@hawkeye10,
Quote:these guys are not fake at all, they created a brand and are fantastically successful in selling that brand. Phil gets indignant when people assume that he is an ignorant redneck, he points out that he is a millionaire with several very successful businesses as well as a university degree.
That's exactly why the entire premise of the show is fake. Have you ever watched it?
The whole shtick is that these guys are
rednecks who suddenly became millionaires--so it is meant to play off stereotypes of rednecks, Southerners, rural folks--and poor country folk who suddenly have loads of money but don't seem to be spending much of it, or having their lifestyle affected much by it.
These people really aren't rednecks, they have carefully crafted their image of the long bushy beards, headbands, camouflage gear, etc. as costumes for their iconoclastic characters to make themselves look more off-beat, and their businesses couldn't possibly run in the lackadaisical way that's depicted in this show, which mainly consists of some family members sitting around, in a dumpy office, shooting the breeze with each other. Apart from the enormous amounts of leisure time these folks have, and the one image of an impressive house that's shown, we're supposed to believe that all their millions really don't affect them at all, and this is the way they live because they prefer the simple life. Right, money doesn't matter to them. They just want to be paid $200,000 for each half hour episode because money doesn't matter.
The whole thing is the premise for what's considered a family comedy show couched in the trappings of "reality" TV. And each of those half hour episodes focuses on a "set-up"--a contrived, scripted, generally innocuous situation so the family can be shown interacting in various ways, generally involving humor. This isn't a glimpse into the real everyday lives of these people, it's a carefully edited and creative format to convey that impression, but it's essentially fake. Everything about it is shaped to present these people as likeable--oddball, but likeable, and full of Southern charm and colorful ways of expressing themselves.
And, what Robertson did in his GQ comments was to depart from the way he is depicted in that "Duck Dynasty" world. It's one thing for him, and his family, to be shown as people of faith on DD, and thankful to God for their blessings, but it's quite another to have the patriarch then express that faith in a way that reveals animosity and contempt for others. Robertson crossed a line with those GQ comments--a line that is directly at odds with what DD is designed to depict. He created a dilemma both for A & E, as well as for the rest of the Robertson clan, because he threatened the image of a show that all of them had a vested interest in keeping non-controversial and lucrative.
What's been learned? I suspect Robertson will now be more circumspect in his off-show comments, and that A & E will do more to make sure he stays that way.
There's a big divide between the carefully crafted fake reality of Duck Dynasty and the reality of what Phil Robertson actually thinks. And, if both sides want to keep this cash cow going, it's better if Robertson keeps his opinions on social, and cultural, and historical issues to himself. I suspect he knows that now too.
Quote:
"The family is happy that they can put this behind them," a source tells PEOPLE.
"It got a little out of hand," the source admits. "Phil has never been disrespectful to anyone and treats everyone with kindness. He made some comments off the cuff that he shouldn't have made, and he knows that."
The source says that the headlines didn't cause any drama among the family, who all support their dad.
"The family knows his heart and knows that he wasn't trying to be hurtful," says the source. "They just want to finish celebrating the holidays and are looking forward to getting back to work."
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20770461,00.html
While all of the publicity has been good for the DD show, really great for the show, acrimonious controversy isn't. That's why A & E had to end it with a final decision about the future of the show, and some appeasement of the LGBT community, which they do support. The angry noise coming from conservative and religious right-wing groups, in support of Phil, was as damaging to the light-heated image of Duck Dynasty, as the voices of protest coming from the offended groups. They had to try to shut up both sides, so that Duck Dynasty could go back to being a non-serious enterprise put on for entertainment value. Hopefully, they've accomplished that.
