The Daily Wire releases new conservative cartoon "Mr. Birchum"

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

And yeah unsurprisingly this looks absolutely horrible.

The biggest problem aside from that it seems to be mostly just the same couple jokes conservatives like to post on social media rehashed over and over is that Mr. Birchum is regardless of politics and unlikeable douche even though he's supposed to be the sane voice of reason. Unsurprisingly the writers didn't realize that if the protagonist is supposed to be this then they have to be a generally likeable person, such as Hank Hill, who also learns and grows. A protagonist who doesn't and isn't likeable like Peter Griffin is portrayed as a complete buffoon.

Also saw some review videos and they show that it's indeed pretty awful. Also basically right-wing Family Guy complete with cutaways. What an abomination.

Also an amusing tidbit is that Candace Owens originally had a voice acting role but she was fired and her lines redubbed...so basically the show actually engaged in cancel culture while also supposedly criticizing it.

[Ancestral Republican]

Conservatives always complain they can't get jobs in Hollywood because of discrimination but then when they actually make stuff it looks like crap.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Apparently you can watch the pilot episode for free on The Daily Wire instead of actually paying $14.99/month: https://www.dailywire.com/episode/welcome-back-birchum

I'm morbidly curious so I will some time.

Another point I've seen is that it was initially written all the way back in 2011 and a lot of the really dated humor shows, like a lame joke where Mr. Birchum makes a comment about Larry Byrd to his gamer son and his son replies "Dad, none of the Angry Birds are named Larry!"

Aside from how dated that reference is (again 2011), it shows how little they know that they think a gamer obsessed character would even care about Angry Birds considering how the hardcore gaming crowd tends to hate mobile and casual games.

Also Mr. Birchum is supposedly a Vietnam veteran even though he's visibly just middle-aged and has two teenage kids? That wouldn't be feasible even in 2011.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

ugh this looks as bad as Family Guy.

[Dr. Cynic]

I remember Carolla doing this character 20 years ago on Crank Yankers which he co-created with Jimmy Kimmel. Incidentally, he and Kimmel are still really tight despite their very differing political views. On that show Birchum was meant to be like a 60 year old Vietnam vet who was constantly looking for a job. I remember finding it a kind of amusing character on that show because it was less openly outlandish than the other prank call puppets. Honestly, this is a lame cartoon. It's just aped Family Guy's animation style and made a character that originally only existed to make prank calls mind you, somehow less developed.

[Crumpets]

A couple animation critics I follow have had similar, and I think really constructive feedback on why this show doesn't work. The lead character is a surrogate for the audience of conservatives, but because the audience sees themselves as always in the right, the character can never grow, and the show is inherently static. He can only ever have his existing views reinforced, because if he was ever challenged and had to realize he made a mistake, it would damage the audience's superiority complex.

Like, say what you will about liberal shows, if it's a good show, the plot is never just "liberal encounters conservatives and beats them into submission." And when that is the plot, the show isn't successful.

[Dr. Cynic]

A couple animation critics I follow have had similar, and I think really constructive feedback on why this show doesn't work. The lead character is a surrogate for the audience of conservatives, but because the audience sees themselves as always in the right, the character can never grow, and the show is inherently static. He can only ever have his existing views reinforced, because if he was ever challenged and had to realize he made a mistake, it would damage the audience's superiority complex.

Like, say what you will about liberal shows, if it's a good show, the plot is never just "liberal encounters conservatives and beats them into submission." And when that is the plot, the show isn't successful.

King of the Hill is a good example of this principle. Hank is a conservative in every sense of the word, and while he is often portrayed as being in the right, he is also often portrayed as being in the wrong, especially when it comes to Bobby.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I remember Carolla doing this character 20 years ago on Crank Yankers which he co-created with Jimmy Kimmel. Incidentally, he and Kimmel are still really tight despite their very differing political views. On that show Birchum was meant to be like a 60 year old Vietnam vet who was constantly looking for a job. I remember finding it a kind of amusing character on that show because it was less openly outlandish than the other prank call puppets. Honestly, this is a lame cartoon. It's just aped Family Guy's animation style and made a character that originally only existed to make prank calls mind you, somehow less developed.

