Introduction
The American film industry is one of the main components of the nation’s popular culture. The main reason for choosing this culture is because it majorly highlights the social, economic, and political domains in the United States of America. The film industry has made it easy for most Americans and other nations to understand various significant historical events that greatly impacted the people of America (Rafique et al.). The period from 1865 to 2000 is considered an important timeframe since it was when America underwent great industrialization. Film directors in the American film industry use various themes that portray the social, political, and economic orientation of the United States of America.
Discussion
For many decades, Republicans have increased their presence in popular culture in general and in Hollywood in particular. Today, however, the Democrats are still setting the political trend in American cinema. It was Democratic Party politicians who pushed for the famous “actor quotas” for people of color, requiring ethnic and religious minorities to be represented at the highest level in movies. This allowed the Democrats to increase their electorate among large ethnic communities and diasporas.
Various movies and documentaries aim to teach the target audience the history of the United States of America. For example, the release of the movie House of Cards by production giants marked an important part of American pop culture. The film is majorly based on the political environment, social orientation, and economic performance of the United States of America (Wayne). It portrays how governance plays a major role in the stability of a nation for the well-being of the people of a nation.
The Film House of Cards is essential in the understanding of American history since the director has adopted some concepts and leadership doctrines that are greatly related to past American leaders and histories. The main themes of the film also portray the American situation between the periods of 1865 to 2000. For example, the theme of power, as portrayed in the film greatly comments on how power played a major part in governance and industrialization (Wayne). The theme of discrimination also shows how the social system in America has individuals who are still being subjected to various forms of discrimination. Between 1865 and 2000, racism was a major form of discrimination that affected the well-being of a significant number of people in the nation.
The first two seasons of the series came at a time when President Obama’s popularity ratings were falling. Republicans and many influential Democrats criticized the president and his administration’s indecision on domestic and foreign policy. Obama’s likely counterpart on the show was President Garrett Walker, a former lawyer with no leadership instincts. In turn, the pragmatic, tough, and aggressive Underwood is the exact opposite of Walker. One gets the feeling that the creators of the picture are trying to show two fundamental images of American presidents. Obama himself, being a fan of the show, has repeatedly said that he admires Underwood’s political talents, but appreciates Walker’s integrity and honesty. In the end, integrity and honesty lose out when Underwood achieves his goal: the president’s resignation.
The third season shows a political crisis in U.S.-Russian relations. Russian President Viktor Petrov is presented as the former head of the KGB, who is tough on his country’s interests in the international arena. At the center of the storyline are two conflicts – a foreign policy one (Jordan Valley) and a domestic policy one (the law banning gay propaganda in Russia). Notably, one of the episodes introduces the notorious Pussy Riot group, whose members are called “true Russian patriots” by the president of the United States. As a result of lengthy negotiations, the leaders of the countries agree on the division of spheres of influence in the Middle East, and President Petrov explains to Underwood the Orthodox traditions of Russia, where many laws of a liberal nature cannot be implemented.
The fourth and fifth seasons are devoted to the presidential campaign. Paradoxically, Underwood’s campaign style is distinctly reminiscent of Trump. Like the fictional president, Trump went to the polls ignoring the opinion of the party elite. In his quest for power, Underwood begins to violate every imaginable and unthinkable boundary, turning not only his fellow party members but also the mainstream media against him. It may just be a coincidence, but today Trump is in an equally difficult and deadlocked position. According to the storyline, the media is investigating Underwood’s illegal actions, which could lead to his impeachment.
“House of Cards” had a huge impact on China and the eastern countries. The series also portrayed Beijing as an equal rival to the United States, confirming Chinese propaganda about American double-talk about democracy and human rights. President Xi Jinping was known to refer to the show during a visit to the United States in 2015. Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to Washington, said in 2014 that “House of Cards” embodied “some of the features and corruption that are present in American politics,” and that it highlighted the shortcomings of bipartisan politics. “House of Cards” had “propaganda value in the feudal, treasonous way in which it demonstrated the American system. The impact of this show on Russia and Iran is so great that it is being used as a methodology for proper negotiations with the American government.
The series has become an important part of the modern man’s day. Netflix has reinforced this characteristic by creating opportunities to watch all episodes at once. For the fourth season of House of Cards, it even published a schedule of how many episodes it was more convenient to watch on the same day. As a result, such a significant object as the series has led to the creation and spread in the mass consciousness of its own type of thinking, which, moreover, relies very heavily on visual communication in contrast to past types of thinking, which relied on verbal communication. Incidentally, the flowering of logical (rational) thinking was strongly linked to the emergence of writing, and then printing.
The main teaching rule launched into the mass consciousness of the “House of Cards”, is that politics has a right to dirty tools. At one time Clinton was saved from impeachment by the distinction between presidential functions and the personal actions of a politician that was introduced into the mass consciousness. When the public decided that Clinton was a good president and his personal life was out of the picture, Clinton came out with a repentance, which was accepted by the mass consciousness. In life and in the series, politics acts as a principled multi-track, not a simple shift from cause to effect.
Conclusion
The series itself creates reality. The president in the series House of Cards said that this is how politics works, which is built not on reactions to events, but on the creation of events. There, for example, a war is essentially constructed in order to close a crisis situation during an election campaign. Because the last season of House of Cards premiered shortly before the midterm elections, the real-life characters and plots of American politics in the Trump from palace intrigue to foreign interference in the election-have largely outpaced the onscreen drama. But the show has had an impact around the world and, in the process, has shaped both entertainment and reality distinction that seems to be fading away.
Works Cited
Rafique, Shanawer, et al. “A Critical Analysis of Pop Culture and Media.” Global Regional Review, vol. VII, no. I, 2022, pp. 173–184.
Wayne, Michael L. “Netflix Audience Data, Streaming Industry Discourse, and the Emerging Realities of “Popular” Television.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 44, no. 2, 2021, p. 016344372110227, 10.1177/01634437211022723.