Political dramas reflect our reality

I won’t stop talking about “House of Cards,” because it’s just that good.

It has drama. Suspense. Tension. Politics. Kevin Spacey delivering creepy monologues directly at the camera.

Everything you could possibly want from a show.

Washington, D.C., is the perfect backdrop for a show about power and corruption. Spacey plays a believable character. If there exists a man as power-hungry and ruthless as Congressman Frank Underwood, he’d be in D.C. 

What we watch on TV at a particular moment of time tells us something about our society, and what it’s telling us now is that Americans hate Congress.The public approval rating of Congress stands at 12 percent. Last October, the approval rating was in the single digits. The number of people who support Congress at the moment is probably about the same as the number of people who still like Justin Bieber. 

Not coincidentally, there are currently eight big-budget TV shows set in D.C., five of which are present-day dramas.

Although few viewers — myself included — are gullible enough to accept a fictional story as fact, these political shows are gaining popularity. We don’t necessarily believe that it does happen, but that it could happen.

And that’s because it’s not too far off from our actual government, or at least how we perceive it.

We wouldn’t want to drop everything and binge-watch 13 episodes if the idea of a corrupt and merciless government wasn’t believable. Contrast the devious “House of Cards” with another successful political drama, “The West Wing,” which ran from 1999-2006.

Rather than the Frank Underwood that just committed murder/manipulated the President/was scheming this entire time moments that define “House of Cards,” “The West Wing” is a pretty jolly show. White House staffers order Chinese late at night and banter with the president, and international incidents are solved with frank conversations.

“The West Wing” was wildly popular during an incredibly different political climate, pre-Sept. 11 and pre-recession.

Now, we as television viewers can no longer believe in an honest politician. The concept is an oxymoron.  

According to some insiders, “House of Cards” is not that far off from present-day reality. One of the biggest inaccuracies noted was that an education bill could not be passed as quickly as it is on the show. It’s just a minor detail, considering that a U.S. congressman commits murder in the first season.

Regardless, the show’s overall implications — that government is corrupt, and politicians care more about power than constituents — reflect how we as a nation feel about current politics. It’s not a good feeling.

“House of Cards” does not have to be completely realistic to demonstrate that Americans are more likely to see today’s politicians as the bad guys.

And the scary part is that if a real Frank Underwood exists, you’re probably not going to find out about it. He is a master at covering his tracks.  

­— cjellert@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Caroline Ellert on Twitter @cjellert