News In My Entertainment

In the past few weeks, I've come across several instances in which news has seeped into my entertainment.

Big Love is an HBO series about a Mormon family. In the current season, characters mention "what's going on in the news" -- which indirectly refers to Warren Jeffs -- the head of the FLDS Church who's been convicted of such crimes as sexual conduct with minors and incest. In fact, one of the central character's plot lines appears to be mimicking Jeffs'. It seems necessary for Big Love -- a show about religion -- to address the news; however, I think without explicitly mentioning the controversy (by name), the references comes off as phony. If the news is going to become an integral character to a series, I think actual footage from the "controversy" and/or more specific references would have made the themes of paranoia and bigotry more textured and less assumed.

A Showtime series, the L Word explores a network of lesbians in the Los Angeles area. The series has always throbbed with politics; the sixth and final season explicitly mentions Prop 8, recent homophobic assaults, etc. But this season I've been frustrated with Max's plot line. A transgendered female-male, Max becomes pregnant after having unprotected sex with his biologically male boyfriend. After discovering his pregnancy, Max mentions the controversial "pregnant man" -- Thomas Beattie. If Max was so familiar with Beattie, you'd think that he'd realize it was possible for a biological female taking male hormones to become pregnant. This plot line feels forced and contradictory. With recycled material from the news, it seems like an appropriate time for the L Word to come to a close.

Also on Showtime, Secret Diary of a Call Girl is probably my least favorite series of the three. However, I think the show does the best job of alluding to a recent news controversy. In the second season, the protagonist Belle, an "empowered prostitute," has an affair with a politician. Unfortunately, a paparazzo catches them and threatens to make the photos public. Problem is, Belle keeps her profession hidden from family and friends. Though Eliot Spitzer's name isn't brought up, the episode immediately brings the former New York governor's situation to mind. The difference is, Secret Diary uses the situation to reveal a different side of the over-told story -- the prostitute's point of view. The episode made me wonder, in a thoughtful way, how Spitzer's "female friend" felt during the incident. While Secret Diary allowed me to ponder news in a unique way, the other two shows seemed to be tapping me on the shoulder in an effort to remind me they were relevant.

So in the end, I'm torn. On the one hand -- keep your news out of my entertainment!! I watch a show to escape, not to be reminded of polygamy, Prop 8, and over-reported political/sexual scandals. On the other hand, I applaud the shows for attempting to be socially and politically relevant. I just wish they'd keep their artistic integrity throughout the process.