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.
Author(s): Patrick Webster
Publisher: McFarland
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 284
City: Jefferson
Cover
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Dramatis Personae: The Cast and Casting
2. A Mosaic of Quotations: Intertextuality in The West Wing
3. Historical Fictions: A Parallel Universe
4. Death of the Author: Aaron Sorkin as Auteur?
5. On a Wing and a Prayer: Bartlet Deconstructs the Old Testament
6. Cinematic Television: The Mise-en-Scène of The West Wing
7. The Signifier and the Signified: Structuralist Readings
8. This Pitiful Exercise: Temporal Rupture in the “Isaac and Ishmael” Episode
9. Bourgeois Wing: Marxist Readings
10. The Greatest Country in the World: Misconstrued Politics
11. It’s Turtles All the Way Down: The West Wing and Religion
12. Playing in the Dark: Racist Discourses
13. Potus Interruptus: Gender and Queer Theory
14. Hollywood MS: The Portrayal of Disabilities
15. The Politics of Maryland: The Wire and The West Wing
16. Nostalgia for the Present: Postmodern Readings
17. Cellmates in The Hague: Bartlet Flouts International Law
18. The Crackpots and These Women: Misogynist Discourses
19. Cultural Differences: Postcolonial Readings
20. Education Is the Silver Bullet: Pedagogy in The West Wing
21. A Valentine to Washington: Narrative Authenticity
22. Your Father Was a Prick: Psychoanalytical Readings
23. Unearned Emotion and the Plaintive Oboe: W.G. Snuffy Walden’s Music to The West Wing
24. Society Must Be Defended: Poststructuralist Readings
Conclusion
Appendix. Seasons 1–7—A Synopsis
Appendix B. Episodes 1–155: Broadcast Credits
Appendix C. Directors and Writers
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
