The social media world is buzzing about NBC’s The Blacklist. But what do conservative media watchdogs think of the new show, which some have compared to 24?
The Media Research Center (MRC) is giving it a ringing endorsement. That’s significant, considering it has been the nation’s premier media watchdog for the past 26 years, and it’s sole mission is to “expose and neutralize the propaganda of arm of the Left: the national news media.” That includes prime-time television and shows like The Blacklist.
The Blacklist stars James Spader (The Office, Boston Legal) as ex-government agent Raymond Reddington; and Megan Boone (Law and Order: LA) as Elizabeth Keen, an FBI agent fresh from Quantico. Reddington is wanted by the FBI but has made a mysterious deal with the agency to help capture a long-thought-dead terrorist. A caveat, however, is that he speaks only to Keen.
MRC’s Evan Mantel says the show, which premiered this fall, is “fast-paced and suspenseful” and “keeps viewers on the edge of their seat.”
“I don’t know how the rest of the blogsphere will react to the premiere of this new drama, but I, for one, loved it,” Mantel says.
From an outsider’s point of view, the plot may seem familiarly reminiscent of a television version of the movie Silence of the Lambs—without the cannibalistic violence from Anthony Hopkins.
Mantel says Blacklist addresses a major issue in today’s society: the question of whether a woman can have a great career and a great family life as well.
“Reality shows that this simply isn’t possible,” he says. “You can have one or the other; maybe you can have a middling family life and a middling career, but you can’t have the best of both worlds. Men can’t do it; women can’t do it. The lie that a woman can successfully have both is the most scurrilous aspect of feminism.
“To The Blacklist’s credit, they did a good job of portraying the tension between Elizabeth’s career and her desire to adopt a child with her husband. We shall see if they sugar-coat the tension or continue to stay true to reality, but either way, I know that I, for one, will be watching.”
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