This actually got me thinking about The Man Show, and how it almost certainly could not be made today, but not really for the reasons everyone thinks. The show was full of blatantly sexist humor, but the point of it was never to mock or belittle women, rather it was self-depreciating humor against the sort of men who would be into the sort of thing being parodied, the overall message is that yeah it is sexist and the guys who would like that are being outright pigs...but also that no one's perfect and the willingness to admit that makes such men shouldn't be outright crucified for as such, and so it's OK to have a laugh at that.

That's a difficult tightrope to walk and I don't think anyone would even attempt it today. Either it would lay into outright condemnation of such male behavior and basically become more of a lecturing moralistic screed than a comedy, or lean so far into the opposite direction and try to imply that's exactly how men are and there's nothing wrong with. This show seems to be an animated version of the latter, Mr. Birchum and his conservative friends actually are unlikable assholes, but we're supposed to accept them as better than the crude stereotypes of the liberals on the show, like the seeming antagonist, that man bun wearing director of the "JEDI", aka Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion program at the school Mr. Birchum teaches at, a clear renamed stand-in for DEI*, who some reviews also note kind of fails due to that the show tries to simultaneously portray him as woefully incompetent but also some sort of threat.

*Honestly probably the most amusing joke I've heard of on the show, it's obviously not side-splitting hilarious but it's at least somewhat clever, which is more than I can say for anything else on it.

A couple animation critics I follow have had similar, and I think really constructive feedback on why this show doesn't work. The lead character is a surrogate for the audience of conservatives, but because the audience sees themselves as always in the right, the character can never grow, and the show is inherently static. He can only ever have his existing views reinforced, because if he was ever challenged and had to realize he made a mistake, it would damage the audience's superiority complex.

Like, say what you will about liberal shows, if it's a good show, the plot is never just "liberal encounters conservatives and beats them into submission." And when that is the plot, the show isn't successful.

Also makes a good contrast for perhaps the original example of this type of show: All In The Family, my father's favorite TV show of all time for the record. Archie Bunker's completely reactionary personality is of course portrayed as what's totally wrong about him, and he's a textbook example of the Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist trope, but the show doesn't just use him as a punching bag for the liberal characters to always get the upper hand on and show how right they are. The show actually mocks the liberals too, shows ways in which they are flawed and hypocritical, and occasionally even lets Archie come out as the better person. This show seems to be attempting to be an animated inversion, where Mr. Birchum is basically an updated Archie Bunker but makes the liberal foils to him just unambiguously bad and unlikable crude stereotypes, so of course it's not going to work.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

A couple animation critics I follow have had similar, and I think really constructive feedback on why this show doesn't work. The lead character is a surrogate for the audience of conservatives, but because the audience sees themselves as always in the right, the character can never grow, and the show is inherently static. He can only ever have his existing views reinforced, because if he was ever challenged and had to realize he made a mistake, it would damage the audience's superiority complex.

Like, say what you will about liberal shows, if it's a good show, the plot is never just "liberal encounters conservatives and beats them into submission." And when that is the plot, the show isn't successful.

King of the Hill is a good example of this principle. Hank is a conservative in every sense of the word, and while he is often portrayed as being in the right, he is also often portrayed as being in the wrong, especially when it comes to Bobby.

One of the things too is that while Hank is said to be conservative, whenever there's a political conflict on the show he usually takes the liberal side. He's shown to be rather LGBT accepting, actually concerned about climate change and the environment to some level, one of the Halloween episodes had him clash with that fundamentalist lady trying to cancel Halloween, and he's a stark contrast to Dale's nuttery. But that doesn't undermine the show, it just goes further to show how people aren't always just crude political stereotypes.

[Neo-Malthusian Misanthrope]

Please just turn this off, stop reading about it, stop watching reviews, and go watch King of the Hill instead.

[Sol]

This show seems to be an animated version of the latter, Mr. Birchum and his conservative friends actually are unlikable assholes, but we're supposed to accept them as better than the crude stereotypes of the liberals on the show, like the seeming antagonist, that man bun wearing director of the "JEDI", aka Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion program at the school Mr. Birchum teaches at, a clear renamed stand-in for DEI*, who some reviews also note kind of fails due to that the show tries to simultaneously portray him as woefully incompetent but also some sort of threat.

