CineMata's Movie Madness
  • Homepage
  • Guest Reviews
    • Rhapsody in August
  • Cine's Closeup
    • The Pale Blue Eye
    • The Munsters 2022
    • Hello, My Name is Doris
    • In Praise of Family
    • Venom 2
    • Ophelia
    • Mank
    • Macbeth 2015
  • Pioneering Feministas
    • Janet Green: Tapping into the Dark Side
    • Women Make Film
    • Alice Guy-Blache
    • Auteur Directors
  • Star Spot
    • Juanita Moore
    • Raisin in the Sun 3
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
  • The Woman's Voice
    • Blonde 2022
    • Women Warriors
    • The Divine Order
    • Twilight: A Primal Call for Patriarchal Dominance
    • The Fierce Women of Summer
    • Martha Fiennes' ONEGIN
    • The Dressmaker
    • Sofia Coppola and The Silent Woman
    • Thelma and Louise
    • Bridesmaids 2011
    • Mildred Pierce HBO
    • Dragonwyck
    • Cousin Bette
    • Stage Beauty
  • About Cine
  • Top Ten Faves
    • 'Tis the Season for Murder
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2020
    • The Best Film Experiences of 2017
    • Female Villains to Die For
    • 10 Remakes to Remember
    • We Heart the Bad Boys
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2014
    • Most Memorable Moms
    • Cult Film Faves
  • Contact Cine
  • Hollywood Notables
    • Fiona Shaw
    • Viola Davis
    • Elizabeth Banks
    • Shia LaBeouf
  • Rave Reviews
    • Best of Netflix 2017
    • Mayhem
    • Dave Made a Maze
    • Lavender
    • Hail Caesar!
    • Spy
    • Gravity
    • Inception 2010
    • Black Swan 2010
    • Flight
    • Moonrise Kingdom
    • Lincoln
    • Looper
    • Lawless
  • Telegenic Static
    • Wednesday
    • Cine's 2018/19 Seasonal Faves
    • The Highwaymen
    • Cine's New Year Resolution: Watch More Netflix!
    • TCM : A Class Act
    • Best of TV * 2017
    • Female Detectives on TV
    • Neo-Renaissance TV: Feud & Big Little Lies
    • True Detective Navigates Noirland
    • Texas Rising
    • 2014/2015 TV Season Highlights
    • 2013-2014 TV Favorites
  • British Film & TV
    • The Banshees of Inisherin
    • Doc Martin
    • Song of the Swan
    • Death in Paradise
    • Miss Scarlet and the Duke
    • The Stranger
    • Sanditon
    • Collateral
    • Handsome Devil
    • Love & Friendship
    • Victorian Slum House
    • 45 Years
    • Anonymous
    • Appropriate Adult
    • Sherlock Holmes: Many Faces
    • Philomena
    • British Feminista TV
    • Brassed Off
  • The Golden Age
    • Gone with the Wind
    • Cleopatra 1934
    • Elizabeth Taylor: The Passing of an Icon
  • Who You Callin' Crazy?!
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
    • Count Bela: Nosferatu & Vampyr
    • Post Awards with Ida Lupino
    • The Duke: Cowboys/Aliens vs WWZ
    • Liberace Dishes
    • Elizabeth Taylor Visits Cine
  • Noir Greats
    • Nightmare Alley
    • The Big Heat
    • Femme Fatales: Crime is My Career
    • Femme Fatales: Honey, I'm Home!
    • Crime of Passion
    • The Loves of Carmen
    • The Many Faces of Noir
    • In Order of Disappearance
    • Boss - 2011/12 series
    • Pepe le Moko 1937
    • Mystery Street 1950
    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    • The Barefoot Contessa: A Noir Bridge to Nowhere
    • They Won't Believe Me
    • Dan Duryea Nails Noir
    • What Is Film Noir?
    • They Drive By Night
  • Commentaries
    • Award Season 2019 Redux
    • #OscarsSoTarnished
    • Orson Welles Independent Film Tribute
    • Oscar 2016: The Politics of Segregation
    • Hollywood Director's Club: For Men Only
    • Poliwood and the Hollywood Blacklist
    • Cine Mata's 2015 Picks and Pans
    • The Unbearable Whiteness of Emmy Hosting
    • Oscar's Dodge
  • Drive-By Reviews
    • Dark Phoenix
    • Nola Circus
