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24

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of  President David Palmer

He was decisive, tough in the face of danger and looked a lot like my papá.

And while the impact of fiction on TV can be dismissed as simple entertainment, conventional wisdom holds that the more you get exposed to something on the tube, the more you watch and think about it and might buy it later....(See the ad business) Or vote for whoever or it. You also might not do anything, but at least you were exposed to the idea or product and it stuck in the most sophisticated computer that you own, your brain. Congratulations!

It shouldn't come to us as a surprise that our president elect is black (I prefer black because in Spanish, the word carries a strong sense of pride mi gente. Moving on)

For three seasons of one of our networks' highest rated shows, a black president stood in the face of terrorism, attempted coups, assassination attempts and looked quite believable at it. Dennis Haysbert's stout, commanding figure helped a lot. (On a side note, his brother also was a president in the show and he kicked major heiny..literally)

I know that the popular rhetoric around the internets holds that our nation decided it was time for change and unity. (Which I think is quite cool...go US!!!)  But I can't help but think that our exposure to a positive black role model in the nation's highest office might have helped a teensy weeny bit. (Apparently, Dennis Haysbert thought so too.)

Of course I wouldn't give TV that much of an edge on public opinion. After all, this is also the realm where scripted "reality" tv has made stars of people like Omarosa and Kim Kardashian. But one can say that getting us used to, at least in fiction, to a good idea can help in the long-term.

Now, when do we Latinos get our President Matthew Santos? 

Posted by Maurel Merette at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)