American Politics Vs. The Netflix Series House Of Cards

There are over 7 Billion people in the world each with their own individual thoughts, ideas, and innovations. Based upon this fact, it is evident that there will be disagreements and conflicts amongst peers. In order to present these problems and arguments within the world in an entertaining, but informative way, satires are used. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupiditiy or vices particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Through the use of exaggeration, humor, irony, and a variety of other similar techniques, controversial topics involving things such as politics can easily be presented.

However, to condemn those in positions of power for their actions is to misinterpret the volatile climate of the Cold War Era in which they operated. The polarized political thought and the turbulent domestic events that shadowed everyday life had a profound impact on American thought and culture and the lives of public figures who dominate the story. To truly understand the impact of these characters and the climate of the American Cold War theatre, the complexity of the dynamics within society must be understood from the point of view and the

The film Swing Vote is an American political culture film that relies heavily on film subtext to depict the negative attitude many Americans have towards voting, corruption inside a political election, and the spectacle of media frenzy. While the film gives a light hearted impression of a rare political snafu it is still consistent with the main themes of other political films of manipulation, money lust, and power hungry political heads that will stop at nothing for their own personal gain. We also see the political candidates merely as puppets while their campaign managers are the ones truly calling the shots. Swing Vote is a unique political culture film because due to the ordeal in the film’s plot, the politicians are at a disadvantage when they are usually the ones in power. With the tables turned we see how they construct their corrupt schemes and the direct effect it has on the character representing the American perspective. The strong symbols that convey the cultural norms in America’s political system are in need of a deeper analysis.

She tells a story of Roger Griswold, a federalist “attacking” Mathew Lyon, a Vermont representative with a “cane”. Page paints a picture of the Democratic-Republican never-ending battle of “chamber fire pit” and “fire tongs” as threatening objects and violence used amongst the opposing political party. Her vivid illustrations through charged and detailed diction creates a violent image. This creates a more in depth understanding of the issue. Page’s strong examples of of imagery conveys the audience of the abuse and destruction that is causing our country to become more and more divided. The contrasting opinions between one another should have nothing to do with the separation of our country. The public is “reflected in everything” from whom “they marry to where they get their news.” In reality we “spend time around those who think differently than we do”, however we seem to shun anyone who may think differently than ourselves. More than half of Republicans are reported to watch “Fox News at least a few times a week” while “Democrats are watching MSNBC [...].” Page uses these examples to show the audience that American citizens watch and pour their time into the things they agree with. This affects the audience by showing they have the tendency to gravitate towards things they agree with and not look at the

Imagine, if you will, a time that seemed innocent... almost too innocent. Imagine a nation under whose seemingly conformist and conservative surface dramatic social changes were brewing, changes as obvious as integration and as subtle as fast food. And imagine, if you will, a radical television show that scrutinized, criticized, and most importantly, publicized these changes, making the social turmoil of a nation apparent to its post-world war, self-contented middle-class citizens. But what if this television show was not as it appeared? What if it masqueraded as simple science fiction, and did not reveal its true agenda until viewers took a closer look? Let us examine how

From the rousing introduction, Chris Mathews' Hardball presents itself as a godsend to young aspiring politicians, businessmen, and frankly, everyone alike. Pompously self-assured, Mathews discusses his reasoning to sharing his wisdom collected from his own experience and other major players in "Hardball". However after finishing the book, his audacity could be forgiven by the enjoyable nature of his work, the information it provides, and the uncanny resemblance to Benjamin Franklin's writing style. In the first section of Mathews' self-proclaimed "classic" and political manifesto, he presents the world of politics through a series of informative--if not redundant--phrases, historical examples, and his own experience in Washington.

The political game is a dog eat dog world, there are several factors that determined weather a politician will be successful or not. Having alliances, enemies, and deals is all part of it. In the book “Hardball: How Politics is Played” written by Chris Mathews explains what it takes to get ahead in politics and how to avoid disasters techniques previously used by others.

Everyday, our daily lives are affected by what happens with our government. Anger has been directed to the United States government because the american citizens believe our government is not doing a good enough job. This years presidential election did not help. Between the candidates alone, there has tons of controversy. From Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, to some of Donald Trump’s tweets, it is fair to say that the 2016 presidential election has been a crazy one. While the crucible explores anger of human nature, the issue of the recent presidential election illustrates we are still faced with this anger through democrats problems, republicans problems, and people angry in general about America’s election and government.

