This feature is part of our Politics and Entertainment week, looking at the points where art and issues overlap.
Lately, it’s been easy to blur the line between politics and entertainment. The drawn-out 2016 Presidential election of has been flush with hyperbole while dominating headlines for what seems like forever. As we head closer to election day on November 8th, let’s remember some of the most compelling, and fictional, political storylines from TV’s current golden age. From backroom betrayals to conversations at the dinner table, here’s a look at some of the best ways that TV has tackled the often contentious and always complicated subject of politics.
Parks and Recreation – Public Debates
The show can be seen as one big love-letter to politics, so it makes sense that Parks and Recreation would spend an entire season on Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her candidacy for Pawnee City Council. The election’s debate pits Leslie, a tireless civil servant, against the dangerously unqualified Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd). Even though Leslie’s spent her entire career preparing for this moment, Bobby’s still expected to win thanks to the lowered expectations he’s facing. Top it all off with a disastrous debate watch party/fundraiser and a stage filled with fringe candidates that range from porn star to gun nut to rabid animal-rights activist, the whole episode summarizes the behind-the-scenes chaos of the closest politics gets to a live sporting event.
The Sopranos – Dinner Conversations
Try as we might to avoid certain subjects to avoid making family reunions even more miserable than they already are, occasionally politics comes up in a casual conversation at the dinner table. Such is the case when mob wives Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco), Rosalie Aprile (Sharon Angela), Gabriela Dante (Maureen Van Zandt) and Angie Bompensiero (Toni Kalem) sit around at their regular spot, Vesuvio, when the talk turns to Hillary Clinton. “Ugh, I can’t stand that woman,” says Angie, with a kind of reflexive spite that can still be heard 15 years later. “I don’t know, maybe we could all take a page from her book,” says Rosalie, who points out how she was able to take “all that negative sh*t,” referring to Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinski, and parlay it into her own career as a senator. As Carmela muses over Hillary being a role model for all of them, it’s a pleasant reminder of the kind of willful discourse that political conversations used to entail, before you had to block that uncle of yours on Facebook.
The Simpsons – The Two Party System
The Simpsons has never shied away from politically themed humor, though the show often had to look at it in a much broader context, due to the length of time a single episode would take to produce. Back when the 1996 Presidential Election neared, The Simpsons had a special “Treehouse of Horror VII” short in its back pocket for just such an occasion. When aliens Kang and Kodos (Harry Shearer and Dan Castellaneta) capture rival candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, they take on their forms to infiltrate our government and, after the election, enslave humanity. While the two continue to campaign, they offer nothing but bite-sized promises tailored on-the-fly to the cheers and jeers of their crowds. While Homer eventually uncovers their nefarious plot, it doesn’t really seem to change things at all, as Kang and Kodos point out, “You have to vote for one of us.” They also throw out an added taunt about how choosing a third-party candidate was simply throwing your vote away, complete with a hat-punching Ross Perot, an independent candidate in 1992, then a Reform Party candidate in 1996.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia – Corruption
“You gotta be a real pile of sh*t to get involved in politics,” says Frank (Danny DeVito) when the gang decides it was time to get involved in politics. After Dennis (Glenn Howerton) is chosen to run for District 37 Comptroller, he hires Frank to run his campaign, who’s quickly ousted in favor of Charlie (Charlie Day), who does nothing but compose nonsensical speeches and proves that he’s in way over his head. Speaking of being in over their head, Mac ends up trying to solicit a bribe to a local union to throw the election, and Frank then moves to Dee (Kaitlin Olsen) to run her for office against her brother. It’s all the mudslinging, palm-greasing, backroom dealings of a real campaign, and all without anyone really running for office of any kind.
The Wire – The Rise And Fall Of The Underdog
By The Wire’s third season, showrunner David Simon had expanded the scope of the show to incorporate the local politics of Baltimore, focusing on the ambitious City Councilman Tommy Carcetti (played by Aiden Gillan, and based on real-life Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley) and his bid to become mayor. As a white candidate running in a city with a predominantly black population, the odds are against him, but due to some political savvy, he manages to split the vote against his two opponents, who both happen to be black. While winning the majority vote, Carcetti starts out with the noblest of intentions, doing his best to make a difference in the city and its rampant crime. He eventually succumbs, however, to the realities of life in public office, sacrificing doing the right thing for his city in favor of his own selfish pride. By the show’s end, with his eye on the office of the governor, he’s all but abandoned his desire to make a difference, instead becoming another reason his city is broken.
South Park – Voter Frustration
Since the 2004 election, South Park has been breaking down our choices for president in two distinct ways: a giant douche and a turd sandwich, a comparison first inspired by an election that offered up a choice between George W. Bush and John Kerry. It tapped into a feeling of disillusionment over what kind of impact voting really has on their everyday lives and has provided South Park the opportunity to skewer both the apathy and fanaticism stirred up in seemingly every election cycle.
House Of Cards – Media Manipulation
House Of Cards’ first season was built almost entirely around the relationship between Congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and reporter Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), and how they both used their relationship for mutual gain. As Frank carefully orchestrates his plan to bring down the White House administration from the inside, he leaks stories about his colleagues to Zoe, who then publishes them, which furthers Frank’s agenda. While Frank eventually severs ties with Zoe — permanently — he uses the 24-hour news cycle for his personal gain while never managing to become a headline himself, which eventually makes him more powerful than ever.
Veep – Gaffes
Easily the most (sometimes only) enjoyable part of an election season is when the candidates flub their words, or their facts, sparking an avalanche of jokes, memes, and YouTube dance remixes. Part of what makes Veep so great is how it focuses on those moments almost exclusively. Whether checking out her phone at the exact wrong moment, bungling an armed forces outreach, or mispronouncing the word Nevada (which became a real issue just a couple of weeks ago), Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) rarely seems to be able to catch a break.
The West Wing – Inspiring The Masses
For seven seasons, NBC’s The West Wing told the story of fictitious president Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen), a stoic and witty Democratic President constantly at odds with the Republican-dominated Congress. While not without the occasional element of betrayal, later years shifted more focus to the supporting members of his cabinet that helped keep his administration running smoothly, Bartlett remains the show’s inspiring and charismatic center. Having since been praised by both audiences and critics alike, and created a new high-water mark for fictional Presidents, and the kind of public figure we want to look up to in real life, one that continues to inspire others to help make that a reality.
