Liberty on TV Awards Salutes 'Shark Tank,' Torches 'Gasland' Sequel

Since the days of Charlie Chaplin, Hollywood has portrayed business leaders as greedy, evil and selfish. So when television shows start to tell a different story, the Moving Picture Institute takes notice.

Our first annual Liberty on TV awards honor television shows that promote freedom, free markets, and entrepreneurship.

Here are some highlights:

Best 2012/2013 TV Show—Shark Tank, ABC–This hit reality show is climbing the ratings and gaining praise, and justifiably so. Shark Tank gives entrepreneurs a chance to pitch ownership stakes in their companies to notable investors like billionaire Mark Cuban. Their compelling stories give millions of Americans a chance to see the risks and sacrifices that go into starting up a business.

The “History Class was Never this Much Fun” Award—The Men Who Built America, The History Channel–As educational as it is inspirational, this History Channel miniseries shows the rags-to-riches stories of successful 19th and early 20th century Americans. Just as importantly, it illustrates how every American benefited from their success.

Of course, we could not ignore one show that deserved a dishonorable mention:

Best Hoax Not Perpetrated by Jimmy Kimmel—Gasland 2, HBO–Among the notable lies in the HBO documentary, one scene features a Texas resident stetting the water from his garden hose alight to illustrate the dangers of fracking. A court later found that the hose was hooked up to a gas vent!

Writers and producers hold enormous power because storytelling is such a powerful way to communicate ideas. Ayn Rand could have written a philosophical treatise as her crowning achievement, but instead she wrote a bestselling novel. Atlas Shrugged still sells hundreds of thousands of copies annually.

Movies, TV, and online video are today’s dominant storytelling mediums. If we wish to reach the minds of Americans with freedom-oriented messages, we must first reach their hearts through the power of the visual image.

Rob Pfaltzgraff is President of the Moving Picture Institute, which creates and promotes documentaries and narrative films that uphold liberty and limited government.