TV Presidents and my pimpin' professor
ABC has picked up Commander-In-Cheif for a full season. This is the show about the first female president--she comes in when the elected president dies--starring Geena Davis. The show answers the question, "Where the hell has Geena Davis been all these years since that baseball movie?"
It's essentially The West Wing, only with a female president and less plausible politics. But what's important is that this is the second show in the last few years about an alternate universe presidency that has caught on with the viewing public. And this is despite the general view that people don't want sappy hour-long dramas; or that they are skeptical of Washington. I think that it's important to note this because I think people like watching these shows for an important reason. Symbols of power and leadership. People like to see strong leaders, but not for reals. See, I think that people want to see the president have all this power and do the right thing, but they don't want to see it in real life, just on TV. In real life, presidents--powerful leaders in general--compromise and screw up and lie. But that's not the story. So we make up new versions of the story and sell them. This is also the reason that shows about the Supreme Court or the Congress would never work. They compromise up front, compromise is written into the very nature of these institutions.
This is also why the public has been comfortable with the slow agregation of executive power over the last 60 years. Despite the fact that the Founders would probably have disapproved, I and most everyone else is generally OK with it to some degree. (I think that it started to go too far in the '90s, but that's just me). The idea that the world works better if we all stand up and say what we mean and mean what we say without compromise or backing down is a very attractive idea. It's patently absurd, but nonetheless very popular. Being a straight shooter is more important than being right becuase it makes Joe Blow out there feel better about being inevitably wrong about stuff once in a while. So we get president shows. Presidnet shows, where the president is virtuous despite his/her failings and all his/her enemies are horrible people. Just like your life! Everybody hates the President, until it's you; and that's what television is, an intimate form of entertainement that forces the viewer to identify with what's on the screen more than any other medium.
It's also fascinating that these shows feature liberal presidents. That's not because Hollywood is liberal, it's because liberals can do the stuff people want to see. They might vote for Republicans but studies show that people want free healthcare, more education spending, environmentalism, and gun control--even Republican voters, it's just that they think for some reason Republicans will provide these things.
Interesting side note: I had an archaeology professor that, according to the rumors, dated Geena Davis. So that's where she's been, dating archaeologists.
It's essentially The West Wing, only with a female president and less plausible politics. But what's important is that this is the second show in the last few years about an alternate universe presidency that has caught on with the viewing public. And this is despite the general view that people don't want sappy hour-long dramas; or that they are skeptical of Washington. I think that it's important to note this because I think people like watching these shows for an important reason. Symbols of power and leadership. People like to see strong leaders, but not for reals. See, I think that people want to see the president have all this power and do the right thing, but they don't want to see it in real life, just on TV. In real life, presidents--powerful leaders in general--compromise and screw up and lie. But that's not the story. So we make up new versions of the story and sell them. This is also the reason that shows about the Supreme Court or the Congress would never work. They compromise up front, compromise is written into the very nature of these institutions.
This is also why the public has been comfortable with the slow agregation of executive power over the last 60 years. Despite the fact that the Founders would probably have disapproved, I and most everyone else is generally OK with it to some degree. (I think that it started to go too far in the '90s, but that's just me). The idea that the world works better if we all stand up and say what we mean and mean what we say without compromise or backing down is a very attractive idea. It's patently absurd, but nonetheless very popular. Being a straight shooter is more important than being right becuase it makes Joe Blow out there feel better about being inevitably wrong about stuff once in a while. So we get president shows. Presidnet shows, where the president is virtuous despite his/her failings and all his/her enemies are horrible people. Just like your life! Everybody hates the President, until it's you; and that's what television is, an intimate form of entertainement that forces the viewer to identify with what's on the screen more than any other medium.
It's also fascinating that these shows feature liberal presidents. That's not because Hollywood is liberal, it's because liberals can do the stuff people want to see. They might vote for Republicans but studies show that people want free healthcare, more education spending, environmentalism, and gun control--even Republican voters, it's just that they think for some reason Republicans will provide these things.
Interesting side note: I had an archaeology professor that, according to the rumors, dated Geena Davis. So that's where she's been, dating archaeologists.
posted by justin | 6:53 PM
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