I remember when this show came out in the Spring of 2009. I watched each week; actually amazed that an ABC show was daring to buck what was already a heavy Hollywood trend of slavishly adoring Democratic politics and personalities, while working doggedly to bury, or ridicule-then-bury, the persons and politics of the Republican Party.
Each episode was funny, and trailblazing in terms of who was the target of the satire. The Goode Family was a pitch-perfect sitcom laying bare the foibles of ALL politics, to be fair; from the over-correctness of the Goode family and the consequences of it, to the grating and raspy Texas-style over-conservatism of Helen's father.
There's an abundant supply of comedy stemming from the family's good intentions, but sloppy follow-through. The baby they adopt from Africa and raise, named Ubuntu, is actually a big blonde Afrikaner who's having a constant inner war between his conservative genetics and liberal upbringing. The dog they've trained to be a vegan, is a closet carnivore catching and eating all the pets in the neighborhood when his master's out of sight. Their daughter just wants to live a real and genuine lifestyle, and she questions her parents' good intentions but bad, fearful and reactionary outcomes in practicing the life they aspire to live.
The critics' predictable response to the show ranged from "meh, no laughs here," to outright offense at Mike Judge's apparent lack of understanding of who society's REAL enemies are. And THERE is where we get to the modern dilemma, is it possible for a show that makes a political statement to stand apart from the partisan co-opting of show biz that the modern Democrats have achieved, and had certainly already achieved by 2009? Aside from South Park, a show that manages to skewer everyone everywhere, I can't think of anyone who pulls it off.
Our power to laugh is as energy-filled as our power to express sadness and outrage. People who get results in today's national politics are skilled and schooled in how to use media and message to tap into our inner fears and control where our national energy does and does not dare go. Finding and laughing at The Goode Family, for the things it gets right as a vehicle for entertainment and political satire, is a thing you can do for yourself on your own terms, if you dare.
Each episode was funny, and trailblazing in terms of who was the target of the satire. The Goode Family was a pitch-perfect sitcom laying bare the foibles of ALL politics, to be fair; from the over-correctness of the Goode family and the consequences of it, to the grating and raspy Texas-style over-conservatism of Helen's father.
There's an abundant supply of comedy stemming from the family's good intentions, but sloppy follow-through. The baby they adopt from Africa and raise, named Ubuntu, is actually a big blonde Afrikaner who's having a constant inner war between his conservative genetics and liberal upbringing. The dog they've trained to be a vegan, is a closet carnivore catching and eating all the pets in the neighborhood when his master's out of sight. Their daughter just wants to live a real and genuine lifestyle, and she questions her parents' good intentions but bad, fearful and reactionary outcomes in practicing the life they aspire to live.
The critics' predictable response to the show ranged from "meh, no laughs here," to outright offense at Mike Judge's apparent lack of understanding of who society's REAL enemies are. And THERE is where we get to the modern dilemma, is it possible for a show that makes a political statement to stand apart from the partisan co-opting of show biz that the modern Democrats have achieved, and had certainly already achieved by 2009? Aside from South Park, a show that manages to skewer everyone everywhere, I can't think of anyone who pulls it off.
Our power to laugh is as energy-filled as our power to express sadness and outrage. People who get results in today's national politics are skilled and schooled in how to use media and message to tap into our inner fears and control where our national energy does and does not dare go. Finding and laughing at The Goode Family, for the things it gets right as a vehicle for entertainment and political satire, is a thing you can do for yourself on your own terms, if you dare.