NEXT UP: TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL?….Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch argue today that the unabashed celebration of capitalism in “Dallas” helped bring down the Iron Curtain:
In Romania, “Dallas” was the last Western show allowed during the nightmare 1980s because President Nicolae Ceausescu was persuaded that it was sufficiently anti-capitalistic. By the time he changed his mind, it was already too late — he had paid for the full run in precious hard currency. Meanwhile, the show provided a luxuriant alternative to a communism that was forcing people to wait more than a decade to buy the most rattletrap Romanian car….To this day, you can visit an ersatz “SouthForkscu” ranch in the nowheresville Romanian town of Slobozia (yes, that’s its real name).
Sure, I’ll buy that. Why not? I loved “Dallas” back in the day. And as N&M say, “For all the talk of boycotts and bombs, if the United States is interested in spreading American values and institutions, a little TV-land may go a lot further than armored personnel carriers.”
