The programmers at the cable channel TLC have often promoted the Duggar family as strangely, exotically Christian – just as much of a curiosity as the polygamous family of “Sister Wives.”
On Friday, The Washington Post published segments of an online chat with their TV critic Hank Stuever, where he brought out the verbal bat and suggested TLC treats Duggar-family fans as “learning disabled” – and perhaps that fits the Duggars, too:
QUESTION: I have not been watching this show for very long, but I have been watching for Jill's wedding and all the surrounding activities. There is a lot of criticism about them on IMDb for basically turning their kids into mindless robots. I do not watch any of the Kardashian shows, but I think I would much rather have my daughters turn out like the J's rather than the K's. Still, they do have a point. I also think the Pioneer Woman's kids, although not as regimented as the Duggars, don't seem to have the freedom of choice that most kids have nowadays.
ANSWER (Hank Stuever): If the choice is turning out like a Duggar or turning out like a Kardashian, then I choose not to choose.
My thoughts on the Duggars are few and far between because I think the show treats its viewers like they're learning disabled. (The viewers, not the Duggars. Although ...)
There's something really interesting there to be filmed and discussed, on the themes of families and religious expression and politics, but for some reason the producers have decided that this is a show that will assiduously avoid depth or difficult questions. It's a very incurious way about being curious. As a result, for one obvious example, viewers know very little about the oldest son's job in Washington (with a family-values outfit that some would essentially label a hate group). [That’s the Family Research Council.]
And obviously, viewers are very curious about the premium on virginity and purity for these young brides and grooms. No one ever talks about the possibility that one or more of these 19 children might not follow suit, might not want to live this way. The Duggar children are cooperating in a process that only shows them as lighthearted and full of joy. As such, I guess we just sit and wait and hope that there's a contrarian in the bunch who gets the itch to write a tell-all at some point down the road.
I'd be surprised if anyone seriously watches the Duggar show out of a place of envy.
This "hate group" language is what displays Stuever's hysterics as a gay man. Christian conservatives are haters and freaks, apparently.
Earlier: Stuever insists "Honey Boo Boo" is better than HBO's "The Newsroom"
