Of course it matters—popular culture is a reflection of the “real world” and vice versa. I just happen to think the controversy in this case is overblown and premature, but things like this can matter in other cases.
People shouldn’t take vague “real world” implications of media into account when acting on a creative vision.
I disagree, though my argument is unrelated to those particular shows.
I feel that just because someone can doesn’t mean that someone should. And I wish that our culture, and/or media depictions of it, placed a higher value on morality than it appears to, since I feel art and culture both reflect each other. There are several shows I’ve looked into watching that I was quickly turned off of because of certain gratuitous content. Take Veep for example. People on that show swear like it’s going out of style. Did they have to? No. Can’t I just not watch the show? Sure, but I wish the show didn’t force the issue, so to speak.
Which, again is unrelated to Confederate. I’m not bothered either way really by an alternate history drama where where the American Civil war ended in a stalemate. It might depict characters who are pro-slavery, but that’s the thing: it’s alternate history. Slavery of Blacks in America isn’t actually a thing anymore, nor is it going to be.