    • Comfort
    • ATOMICA
    • Innuendo
    • My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
    • Film Franchise Meltdown
    • The Woman in Black
    • Girls with Guns 3.0
    • Coriolanus
    • Lady Scarface 1941
  • International Films & TV
    • My Pandemic Marathon Diaries
    • The Twelve
    • Mr. Sunshine
    • The World of International Noir
    • Romance of Our Parents
    • The Grand Hotel Saga
    • Don't Be Bad
    • The Handmaiden
    • Caramel / Sukkar banat
    • Morning for the Osone Family 1946
    • Fritz Lang's M
    • La Bete Humaine
  • Political Rx
    • Rebellion
    • Women in the White House
    • The Ides of March
    • By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
  • Culture Centric Cinema
    • Horror Noire
    • Self Made
    • Little
    • Hidden Figures
    • Fences
    • #Whiterose: Identity, Secrecy & BD Wong
    • Imitation of Life 1934
    • Frazzled Hair Wars
    • Soul Men
  • Indie Films
    • Scotland, PA
    • Adrift in Soho
    • H4
    • Paint It Red
    • HAMLET in the Golden Vale
    • Trouble is My Business
    • The Browsing Effect
    • Indie Films 2018 >
      • Clara's Ghost
      • Cold War
      • To Dream
      • The New Romantic
      • Here and Now
      • Unlovable
      • The Landing
      • I CAN I WILL I DID
      • Choosing Signs
      • Iron Brothers
      • Across the River
      • Josephine Doe
      • Sunset
      • SUNSET: Interview
      • The Forgiven
      • Kill Order
      • Midnighters
      • Half Magic
      • Looking Glass
      • Entanglement
      • Crazy Famous
      • Stratton
      • As You Like It
      • Hunter
  • eau de cinematic clunker
    • The Irishman
    • Almost Friends
    • The Osiris Child
    • Bushwick
    • Pilgrimage
    • Fun Mom Dinner
    • Once Upon A Time in Venice
    • Aaron's Blood
    • Black Rose
    • Lucy 2014
    • Transcendence 2014
  • Book Reviews
    • Conversations with Ray Bradbury
    • A Woman's View
    • Dark Dames
    • Auntie Mame's Favorite Son: Patrick Dennis
    • I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski
  • Documentary Picks & Pans
    • Black Ballerina
    • Leftover Women
    • Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
    • Unrest
    • Be Natural
    • Farmsteaders
    • Bombshell : Hedy Lamarr
    • Jungle
    • Who the F**k is that Guy?
    • The Man in the Camo Jacket
    • Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation
    • Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe
    • Listen to Me Marlon
    • I Am Not Your Negro
    • The Girls in the Band
    • TCM's Trailblazing Women in Film
    • The Honor Diaries
    • Side By Side
    • American Masters : Salinger
    • The Story of Film
  • LGBTQ pov
    • Making Sweet Tea
    • Drag Queens & Trannies
    • Milk 2009
  • Silent Classics
    • Charles Epting: Silent Film Historian
    • Hollywood's Silent Film Grave Huntress
    • La Boheme 1926
    • The Blot 1921
    • Pandora's Box
    • Don Juan
  • Art House Flicks
    • Birth
    • I'm Not There
  • Kid's Korner
    • Pokemon Detective Pikachu
    • Hotel Transylvania 3 : Summer Vacation
    • The Incredibles 2
    • Sherlock Gnomes
    • Paddington 2
    • Lego Batman: A Super Hero in Crisis
    • SING: Cine's 2017 Oscar Pick
    • Summer Flicks 2016
    • Kung Fu Panda 3 / 2016
  • Cine's Friends
  • Hollywood Award Shows
    • Cine's Fantasy Golden Globes 2021
    • Oscar 2020
    • For Your Consideration 2018
    • For Your Consideration 2017
    • 50 Shades of Oscar 2016
    • 2016 Golden Globes
    • 2015 Emmys Redux
    • 2014 Oscars: Plantation Politics
    • 2014 Emmys : A Dash of Racism
    • 2013 Emmys : Hold the Mayo
  • Archives
Picture
Women in the White House :
Madame Secretary and
​the Greater Good
​


