Television series are teaching us more about Australian politics
IF you’re struggling to get into politics ahead of the July 2 election, Netflix could be the thing to get you interested.
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IF you’re struggling to get into politics ahead of the July 2 election, Netflix could be the thing to get you interested.
You may not know it, but television series you’re binge watching on streaming sites could actually be teaching you a thing or two about politics.
Election Watch reports shows like House of Cards and The West Wing were more important than we might actually think.
HOUSE OF CARDS
The series follows Frank Underwood and his rise to the top of the White House.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been compared to Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey.
While Mr Turnbull said the only comparison was that they both used a rowing machine, others thought there were a few more similarities.
When Mr Turnbull threatened to call an early election in March 21, the fictional Frank Underwood tweeted the Prime Minister showing his approval.
.@TurnbullMalcolm I admire your methodology, Prime Minister. If you don't like how the table is set, turn over the table.
— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) March 21, 2016
Underwood has been described as a sly and cunning leader and House of Cards fans have been quick to point out like Underwood, Mr Turnbull got the top job without being elected by the people.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has also been compared to Underwood.
Industry Minister Christopher Pyne accused the Labor leader of being similar to the backstabbing character after Shorten attempted to suspend standing orders in Question Time in 2015.
“For the Frank Underwood of Australian politics to be lecturing us Madam Speaker about trust and integrity is really the height of hypocrisy,” he said in parliament.
“He not only got rid of Kevin Rudd, he also got rid of Julia Gillard and now he sits in the seat he always wanted and he thinks he’s going to jump over the table and get to this seat but he’s not going to do so.”
THE WEST WING
It’s a series mainly set in the White House, following the lives of senior staff members in the presidential office.
And apparently, it can teach us how to run a political campaign.
When Cathy McGowan rose in the ranks as an Independent in the electorate of Indi in Victoria’s North East, The West Wing actually played a part.
McGowan, who rolled Sophie Mirabella in the 2013 election after she held the seat for more than 10 years, had a campaign run by a farmer in Wangaratta who had no political experience.
The ABC reported he used sophisticated software used by Barack Obama and old-fashioned endorsements and community organisation.
Phil Haines decided to form a group called Voice for Indi and McGowan applied to be the Independent who would take on Ms Mirabella.
Mr Haines said while he had no experience running campaigns, he was always interested in politics and watched it closely.
“I was a bit of a tragic watcher of The West Wing, but that’s about it,” he told the ABC.
He said he picked up a few ideas from the show and ended up leading a very successful campaign.
SCANDAL
This series is another political thriller that looks at how indiscretions are handled within the White House.
Dr Andrea Carson, from the Melbourne University School of Social and Politic
al Science, told Election Watch it dramatised the worst scenarios of what could go wrong in a political office.
Dr Carson said it also gave people an idea of how media covered political scandals.
The TV series is based off many real scandals that happened in the White House.
Co-executive producer Judy Smith was Monica Lewinsky’s lawyer and used it as inspiration for a storyline.
Ms Lewinsky claimed she had an affair with former President Bill Clinton when she was his intern at the White House in the 1990s.
BORGEN
It’s a Danish political drama, which follows the life of Birgitte Nyborg and her political struggles as she moves towards becoming the Prime Minister.
Melbourne Business School Associate Professor Sven Feldmann believed it was one that could teach voters something.
“[Borgen] like The West Wing, shows us how politics should be — primarily a vigorous debate about policy, not intrigue and backstabbing,” he said.
Dr Nicholas Geard from the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics also told Election Watch the series showed people links between politics, media and business and the conflicts and compromises they experience.
“Plus it’s Danish, so the furniture is beautiful,” he said.
“Finally, only three seasons, so you can watch it before the election and still get some work done.”
VEEP
So it may not be on Netflix but we can’t forget how this series was linked to Mr Turnbull’s catchphrase “continuity and change”.
We actually first heard the phrase “continuity with change” in Veep, a series about a rising star in a political party.
“Continuity with change” was the slogan for a presidential campaign in the series.
Mr Turnbull innocently said the slogan “continuity and change” while talking to the media in March and creators of Veep made fun of it saying it was the most meaningless slogan they could think of.
According to ABC, Mr Turnbull used to phrase to answer a question about how he would be different from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
“The bottom line is there is continuity and there is change,” he said.
Simon Blackwell, a writer and producer for Veep, tweeted about the Prime Minister’s use of the catchphrase.
“In S4 of Veep we came up with the most meaningless election slogan we could think of. Now adopted by Australian PM,” he said.
Originally published as Television series are teaching us more about Australian politics
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