Well, the election’s come and gone, and Obama’s been
reelected to a second term. It’s time for an analysis of voting demographics. Tonight
I’m conducting an original analysis of those crucial voters: fictional
characters from television shows. Specifically, those television shows on the
air right now that I’d watch.
Breaking Bad
Hank: The four main characters probably vote Republican.
Hank, almost certainly. He once compared drug users to insects: “When you see a
cockroach, you don’t ask why it’s there. You just crush it.” He holds a
conservative view of evil, where bad people are a product of disgusting
subversion of the natural order, not of underlying social issues.
Marie: used the word “degenerate” several times to refer to
Jesse. No liberal uses the word “degenerate”. Again, conservative view of evil.
Walter: More shaky, but he’s probably voting red, too. He’s
terrified of dependency and assistance. He refuses to take Eliot’s money for
his treatment, insisting he must be manly and pull himself up by his
bootstraps. He would be the kind of person to go for the rhetoric of the
“welfare queen” and “recovery, not dependency.”
Skyler: Let’s go with Republican. The apple never falls far
from the tree.
Gus: Probably sided with 94% of African-Americans and voted
for Obama. That is, if he votes at all.
Gale: We Gale’s Ron Paul sticker in his notebook. No word on
whether he would have deferred to Gary Johnson after Paul dropped out.
Community
Jeff Winger: I can’t see him caring enough to vote.
Abed: Most Muslims vote for Democrats[1],
except for those with staunch social-conservative views, which Abed lacks.
Also, his fascination with filmmaking and experimentation suggest that he’s
very open to experience, a trait which
correlates with liberalism.
Troy: Supported Obama.
Shirley: Her Christian views make it hard for me to believe
that she voted for a Democrat, but we can’t forget that whole
0%-of-blacks-for-Romney deal, not to mention how Romney has badmouthed single
parents. She’s probably the perfect example of a swing voter.
Annie: Someone of Annie’s religion, reserved personality,
and attitudes towards sexuality would probably be pretty liberal.
Britta: She’s too far to the left to have supported Obama.
Given how related her and my political views are, I’d guess she’d go for Green
Party Jill Stein. But I could see her marking down someone crazy like Peta
Lindsay or Roseanne Barr.
Pierce: On one hand, Pierce is an angry liberal’s caricature
of a Republican. He’s an old, racist, sexist, homophobic business heir. But
honestly, Pierce might be to weird to understand politics. The guy joined a
pseudo-Buddhist cookie-crisp-wizard-related cult. He’s the
Chang: Convicts aren’t allowed to vote.
Dean: I doubt someone with Dean’s sexual liberalism would go
for a conservative candidate.
30 Rock
I really can’t write much about this one. The show’s so
overtly political that most characters have stated their preferences by now. However, on the subject of politics, I deeply hope we get to see more of Tracy's alter ego, Governor Bob Dunston.
Modern Family
Mitch and Cam: ¾ of LGB voters supported Obama over Romney. Mitch
is an environmental lawyer and Cam is a public school arts teacher. There’s no
way these two are not liberal.
Claire: A suburban housewife with a controlling but not
authoritative personality, Claire is probably a swing voter. I’ve only started
watching recently; otherwise, I’d probably analyze her run for city council.
Phil: He tries very hard to act strong and masculine, but I
doubt they’re strong enough to move over to conservative ideas of moral strength.
He has a happy-go-lucky feel about him that makes me think he could be very
open to experience, a trait correlated with liberalism. In the end, though, he’s
a broadly-written character for a show designed for broad appeal, and they try
hard not to anger anyone with his political views. He may not have any at all.
Jay: Probably a socially liberal economic conservative. He
wants his son to get married, obviously, but he’s shown some discomfort with
his son’s sexuality. He’s also the owner of a small business who would want to
avoid red tape, minimum wage hikes that might necessitate firings, or paying
more taxes. I’d call this one for Romney.
Gloria: This one would take too long. Gloria is still firmly
attached to her homeland of Colombia. Her views on the issues, as well what she
considers political issues, would still be steeped in Colombian social
concepts. She also displays a certain aloofness, as well as a focus on herself
and her family, that might distract from strong political views. I forget,
often, that most Americans don’t vote.
That’s all I’ve got for now. I might try with Lost or House
later. Comment if you disagree with any of these. Happy trails.
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