by Paulette Reynolds
December 17, 2015

Madame Secretary - political drama

CBS * 2014
Creator/Ex. Producer Barbara Hall

Starring Tea Leoni/Dr. Elizabeth McCord, Tim Daly/Dr. Henry McCord, Bebe Neuwirth/Nadine Tolliver, Keith Carradine/POTUS, Zeljko Ivanek/Russell Jackson.


VEEP - political satire

HBO * 2012
Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Selina Meyers, Tony Hale/Gary Walsh, Anna Chlumsky/Amy Brrokheimer, Sara Sutherland/Catherine Meyer, Gary Cole/Kent Darius, Sufe Bradshaw/Sue Wilson, Matt Walsh/Mike McLintock, Reid Scott/Dan Egan, Timothy Simons/Jonah Ryan

“Television is a medium that lends itself to manipulation, exploitation, and gimmicks. Political campaigns can actually be taken over by the public relation experts who tell the candidate not only how to use television, but what to say, what to stand for, and what kind of person to be.”  *

                           Barry Levinson, Director, Poliwood, 2008

Picture

American television has never been so good for women, as indicated by the abundance of cable and primetime TV programming, all celebrating a new era of female-centered shows.  Every night features comedies, dramas, mysteries and reality series, reflecting Hollywood's changing view of the emerging diversity that is Empowered Woman.  Two current shows, VEEP and Madame Secretary, demonstrate conflicting sides of one very limited - and very powerful - job position: that of a woman serving in the White House. ​
Picture
Political propaganda masquerading as entertainment is easily digested with a heavy side dish of humor or melodrama, and  CBS's Madame Secretary, starring Tea Leoni and Tim Daly, serves up a steady diet of the latter on Sunday evenings.  Tucked in between The Good Wife and 60 Minutes, this over-cooked political drama series (an homage to former SOS Madeleine Albright) hovers somewhere between fantasy and soap opera as Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord navigates American politics 24/7 to keep us safe "for the greater good". ​
Picture
SoS McCord trods the politically correct path of high stakes conflict resolution as she appeals to the better side of human nature in world leaders and Washington insiders.  Along the way she circumvents a weekly family drama with her oh-so-understanding mate, Dr. Henry McCord, whether it be trimming the holiday tree to allowing her youngest offspring a chance to play football.  And she does it with such a modern maternal flair that it makes CBS's working mom Amy Gray (Judging Amy) look like a drunken sloppy second.  All that's missing from Elizabeth's wardrobe is a neon halo.  Is it any wonder that former SoS - and 2016 presidential candidate - Hillary Clinton gushes that it's her "favorite guilty pleasure"?
Picture
Reality is sometimes hard to swallow, especially for a global political figure like Ms. Clinton. Maybe that's why Tea Leoni was chosen to bring Hillary's avatar to life.  Leoni wears her halo with a strained mask of perpetual, long-suffering angst that's impossible to fathom.  Is she indicating how serious her job is or that she’d rather be somewhere else?  Perhaps a bit of both? 
Picture
Series creator Barbara Hall helms a writing team that tailors character Elizabeth McCord into a one-dimensional suit that threatens to cut off her breath at any given moment.  It's galling to see her SOS whine about terrorism, global warming and bellicose superpowers as though hoping her Valium-induced voice will sooth the testosterone firmly seated in the Oval Office into progressive change.  A talent like Leoni diminishes herself in such a role - not to mention as a role model for women aspiring to power - but it's nothing like the tragedy of a truly stupid storyline that Tim Daly has to sleep-walk through. Producer Barbara Hall's Roman Catholic beliefs are echoed by Dr. Henry McCord's lofty day job, teaching theology up on the hill, while he moonlights in the down-and-dirty world of an a NSA operative at night.  Maybe Elizabeth and Henry could wear matching halos?

