The image of the presidency that The West Wing creates is very idealistic. In West Wing, the president is represented as a kind, caring, compassionate, father figure. He is reasonable, fair, honest, and in control. He is even a God-fearing man, not to mention he has a great head of hair. All of these things are fine and dandy; I mean who wouldn’t want a president like him? He is by all means perfect for the job. Unfortunately, this image of the president is unrealistic.
I believe the image that West Wing gives the president is unrealistic for a couple of reasons. First off, the president portrayed in West Wing is sincere and honest. When was the last time a president was honest during a campaign? How about while in office? I would say probably before the media became a huge part of campaigning. Politicians are known for their dishonesty and ulterior motives.
In West Wing the president seemed to actually stand up for what he believed in. What he believed in was also (surprisingly) not profit! Wow, what a guy. Back in real-life land, it is impossible to win the office without money or large corporate benefactors. With large sponsors come large responsibilities, or at least responsibilities to one’s sponsors. This renders many candidates vulnerable to becoming, basically, puppets for their benefactors.
I think my biggest problem with the image of the president is that he is portrayed as a real, genuine, honest, person. He doesn’t put up a façade or portray himself as something he is not. He doesn’t seem to have ulterior motives and appears to be genuinely interested in the welfare of the country and its people. He seems to be a man of his word who works for the common good. How many presidents truly fit this description?
Some of my favorite presidents include good ol’ Honest Abe, JFK, George Washington, FDR, and Teddy Roosevelt. Each president I listed worked for the common good and brought positive change. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, something that was very controversial at the time. He was then assassinated. JFK empowered the average American and even started withdrawing troops from Vietnam. He was then assassinated. Teddy Roosevelt was shot while giving his speech, yet he persevered. George Washington was a general in the American Revolution, literally fighting for what he believed in. These were all good men who stood up and stood out, and they had power. Nowadays, it is the good men who stand up and stand out who are punished. It seems that since the dawn of mass media, the presidency has declined into a contest of false images, empty words, and who has the bigger campaign sponsors.
Hey Daniel. Is Martin Sheen’s character really so unrealistic? Take our current President for example. Obama seems like as a kind, caring, compassionate, father figure. He also appears a reasonable, fair, honest, and in control God-fearing man. And, he might not have a lot of hair....but he is pretty attractive. And tall. Just like in West Wing. I mean, he’s definitely human (and has his faults), but nothing in its beginning is perfect, especially a presidency. But it is so true that Presidents cannot come through on all of their campaign promises. But I do think that some are still those who genuinely care about the peoples welfare, there just isn’t always a way to fix things immediately. However, at the end of the day, the President is still a politician campaigning for his/her reelection. And, since you have to have money to even become a President, most become mixed up with pleasing their large sponsors come large responsibilities or are the puppets of those sponsors (like Ronald Reagan in Capitalism: A Love Story).
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that Martin Sheen’s character is unrealistic, maybe not completely unrealistic but to some extent of the word. Some of your points seem slightly misguided though such as the point that politicians are not honest. While this may be true in some cases this “fact” that politicians constantly deceive the public is really just a common misconceptions drawn up by the media and intensified by the populace. Your second and third point consist of stating the president only aims to gain financially and that he does not work for the common good. Its fair if you really believe that but I see that the President must have some sort of motive to help his common man. As for the financial aspect the President does have to come from money, but Martin Sheen could have easily come from money as that was never mentioned. While some of your views do seem biased I do believe that our countries current state concerning Presidential elections has become in many ways corrupt.
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