House of Cards
enero 12, 2019
A very quickie update to gush about my new obsession.
Before I get on with my gushing: yes, Kevin Spacey is an awful human being, but the show did cut him loose the minute the truth about his sexual misconducts came out, so I think one can enjoy the show's quality without supporting Spacey.
Moving on.
The show follows Claire and Frank Underwood, a Washington D.C. power couple who will stop at nothing to achieve their collective and individual goals. The plot kicks off when Frank doesn't get the Secretary of State position the newly elected president has promised him, and instead is forced to remain as whip in Congress. From there, Frank begins a quest of manipulation and deceit to climb the political ladder which affects everyone around him, including his wife's job at an international NGO.
The show is beautifully shot (thank you Robin Wright!) and has a killer script (for some interesting studies on its Shakespearean elements and rhetorics, look for Urszula Kizelbach's work on it!). The tension is so palpable you can cut it with a knife at all times and, coming from someone who has a hard time sitting down and watching TV Shows, I have flown through the first three seasons and am currently DEVOURING the fourth.
Yet, what stands out the most are its characters. One potential flaw of the show is how bubble-like it can feel; most of the narratives focus on people making these really fundamental decisions but seldom we see how they actually affect regular people, save for some handpicked instances. This could get tiring, but the characters are so fully fleshed that the show turns out to be not as much about the impact of their decisions on the real world as about their own lives, and this raises the stakes to claustrophobic levels that are truly addicting.
Another of the show's strengths is its female characters, who stand on equal but realistic footing to the male ones. They are as strong and as capable, but the show doesn't deny the sexism they are subjected to, nor all the other elements that go into one's public image: race, background, age, family, etc. The show is merciless to every single one of its characters, and it's great.
A high-impact show that deserves all the hype it's got. I've been speeding through it and so far it hasn't disappointed.
Moving on.
The show follows Claire and Frank Underwood, a Washington D.C. power couple who will stop at nothing to achieve their collective and individual goals. The plot kicks off when Frank doesn't get the Secretary of State position the newly elected president has promised him, and instead is forced to remain as whip in Congress. From there, Frank begins a quest of manipulation and deceit to climb the political ladder which affects everyone around him, including his wife's job at an international NGO.
The show is beautifully shot (thank you Robin Wright!) and has a killer script (for some interesting studies on its Shakespearean elements and rhetorics, look for Urszula Kizelbach's work on it!). The tension is so palpable you can cut it with a knife at all times and, coming from someone who has a hard time sitting down and watching TV Shows, I have flown through the first three seasons and am currently DEVOURING the fourth.
Yet, what stands out the most are its characters. One potential flaw of the show is how bubble-like it can feel; most of the narratives focus on people making these really fundamental decisions but seldom we see how they actually affect regular people, save for some handpicked instances. This could get tiring, but the characters are so fully fleshed that the show turns out to be not as much about the impact of their decisions on the real world as about their own lives, and this raises the stakes to claustrophobic levels that are truly addicting.
Another of the show's strengths is its female characters, who stand on equal but realistic footing to the male ones. They are as strong and as capable, but the show doesn't deny the sexism they are subjected to, nor all the other elements that go into one's public image: race, background, age, family, etc. The show is merciless to every single one of its characters, and it's great.
A high-impact show that deserves all the hype it's got. I've been speeding through it and so far it hasn't disappointed.
Hello, I'm Roxie!
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