Even a Liberal Magazine Recognizes Aaron Sorkin's Bias

Geoffrey Dickens
June 25th, 2012 10:31 AM
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Aaron Sorkin leans so far to the left that even the liberal Entertainment Weekly magazine noticed it. In a June 24 online article entitled "10 Signs You're Watching an Aaron Sorkin Show" EW writer Darren Franich broke down the Sorkin formula and spotted a distinct liberal trend in items #3 "Boo! The Evil Corporate Person" and #5 "Conservative Characters Who Aren't Actually Very Conservative."

Under the 3rd category Franich wrote: "The shows do tend to feature one major antagonistic presence: The Evil Company Man, who always has an eye on the bottom line and all too often has the gall to censor the protagonists' brilliance." In the 5th category Franich noticed that Sarah Pauslon's character on Studio 60 was a Christian character that "had a complicated perspective on the question of gay marriage and generally didn't talk about her Christianity." In Sorkin's latest show for HBO, The Newsroom, Franich observed: "Will McAvoy is a registered Republican, but he's a hyper-moderate Republican who explicitly disagrees with the vast majority of contemporary right-wing causes."

The following are the relevant excerpts are from the June 24, 2012 Entertainment Weekly article:

3. Boo, the Evil Corporate Person!

Aaron Sorkin populates his TV shows with idealistic work families all united in one common purpose: Putting on a TV show (Sports Night, Studio 60), saving the world (The West Wing), putting on a TV show that saves the world (The Newsroom). In this sense, the shows have an old-fashioned, pre-Sopranos sensibility in that there aren't any villains — unless you count ''the possibility of not achieving greatness'' as a villain. But the shows do tend to feature one major antagonistic presence: The Evil Company Man, who always has an eye on the bottom line and all too often has the gall to censor the protagonists' brilliance. Steven Weber played the role on Studio 60 and various faceless yes-men waltzed through Sports Night. The Newsroom will feature Jane Fonda as Rupert Murdoch-esque corporate honcho.
 
 

5. Conservative characters who aren't actually very conservative.

Sarah Paulson's character on Studio 60 had two key character traits: She was incredibly funny, and she was Christian. Regarding the former: No. Regarding the latter: The character was explicitly in favor of premarital sex, had a complicated perspective on the question of gay marriage, and generally didn't talk about her Christianity except when she occasionally said ''I'm a Christian.'' On The Newsroom, Will McAvoy is a registered Republican, but he's a hyper-moderate Republican who explicitly disagrees with the vast majority of contemporary right-wing causes.