Television and the Crisis of Democracy

by Douglas Kellner; Westview Press, 1990

In short, the Reaganite entertainment did not go uncontested. Embattled liberalism continued to be voiced in such shows as "Hill Street Blues," "St. Elsewhere," and, until it was terminated in 1983, "Lou Grant" ( Gitlin 1983). Sophisticated modernism made an appearance in "Moonlighting," and Yuppie liberalism was exhibited in "L.A. Law" and "Thirtysomething." "Miami Vice" turned to the Left in the 1980s and featured episodes sharply critical of the CIA and state policy while depicting the role of the banks and capitalist financial institutions in the drug trade. Other series, such as "Frank's Place," "Cagney and Lacey," "Murphy Brown," and "Designing Women," also tended to promote a liberal view of the world, whereas "Max Headroom" promoted a left post-modernist view.


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