re: Duck Dynasty ratings up 32%. Added 1.3 million viewers this week

I watch the show and generally like it to a degree, but I'm probably one of the few who watch and see it for what it is -- a staged, scripted piece of brand propaganda. Anyone who thinks the Robertsons got into this solely because they wanted to tout their family values and evangelize their beliefs and way of live to others are dense as can be. Outside of the duck hunting community, not a whole heck of a lot of people knew about Duck Commander prior to the show. Now they're a national brand whose target demographic has broadened tremendously (sidenote, their duck calls aren't very good). You know how to spot a phony, bandwagon duck hunter who just got into the sport because he watches Duck Dynasty? Face paint and a DC duck call.

And don't get me wrong, they seem like good people, but I have no end of trouble understanding why their fans worship them like they do. I'd hazard a guess that 99% of people who have watched the show have never met them and/or don't know them or anyone associated with them personally, so why the campy fixation and cultish lauding of them as some "example" of how to live? I was taught how to live right, how to treat others, and how to generally be a decent person by those who raised me. If someone feels the need to take life cues from a scripted reality TV show, they've got some legitimate issues they need to sort out.


Tl;dr I like the show but don't understand the cult worship of the Robertsons