Description
Book Synopsis The West Wing, first broadcast in 1999, is thought by many to have been one of the most significant dramas shown on network television. Despite its overly idealized depiction of American political life, and blatant contradictions in the way we consider America, its values, its aspirations, and its behavior in the world, The West Wing nonetheless succeeds in attaining popular national and international aesthetic appeal.
This book aspires to explain the appeal of the show by considering issues such as race, religion, sexuality, disability, and education--from both a practical and theoretical perspective--through the lenses of feminism, gender theory, Marxism, psychoanalytical theories, structuralism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism and more. It seeks to offer informative and revealing readings of one of the most significant television productions of recent times.
Table of Contents
- Introduction 1
- 1. Dramatis Personae: The Cast and Casting 5
- 2. A Mosaic of Quotations: Intertextuality in The West Wing 13
- 3. Historical Fictions: A Parallel Universe 22
- 4. Death of the Author: Aaron Sorkin as Auteur? 31
- 5. On a Wing and a Prayer: Bartlet Deconstructs the Old Testament 40
- 6. Cinematic Television: The Mise-en-Scène of The West Wing 49
- 7. The Signifier and the Signified: Structuralist Readings 54
- 8. This "pitiful exercise": Temporal Rupture in the "Isaac and Ishmael" Episode 67
- 9. Bourgeois Wing: Marxist Readings 78
- 10. "The greatest country in the world": Misconstrued Politics 86
- 11. "It's turtles all the way down": The West Wing and Religion 92
- 12. Playing in the Dark: Racist Discourses 100
- 13. Potus Interruptus: Gender and Queer Theory 109
- 14. Hollywood MS: The Portrayal of Disabilities 121
- 15. The Politics of Maryland: The Wire and The West Wing 128
- 16. Nostalgia for the Present: Postmodern Readings 135
- 17. Cellmates in The Hague: Bartlet Flouts International Law 146
- 18. The Crackpots and These Women: Misogynist Discourses 152
- 19. Cultural Differences: Postcolonial Readings 162
- 20. "Education is the silver bullet": Pedagogy in The West Wing 169
- 21. A Valentine to Washington: Narrative Authenticity 176
- 22. "Your father was a prick": Psychoanalytical Readings 182
- 23. Unearned Emotion and the "Plaintive Oboe:" W.G. Snuffy Walden's Music to The West Wing 191
- 24. Society Must Be Defended: Poststructuralist Readings 197
- Conclusion 205
- Appendix A. Seasons 1–7: A Synopsis 211
- Appendix B. Episodes 1–155: Broadcast Credits 215
- Appendix C. Directors and Writers 224
- Chapter Notes 227
- Bibliography 261
- Index 269
