Scandal: The Anti-West Wing

Today I am going to leave the world of super heroes, sci-fi and horror films and enter a world far more scary; Politics. No, I am not going to spend a whole blog entry ranting about the virtues of Liberalism or the corruption of Conservatism (I do that enough on Facebook posts). I have neither the skill nor interest to devote a whole blog entry to that endless dogfight (plus Google has a memory limit). No, I am using this blog entry to look at two very well made and critically acclaimed TV shows that are both seeped in the political arena; The West Wing (of which I am a huge fan) and Scandal (which is growing on me).

The main thing these two shows have in common is that they are behind the scenes looks at how politics work in America. Specifically Washington politics. They are also extremely overdramatized reflections of that world as well. As much as most people probably wish that government was the magnificent pageant as any episode of The West Wing depicts, but in reality it is just old men on C-SPAN. No philosophy quoting President Bartlet, no Theological arguments from Toby Ziegler, not even an impassioned argument between Cy Beene and Olivia Pope which would at least make C-SPAN more entertaining. Nope. None of that.

I am embarrassed to admit this, but my first interest in politics came from watching The West Wing. To me, Aaron Sorkin can do no wrong and his political views seem to greatly reflect my own (not all, but many, though I don't share his fondness for hardcore narcotics). I’m sure I’m not alone (in fact I know I’m not). To me The West Wing showed the idealized version of American Government. A brilliant President surrounded by passionate people who want to make the world a better place. Sometimes their idealism got in the way of the reality of their world (that people are unhappy no matter what you do) but they would hold their heads up high to fight another day. If I had my way, there would be nothing but Josh Lymans running our country (with an equal number of Donna Mosses to lend him support). Our leaders should be idealists. 

Conversely you have the show Scandal. Scandal has none of the optimism of the world of The West Wing. In Scandal, everyone is dirty and has a hidden agenda. The Washington that Scandal takes place in is filled with corruption and sin. Even the heroes of the show, Olivia Pope (played by the brilliant Kerry Washington) and her motley team, all have dark secrets of their own which are slowly revealed as they cover up scandals (hence the title) of the most powerful politicians in Washington. If anything, the world of Scandal justifies the distrust so many people seem to have in government. Even when the characters do something that could be viewed as noble, there is always a hidden darker motive which tends to wash away any sense of nobility.

Now these are two shows that both are covering the same subject matter. They both feature an eclectic cast of characters entrenched in the world of American politics. They even hilariously share a cast member with Joshua Molina, who brilliantly played Will Bailey in seasons four through seven of The West Wing and now plays Attorney David Rosen on Scandal. They also both featured a Presidential assassination storyline (though it remains to be seen how this storyline will still play out in Scandal). But even with these similarities, the two shows could not be more different.

The West Wing had clear cut good guys and bad guys, and even when the good guys lost there was always a feeling of “Tomorrow is another day”. On the show Scandal, it seems like the good guys never win and if they do it is in “it’s just going to get worse” kind of feel. Perhaps this stems from the fact that Government elicits so many different feelings from people. Many people feel that government is there to help the people while there are just as many people who would like to see government destroyed. This explains how even though two shows are covering the same subject matter, they can be so completely different.