*Honestly probably the most amusing joke I've heard of on the show, it's obviously not side-splitting hilarious but it's at least somewhat clever, which is more than I can say for anything else on it.

JEDI is not a joke for the show, at least not exclusively; it's used somewhat frequently in real life as a synonym for DEI

[Antonio the Sixth]

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

[Crumpets]

Mr. Birchum and his conservative friends actually are unlikable assholes, but we're supposed to accept them as better than the crude stereotypes of the liberals on the show, like the seeming antagonist, that man bun wearing director of the "JEDI", aka Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion program at the school Mr. Birchum teaches at, a clear renamed stand-in for DEI*, who some reviews also note kind of fails due to that the show tries to simultaneously portray him as woefully incompetent but also some sort of threat.

*Honestly probably the most amusing joke I've heard of on the show, it's obviously not side-splitting hilarious but it's at least somewhat clever, which is more than I can say for anything else on it.

One other note on this antagonist guy: I love that he describes himself as "heteronormative" because that's a buzzword the writers heard once, even though he's meant to be the least heteronormative person on the show.

Also, obligatory Umberto Eco reference on the "woefully incompetent but also a threat" observation. From the Wikipedia summary:

Fascist societies rhetorically cast their enemies as "at the same time too strong and too weak". On the one hand, fascists play up the power of certain disfavored elites to encourage in their followers a sense of grievance and humiliation. On the other hand, fascist leaders point to the decadence of those elites as proof of their ultimate feebleness in the face of an overwhelming popular will.

[John Dule]

Conservatives constantly mock liberals for stuffing their "message" into movies and TV (usually just by having a black character or two), but whenever they write a script, they completely subordinate the characters and story to right wing agenda-pushing. What's more "political," a female lead in Star Wars or a comedy show where every single joke is about triggering le woke snowflake libtard Zoomers?

[Mr. Smith]

Conservatives constantly mock liberals for stuffing their "message" into movies and TV (usually just by having a black character or two), but whenever they write a script, they completely subordinate the characters and story to right wing agenda-pushing. What's more "political," a female lead in Star Wars or a comedy show where every single joke is about triggering le woke snowflake libtard Zoomers?

Tbf, a regressive/reactionary would at least say in response that at least it was honest in intent and not trying to be anything else.

Whereas "the leftist agenda" tries to be subtle, but isn't always or at least isn't overly pedantic, making it manipulative.

[wnwnwn]

Is the name for John Birch?


I will create my own show: The Landed Halcon.

A 72 years old white conservative suburban man from a Pheonix area suburb, who has avoided most social interaction since his wife died 10 years ago, moves to a mansion his 2 sons and 1 daughter brought in San Jose, CA. He is rich, but he lived in a middle class way.

His sons and daugther are all "moderates". A son is married with a black woman, another son is married with a latino woman, and the daughter is married with an asian man. Well, more than moderates they have some centre left and other centre right opinions. All of them studided at Ivies and became business owners. As the younger turned 35 they decided to live together, to spend their time with their father.

Most of the neightboors are either "ethnic" moderates or various kinds of liberals. Some are conservatives, including some "teach bros".
The first episode comes in this board in this millenium.

[Hindsight was 2020]

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

Even Smiling Friends? 🥺

[Antonio the Sixth]

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

Even Smiling Friends?

From what I've heard of it, especially Smiling Friends.

Poorly drawn, hyper-cynical shock humor needs to die.

[Hindsight was 2020]

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

Even Smiling Friends?

From what I've heard of it, especially Smiling Friends.

Poorly drawn, hyper-cynical shock humor needs to die.

Whoever told you that Smiling Friends is “hyper cynical” was being dishonest, it’s literally the exact opposite

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

Yes, because of Family Guy, Rick & Morty and Beavis and Butthead, all such terrible shows on the same tier as this one.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Is this what happened to Ron Swanson after he left Pawnee?

ugh this looks as bad as Family Guy.

delete your account.

American "adult" animation needs to burn on a pyre.

you as well.