Episodes 17-18 of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman give us two more examples of prejudice that lasts only an hour.
The Secret (episode 17): Dr. Quinn finds a boy with a mysterious past in a dead prostitute's cabin.
The townspeople accept blacks, Indians, and prostitutes (except when the plot calls for prejudice). But they don't accept a prostitute's child? The town's big secret is that she had a child out of wedlock? It does not compute.
Initially they seem to object because they think the boy and his unknown father aren't white. But it becomes clear they object because they think the boy is "slow." In reality he's just shy and fearful, but that's enough for the Prejudice of the Week club.
Town Portrait (episode 18): Famed photographer Watkins is in town taking portraits.
Initially we see Watkins about to photograph three Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. They're calm and collected, as if they understand what's about to happen, as Watkins aims the camera with the lens cap on. But when he removes the cap, they mistake the camera for some sort of weapon. They begin pelting Watkins and his camera with rocks.
Well, at least they didn't claim that Watkins was stealing their souls. But this made-up objection is arguably worse. It makes the Indians seem ignorant and irrational.
When Watkins offers to take the town's picture, the people's come-and-go prejudices return. Black woman operates a business, good; black woman in photograph, bad. Indians help end influenza epidemic, good; Indians in photograph, bad. Immigrant girls dance with US soldiers, good; immigrant girls in photograph, bad.
This hit-and-miss prejudice is especially silly when it comes to the town's prostitutes. In the previous episode, the townspeople kept a prostitute's "bastard" boy secret because she was "one of us." But when it comes to including prostitutes in the photo, they're not "one of us."
Naturally, these fabricated examples of prejudice disappear by the episode's end and everyone appears in the picture.
Coming up next
In future seasons, I expect the townspeople to accept blacks, Indians, immigrants, prostitutes, and "slow" children but experience a momentary prejudice against Asians. Then they'll accept blacks, Indians, immigrants, prostitutes, "slow" children, and Asians but experience a momentary prejudice against homosexuals. And so forth and so on.
For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.
I don't remember any gay issues in episodes. But you are right on the money pointing out the uneasy line the show jumped back and forth across portraying Colorado Springs with progressive attitudes it never had in that era.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that one episode touched upon the issue of homosexuality. I imagine the show portrayed a newcomer who was effeminate but not openly gay. The townspeople disdained him because he was "queer" (original meaning) but accepted him by the end of the hour.
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