Make no mistake about the anti-Christian leftists in Hollywood, the mainstream media, and GLAAD; the goal here is to put on a bitter Show Trial until A&E caves even further and yanks “Duck Dynasty” off the air. The problem for A&E and the political left, though, is that in today’s world, the boys of “Duck Dynasty” hold all the cards.
What the Left is going to do over the next few weeks is launch a McCarthyistic campaign to toxify “Duck Dynasty” right out of Hollywood. The political left and the media already hated the show for daring to be proudly Southern, proudly Christian, and a monstrous hit; so the bonus of toxifying Christianity as de facto bigotry while killing the show is seen as something of a two-fer among this crowd. But whether this anti-Christian jihad is successful or not, it can only backfire.
If the show survives, it will only grow in popularity with mainstream Americans. This shrill non-troversy is already upping the show’s profile and tens of millions of Christian conservatives in America are likely to now see “Duck Dynasty” as something even bigger than it was before. We all know in our hearts that, in the wolf’s clothing of tolerance, this attack on “Duck Dynasty” is in reality nothing less than an attack on us, our Christian faith, and who we are. So we now have a personal stake in the success of “Duck Dynasty” we did not have just 48 hours ago.
If, however, the show is cancelled and therefore driven out of Hollywood (no established Big Entertainment companies will dare pick it up), only Hollywood loses — and more than just millions of dollars.
To begin with, like James Bond, Harry Potter and Jack Ryan, “Duck Dynasty” is its own brand and franchise; a bona fide cultural phenomenon that doesn’t need A&E to survive. Moreover, Phil Robertson and his clan do not even need Hollywood to survive. Left-wing Hollywood no longer owns and can bottleneck distribution of content.
There is online streaming, the Internet, and a number of upstart cable networks that are not beholden to the New McCarthyism. Fox News, for instance.
Last week, millions upon millions of Americans would have followed “Duck Dynasty” anywhere the show decide to go, including online.
This week, that fact has only intensified.
Furthermore, any smart burgeoning Hollywood player looking to break out of the pack would be insane to not make “Duck Dynasty” the foundation of a new network.
Like Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” anti-Christian Hollywood has two options: it can either put its prejudices aside and get on board, or launch their own worst nightmare: Upstart competition.
“Duck Dynasty” could become much more than just a cultural phenomenon, it is the kind of show and this is the kind of controversy that could fracture even more the very foundation of Hollywood’s stranglehold on American popular culture.
The only way the Robertson family loses is if they in some way cave.
That’ll be the day.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC