Jul 23 2024 50 mins 6
If you turn back the clocks to the early 90s, it would be impossible to avoid all the late night jokes about Vice President Dan Quayle. Likewise, if you followed the 90s TV scene, you couldn't miss the fact that Candice Bergen was raking in the Emmys for her role as the titular Murphy Brown on CBS. So when two media behemoths like that unexpectedly went head-to-head, it was bound to be a battle for the ages...
Rob teaches Ray about Dan Quayle's life and career, and his sudden rise to prominence as the running mate of George H. Dubya Bush; how the Republican decision to focus more heavily on "traditional family values" emerged partly as an attack against Bill and Hillary Clinton; when spelling really does matter; why the V.P.'s condemnation of single mother families in general, and Murphy Brown in particular, brought him such a backlash; and how the outrage stirred up by this clash of cultural titans continues to this day.
If you turn back the clocks to the early 90s, it would be impossible to avoid all the late night jokes about Vice President Dan Quayle. Likewise, if you followed the 90s TV scene, you couldn't miss the fact that Candice Bergen was raking in the Emmys for her role as the titular Murphy Brown on CBS. So when two media behemoths like that unexpectedly went head-to-head, it was bound to be a battle for the ages...
Rob teaches Ray about Dan Quayle's life and career, and his sudden rise to prominence as the running mate of George H. Dubya Bush; how the Republican decision to focus more heavily on "traditional family values" emerged partly as an attack against Bill and Hillary Clinton; when spelling really does matter; why the V.P.'s condemnation of single mother families in general, and Murphy Brown in particular, brought him such a backlash; and how the outrage stirred up by this clash of cultural titans continues to this day.
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TEAM
EPISODE CLIPS
“You’re No Jack Kennedy” Clip From Bentsen-Quayle Debate
Bill & Hillary Clinton Interview Clip
Dan Quayle’s Comments Against Murphy Brown in San Francisco
Murphy Brown Response to Quayle’s Comments
Candace Bergen Reflecting on Conflict with Dan Quayle
RESOURCES & ARTICLES
- Knott, Stephen, et al. “George H. W. Bush: Campaigns and Elections.” Miller Center, 1 Aug. 2017, millercenter.org/president/bush/campaigns-and-elections.
- “The Republicans: The Quyale Quagmire.” Internet Archive: Wayback Machine, archive.org/web/.
- “Bush Wanted Quayle Off ’92 Ticket but Refused to Push Him, Book Says.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 1994, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994–10–16-mn-51115-story.html.
- “Valuing Families: Opinion: The Harvard Crimson.” Opinion | The Harvard Crimson, www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/4/27/valuing-families-pbobn-monday-night-of/.
- Chavez, Tim. “DQ-TV Is Now on the Air.” The Oklahoman, Oklahoman, 31 May 1992, www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1992/05/31/dq-tv-is-now-on-the-air/62491590007/.
- Gajanan, Mahita. “How the Original ‘Murphy Brown’ Caused Controversy.” Time, Time, 27 Sept. 2018, time.com/5405100/murphy-brown-cultural-importance-reboot/.
- Fortin, Jacey. “That Time ‘Murphy Brown’ and Dan Quayle Topped the Front Page.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/arts/television/murphy-brown-dan-quayle.html.
- Murphy Brown, Motherhood, and “Family Values” - Jstor Daily. daily.jstor.org/murphy-brown-motherhood-and-family-values/.
- Alan Carter Updated May 15, 1992 at 04:00 AM EDT. “’Murphy Brown’ Interview.” EW.com, ew.com/article/1992/05/15/murphy-brown-interview/.
- Weinraub, Bernard. “The Talk of Hollywood; after Months of Political Attack, the ‘Cultural Elite’ Fires Back.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Sept. 1992, www.nytimes.com/1992/09/01/arts/talk-hollywood-after-months-political-attack-cultural-elite-fires-back.html.
- BuzzFeed News, and ErikaNeddenien. “We Tracked down the Kid Vice President Dan Quayle Made Misspell ‘Potato.’” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 12 Sept. 2019, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/buzzfeednews/dan-quayle-potato-spelling.
- “Hollins Digital Commons.” Site, digitalcommons.hollins.edu/.
ADDITIONAL MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS
“This Was A Thing” Theme Songs composed by Billy Recce
“Happy Bee”
• Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
• Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Additional Sound Effects from Final Cut Pro, iLife, and Logic Pro
