I am a Duck Dynasty fan. I am happy to proclaim my love for the show to family and friends. It's interesting how many of my friends are so dismissive of the show. It's not cool to like Duck Dynasty.
It is cool to like "Breaking Bad." My friends on social media are always talking about that show.
Interestingly, "Duck Dynasty" nearly doubles the ratings of "Breaking Bad." You'd never know that by reading social media. It's just not cool to love that goofy family that hunts and prays together.
I like both shows, which is why I was drawn to this column that makes the case that one show NEEDS the other:
Breaking Bad helps provide a template for what we can ascribe to culturally (morally complex, thoughtful, quality-focused works of art), but Duck Dynasty shows us where we actually are as a collective culture by showcasing the values that make popular shows connect with mainstream audiences. Without both “high culture” that challenges our worldview and “low culture” that reflects it, you lose context for both.
I don't watch reality shows that exploit people's dysfunction. But I like the good-natured humor of "Dynasty" along with the complex exploration of the human condition exhibited in escapist shows like "Breaking Bad."
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