"A colorful book about a remarkable television series. . . . It enhances the study of the American presidency while quietly illuminating a lifetime collaboration of two remarkable film/history scholars. [The West Wing] should be acquired by every public and university library for they will be of interest both to the expert and to the general reader."—Film and History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies
Description
Eminent scholars Peter C. Rollins and John O’Connor make an important contribution to the field with an eclectic mix of essays, which translate visual language into on-screen politics. While the series may be criticized as “idealistic,” its clever techniques of camera work, lighting, editing, and mise en scene reflect America’s best image of itself, and entertains a loyal audience that desperately wants to believe in the nobility of the American dream. This collection introduces readers to the sensibilities to appreciate the show’s nuances and the necessary knowledge to avoid any misreadings. It will be of interest to students of politics, popular culture, fans and critics alike.
Table of Contents
Introduction, John E. O’Connor and Peter C. Rollins
Focusing On Issues
1. The West Wing: White House Narratives that Journalism Cannot Tell, Donnalyn Pompper
2. The White House Culture of Gender and Race in The West Wing: Insights from the Margins, Christina Lane
3. The West Wing (NBC) and The West Wing (D.C.): Myth And Reality in Television’s Portrayal of The White House, Myron A. Levine
4. The King’s Two Bodies: Identity and Office In Sorkin’s West Wing, Heather Richardson Hayton
Language And Structure In The West Wing
5. Dialogue, Deliberation, and Discourse: The Far-Reaching Politics of The West Wing, Samuel A. Chambers
6. The West Wing’s Textual President: American Constitutional Stability and The New Public Intellectual in The Age of Information, Patrick Finn
7. The Left Takes Back The Flag: The Steadicam, The Snippet, And The Song In The West Wing’s “In Excelsis Deo,” Greg M. Smith
8. From The American President to The West Wing: A Scriptwriter’s Perspective, Jason P. Vest
Perceptions Of The West Wing
9. The Sincere Sorkin White House, or, The Importance of Seeming Earnest, Pamela Ezell
10. The West Wing as A Pedagogical Tool: Using Drama to Examine American Politics and Media Perceptions of Our Political System, Staci Beavers
11. Victorian Parliamentary Novels, The West Wing, and Professionalism, Michelle Mouton
Critical Responses: West Wing Press Reviews
12. Inside The West Wing’s New World, Sharon Waxman
13. The Feel-Good Presidency: The Pseudo-Politics Of The West Wing, Chris Lehmann
14. The Liberal Imagination, John Podhoretz
Bibliographical Overview
15. The Transformed Presidency: People and Power in The Real west Wing, Myron A. Levine
Works Cited
Index
About the Author
Peter C. Rollins is regents professor of English and American film studies at Oklahoma State University and editor-in-chief of Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies. He is coeditor of Television Histories, and editor of The Columbia Companion to American History on Film.
John E. O’Connor, professor of history at New Jersey Institute of Technology, is the coeditor of numerous books, including Hollywood in World War I and Hollywood’s Indian. He is the cofounder, with Martin A. Jackson, of the Historians Film Committee.
April 2003