Picture
It's easy to see why Hillary's not listing HBO's VEEP as one of her primetime faves, because Vice President-turned-POTUS Selena Meyers is no tight-faced martyr of melodrama.  This sharply-etched political satire tilts towards the opposite spectrum by exposing the dark underbelly that is the Washington Political Animal.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus is mesmerizing as Selena Meyers, whose craven obsession with power and respectability lands her in all manner of bizarre situations that quickly reach critical "clusterf*cks", thanks to her staff of self-serving misfits. ​
Picture
Politicians wear a thick coat of entitlement, and are supremely oblivious to it, which makes them almost irresistible - much like the lapdogs that dutifully answer Hillary's imperious texts at all hours. Selena's a perfect foil for Elizabeth McCord's White House brand of activism, because her sole concern is satisfying her momentary impulses, and if it helps the 'greater good' she's just as pleasantly surprised as the rest of us.  VEEP is really my favorite guilty pleasure.

Picture
I'd like to think that having a woman in the White House could produce a series that moves beyond tired stereotypes and bitter buffoonery, but Hollywood is leaving nothing to chance.  After all, tucked in between these two extremes lies their purpose, which is raising awareness for the need to have Ms. Clinton as our first female president. So the task then falls to the filmmakers to sell this political narrative, but the Hollywood honchos (lead by former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, now the Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America/MPAA) just can't get past their innate gender bias to star a woman as President.  A soldier - sure.  A spy - absolutely. A CEO - of course!  The POTUS - whaa? ​

Picture
Since 1934, 124 cinematic male presidents have diverted our collective gaze, until television finally lassoed a woman into the Oval Office in 1985, inaugurated by Patty Duke's comedy series, Hail to the Chief.  Nine women can say they’ve sat in the President's chair since then - on the small screen, that is.  Today it makes better sense to employ television as the medium of choice, because more people - especially women - watch television across multiple platforms, which means reaching more potential voters.

But beyond creating the idea of a female Commander-in-Chief is the more powerful act of herding the masses to the voting booth in 2016. Both Madame Secretary and VEEP steer their fans towards the liberal ticket, which is not surprising, since the White House - and Hollywood - are run by the Democratic Party. Since Mr. Levinson made his observation about television's over-reaching power during Barack Obama's candidacy in his film, Poliwood, social media has created a more informed national audience.  Informed - not necessarily smarter - because the  process of watching a screen can encourage the thinking centers in our brain to be lulled into a trance state.  That's great for suggestibility, bad for critical thinking.
And although he was referring to the ease of using television to promote a candidate into the White House, this truth also extends to a television collective creating shows to promote their favored causes and candidates - and enemies.
While there's nothing new about such manipulation, the American audience appears comfortable with the practice of tucking propaganda into every facet of our mass media, culture and lifestyles.  My only complaint is that with all the creative power that thrives in Hollywood, they’re still stuck on offering primetime pablum like Madame Secretary.


But okay - it's for the greater good.

* Paulette Reynolds. Outside Hollywoodland.com,  June 27, 2010. Poliwood and the Hollywood Blacklist. December 17, 2015. Paulette Reynolds  ​http://www.cinematasmoviemadness.com/poliwood-and-the-hollywood-blacklist.html

COPYRIGHT 2012/2016. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.  


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.