The basis of most fiction is conflict and drama. The depiction of government and politics in fiction lends itself well to this idea. God knows there's enough conflict to go around, whether it's a conflict of philosophies, ideas, or personalities. And most fictional political conflict is usually based in corruption and egocentrism. For these reasons, more often than not, government in fiction is a tool of the evil used to perpetrate evil for power and control. Either the very nature of government is portrayed as evil, or its shown to be secretly run by a cabal of evil people (or evil aliens disguised as people) that are stealing taxpayer funds to use on hookers and blow.
Last week, I wrote about a right-wing, media-driven conspiracy theory and the types of people who wanted to believe it. Whether it be something like DNC hitmen roaming the streets, people who want to believe we faked landing on the Moon, the idea the United States government has flying saucers at Area 51, or the theory that the streets of Washington, D.C. were designed to represent a Satanic pentagram, it buys into the above notion hook, line, and sinker. Never mind that these would require a massive undertaking by which hundreds, if not thousands, of people have kept a secret with such precision and efficiency that all proof for such operations do not exist.
It also obscures the fact the reality we know is more Veep-like, usually. Instead of competent and evil, we’re ruled by people who are stupid and evil. And, honestly, maybe it’s a saving grace.
The return of Netflix’s House of Cards for its fifth season brings us back to the world of fictional U.S. President Frank Underwood, who is most definitely more of the evil bastard variety. Based on the novel by Michael Dobbs and the Andrew Davies BBC series of the same name, the series presents a Washington, D.C., populated by easily manipulated self-serving individuals, with Kevin Spacey's Underwood being manipulator-in-chief. With season five, new showrunners Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson have taken over from Beau Willimon and continue the quest of the Underwoods to claim control of the United States government.
But much of the buzz around the series, especially now in the shadow of the Trump Administration, has included questions of whether the series, which teeters between whacked-out political soap opera and attempt to be a grand Shakespearean tragedy in which the Machiavellian moves of a protagonist continually expand out to envelop the world, now seems even more distanced from reality since we’re living under an egomaniac in the White House.
Fair warning to everyone reading this, but after this point the review will discuss everything in the previous four seasons of House of Cards. Given the binge-watching nature of Netflix shows, this won’t spoil anything substantial about the new season. So if you haven't watched the series yet or don't want even want mild info about the fifth season, stop here.
In the House of Cards universe, the 2016 presidential election is not over. As we return to this world for its fifth season, things pick up shortly after the season four finale, with Frank and Claire Underwood as the first husband and wife running mates, fighting off both a similarly ruthless Republican challenger in Gov. Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman) and the reveal of some of the Underwoods’ corrupt machinations in a damaging article by Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver), all the while hyping the threat of an ISIS-like terrorist group in order to blunt the damage.
One significant shift this season is the elevation of Claire (Robin Wright) within the story to the point that she now, like Frank, breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly. And it is within this shared perspective of partners we see them keep all of the tops spinning to hold onto the White House, be it rehearsed messages about staying strong in the face of terrorism in order to avoid other questions, marching to the U.S. Capitol to shame the Congress into a phony authorization for war, extrajudicial murder of a U.S. citizen, or consoling victims and confronting the families of terrorists who can see through the bullshit of what Frank and Claire are doing.
This leads the Underwood administration to some familiar ideas about closing borders and restricting access to who can enter the United States. Claire starts thinking up ways to track possible terrorists through the use of particular words and images on the internet.
Within all of this is the darkest bit of commentary of House of Cards. Whether it be deference to formalism and tradition or being cowed by the idea of being “appropriate” for the tenor of the moment, the world of politics is ruled by media and politicians too afraid to stick their neck out and possibly look bad doing the right things. Within our own reality, how hard has it been for some in the media to call a lie a lie? How many times has the benefit of the doubt been given to a scumbag with a title when asking softball questions at a press conference?
While many have made comparisons between Underwood and Trump, the nature of the two are very different. Trump likes the appearance and image of power, and gets the most butthurt when any questions arise about that image, whether it be the size of his hands or the amount of money in his bank account. But President Dipshit doesn’t have the intellectual curiosity to actually concern himself with using the tools of power to bend the world in the direction he wants. Instead, Trump creates his own reality in his head, tweets about it to the sycophants willing to believe it, and basks in their approval imagining his own greatness.
With Spacey’s Underwood, the character does not care one bit whether or not people like him or think he’s the greatest. In fact, Underwood seems to prefer being underestimated and perceived like a simple country politician, since it works to his advantage in manipulating everyone around him. In the character’s view, power to control is the end-all, be-all of politics. This is best expressed in his affair with journalist Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) in season one. Frank does not get enjoyment out of fucking Zoe as an act of sex. His enjoyment came from knowing he had the power to fuck Zoe, and total control over her.
For Trump, the public is an adoring audience who feeds his ego in a rather pathetic way. For House of Cards, the public is a pawn to be toyed with and discarded, because what can possibly be a bigger indication of power than having another person’s life, or the lives of the people within a country or world, at your disposal?