, geeky, bespeckled know-it-all to an Indian-American smartass, but clearly, the change proved too much for audiences and contributed to the criticism that the series was ‘heavy [in] political messaging, but lacking art, humour and authenticity.’ The result was a lost opportunity to create a dynamic non-white character.
‘Velma’ arguably flopped because the narrative lacked subtlety. The show told rather than revealed who Velma is, spoonfeeding viewers endless virtue signals. One critic argued that the ‘cultural references writers constantly attempted to work in’ would have been more effective if used in context, in moderation, and as part of Velma’s wider personality as an individual — something that was denied. Fans may have long suspected Velma’s attraction to women, but the show failed to flesh her out beyond these known labels. ‘Velma’ also failed to challenge some of the more outdated values of ‘Scooby-Doo’ with creativity and humour. This made her, according to the same critic, ‘the diverse female main character [who is] the singular genius triumph[ing] against the odds, and everyone else just orbits around her.’ Harsh but undeniably true. Velma 2023 has no flaws, no complexities, no weaknesses, nothing that would justify the humorous intervention of the other four characters. The result was a bland, irritating show that tested the patience of its audiences without justifying their expectations for a multifaceted, complex character and a nuanced 21st-century narrative.
The suffocating progressivism of ‘Velma’ may well have been an attempt to atone for the lesbian kiss that was cut from the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie, which leads us neatly on to:
Narrative Arcs Diverted and Stunted
Sex and the City ‘treated’ its viewers to a reboot, ‘And Just Like That,’ in December 2021.
The scarcity of non-traditional relationships has been a common criticism of the original show. Some fans have speculated that this was what convinced the writers to abruptly end Miranda and Steve’s marriage. Instead of reconciling with the one man who complements her fiery, workaholic personality, Miranda divorces Steve to date a woman, Che, and explore her hitherto unknown lesbian side. Sure, writers are allowed to tease audiences with twisty plots, but the show’s other weaknesses (keep reading) created a misshapen storyline that offered little more than a proud display of virtue signalling.
‘Sex And The City’s’ strength lay in its dynamic, sharp-focused structure which allowed audiences to explore the opinions of four starkly different women. But the characters’ frank and unapologetic intellectual robustness made their once-trademark discussions problematic in the prescribed climate. Opinions of the earlier, career-minded Miranda may today be labelled as ‘mom shaming.’ Charlotte’s ultra-conservatism could be interpreted as ‘slut shaming’ and Samantha’s critical attitude towards Charlotte as ‘trad wife shaming.’ To diffuse criticism, ‘And Just Like That’ had its once outspoken characters tiptoeing around difficult themes such as alcoholism and marriage issues, which arguably betrayed the show’s commitment to writing strong female leads. And Just Like that …, a golden opportunity to explore the many issues facing women who hit fifty and beyond was missed. Another shame because, like ‘Velma,’ it had real potential.
Loss of Social Realism
The explosion in superheroine characters has its heart in the right place. Series such as Supergirl (2015), Batwoman (2019) and Birds of Prey (2020) aim to radiate positive messages about female strength and the acceptance of female rage. But there’s a key flaw: they masculinise women. These new shows send the unequivocal message that women need the physical strength of a man to be powerful. A similar tendency is evident in the equally recent ‘surge in female-led Danish crime dramas,’ which invariably portray ‘police women pursuing bad men into dark basements.’ This unconvincing narrative promotes a dangerous imitative technique that should be avoided. In the words of Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, ‘there has to be a balance between what is real and not real.’ And that’s the problem. Showing women thoughtlessly plunging into dark dwellings with no backup except their courage and perhaps a small firearm may look bold, but it lacks the realism necessary for audiences to connect with the character. Contrastingly, the 1966 ‘docudrama’ Cathy Come Home didn’t suffer from realism issues, and helped change UK Social Services. It launched two homeless charities (including Crisis) and increased support for Shelter. Its gritty exposé of homelessness and forced child removal, and its message that nobody is immune, sent shockwaves through the country. The result was long-overdue housing reforms.
I, Daniel Blake is a relatively recent and rare example of successfully translating social realism onto the screen. Ironically, its title character is a white male. According to woke ideology, only women and certain vulnerable groups should be explored. Additionally, just showing the difficulties faced by certain people is now taboo because it can be interpreted as endorsing their struggles. Given this rigid criteria, it’s doubtful whether social realism still has a place in the arts and entertainment industries. But a reluctance to confront and explore the difficulties faced by certain types of people defeats the aims of socially-aware TV. By all indicators, anti-realism disguised as truth-telling has become the industry standard.
Problematic Stereotyping
The 2021 LGBT superhero series ‘Q Force‘ did little to improve LGBT representation. Instead of offering engaging storylines from Queer perspective, it was heavy in ‘excessive stereotyping and crass humour.’ The show was saturated with problematic and even hurtful tropes because it ‘confused [them] with genuine inclusivity.’
In a nutshell, then, the problem is that too much Progressivism is Regressive. Women characters are stripped of their femininity, and ‘male characters [are often] reduced to caricatures or sidelined.’ Birds of Prey (2020) only featured male characters if they were ‘a monster, a creep or useless.’ Moxie (2021) was similarly called out for its ‘stereotypical male antagonists.’ While ‘Fleabag’ (2016-19) is feminist without actually promoting the ‘irrational’ battle of the sexes, with later series embracing a ‘simplistic portrayal of feminism’ that means only one thing: feminine superiority.
Attitudes that drive a wedge between men and women were starkly shown in Netflix’s hit series Adolescence (2025). Though it scores high social realism points, some viewers complained that it normalised calling all single men ‘incels,’ something that goes directly against the principle of equality and the woke agenda’s ‘Be Kind’ mantra. Again, I will say that too much Progressivism is Regressive. In time, this should find its natural balance, but for now, Art and audiences are paying the price.
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