Politics is a dangerous topic: minefields to the left and right, shrapnel everywhere, and often the best opinion is no opinion. Dave Barry in “Now That’s It’s All Over, Let’s Eat!” approaches the modern American political apathy with a cynical eye. In 2012, before the second election of Barak Obama, Americans were feeling a lack of faith in the political system. The Democrats were demonizing Mitt Romney and the Republicans were bad-mouthing Obama. Barry says that the American response to all this drama should be to go watch football.

Biting satire points out the flaw in societal issues using humor to sugarcoat to sugarcoat the truth about those issues. In “The Simpsons” movie, understatement and irony are used to create humor and draw attention to government surveillance. Throughout “The Simpsons” movie, the concept of “Big Brother” is emphasized, that phrase refers to “big brother” as the government that is watching you during your daily lives. In addition, one of these “brothers” are the government agents who dedicate their lives to dig out information about you, to ensure safety throughout the country.

As Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help” (Erb, 2011). This quote has recently given many people a negative depiction towards the government, due to election season. Along with this negative depiction towards the government are topics that pose issues to society. The most common talked about topics between Donald Trump (Republican) and Hillary Clinton (Democrat) are often referred to as the “hot button issues.” Some of the discussions this election season have been about social groups and organizations, race and ethnicity, social stratification and the distribution of wealth, and lastly, gender and sexuality.

The television political series The West Wing was an enormously popular program during its original airing from 1999-2006. The show is highly rated amongst fans and critics alike and is still watched today on outlets like DVDs and Netflix. The West Wing depicted American politics during the fictional Presidency of Josiah Bartlet. The show was quick-witted, dramatic, comical, and revolutionary. It gave viewers an in-depth view of the White House and the day to day lives of the men and women who run the American government on a day to day basis. The West Wing had large numbers of female characters throughout the series, but a few characters were shown far more frequently and prominently. The show had female characters that were strong, dedicated,

Fenno argues studying the behavior of House members in their district or their home style is important because this interpretation reveals the logic behind of representative’s behavior in a more nuanced manner than attributing their actions to the political climate of Washington, D.C. Fenno describes home style as the manner in which a representative conducts herself or himself in their district and constituents. Observing a House member’s behavior at in their district explains several factors of a representative’s conduct not explained when only focusing on their actions in Washington. First, studying a representative’s home style reveals the logic behind a representative’s allocation of their resources. Second, a representative’s relation

Today, comedy news shows are becoming progressively more popular, and in so, becoming a new source of information – which may, or may not, be a positive consequence. Most comedians twist the truth in order to connect to people and make them laugh. The article “A Serious Business: What Can Comedy Do?” suggests some comedians “use logic to make painful things make sense” (O’Hara 108). Satirical comedy acts as a relief mechanism in that it comforts people that may be wary about a certain subject, especially in the realm of politics. Similarly, Peter McGraw and Joel Warner discuss how comedy can act as a coping mechanism. The authors conclude that “activists all over the world have been using comedy as a form of political protest” (McGraw & Warner 147). Iain Ellis writes about how political satirists do more than just deliver jokes, they use satire “to expose, ridicule, and–implicitly–call for action and change” (Ellis 152). Ellis contends that comedy can make a difference by its constant presence in our daily lives. Socrates, Plato, and even shows like South Park believe that humor is a way to persuade others. One of the most effective expressions of humor to affect social change has been the inclusion of satire. Although humor often provides people a welcome escape from the burdens of their daily lives, the satirical comedy deconstructs social issues in various ways as a means to persuade the

One recent case where the mass media poked fun at and satirized the government was the year 2000 election. In the time where ballots and votes became confused and the state of Florida became the punch-line to many a water cooler joke, shows such as the ones above took the story and ran with it. From the very beginning the satire of political figures played its role in the election. According to the Washington Post and the Pew Research Center, 47 percent of Americans under the age of 30 receive around 26% of their information about candidates, amongst other political matters, through late night comedy television. This trend has been labeled by many “Infotainment.” The viewers are receiving information about political issues and their government, but through a sarcastic or humorous filter that creates a different culture of informed citizens.