A hand full of thoughts – Madam Secretary

Actually, this was supposed to be a small Tumblr post about the series Madam Secretary, in which I also discuss what similarities and differences there are with other series featuring a female protagonist at the center. Well, now it has turned into an article for the main page. Enjoy reading!

A while ago, Madam Secretary was recommended to me on Prime, and at first I was a bit skeptical, even though I’m a big fan of Téa Leoni. I had seen the trailer several times before, but somehow I lacked the motivation to actually give it a try. However, The Diplomat changed that relatively quickly, even though there are some things about that series that bother me and are handled much better in Madam Secretary, but more on that later.

I was a bit put off by House of Cards, because even though Robin Wright does a good job, the last two seasons are not really good. After the last season, you don’t really want any more, and it’s good that it’s over. Please don’t take this as bashing against female leads, quite the opposite, but the season was simply poorly written, had terrible character development, and a lot of it just didn’t make sense.

The Diplomat then changed the mood drastically, because the series shows that female leads can be something incredibly good and exciting. Plus, it’s done without putting others around the protagonist down, diminishing them, or holding them back. Refreshingly different! (Don’t worry, I know other series that do this quite well, such as Rizzoli & Isles, Bones, apart from the later seasons, or, to get a bit more classic, Cagney & Lacey and Murder, She Wrote.)FN1

What I liked most about Madam Secretary is the harmony. By that I mean that the actors, even though there are a lot of conflicts, fit together incredibly well. Especially the McCord family and their interactions with President Dalton are always characterized by a very believable dynamic. This also has to do with the fact that the characters always distinguish very clearly who speaks with whom and how, proper communication is important, and the writers have understood this. Of course, this is also a source of conflict, but believable conflict, not the kind that is pulled out of thin air or suddenly appears and disappears just as quickly.

Furthermore, it stands out, and this is unfortunately also a criticism for the later seasons, that the series, while focusing on the protagonists, still takes enough time to give their team and family some screen time. Unfortunately, this decreases in the later seasons, but especially in the seasons where Bebe Neuwirth is still involved, it always provides a healthy change and keeps the series from feeling too politically stiff.

Madam Secretary is also distinguished by the fact that it distances itself from the gender bashing that has become common in Hollywood. Everyone has their strong and weak moments, whether female, male, or queer. I found this incredibly pleasant, because no one had to be put down just to make the other side look strong. And it’s bad enough that I even have to talk about sides! Everyone was given the opportunity to complement and push each other, sometimes with the support of others and sometimes through their own efforts.

This also invites a comparison to House of Cards, because this was handled much better in Madam Secretary. Both women become president, and only just (Madam Secretary) or through strange detours (House of Cards). As a result, they are repeatedly confronted with critics and conflicts. While House of Cards, certainly also driven by the firing of Kevin Spacey, goes full throttle on the “All men are shit!” track and thereby creates character actions that don’t make sense, Madam Secretary shows that a strong woman can be strong without having to put men down, because a man can subordinate himself and still be a man, equal of course. In my opinion, this small nuance is the difference between whether the writers of a series are good or just superficially okay.

The Diplomat takes a completely different approach here, and yes, I have to admit that I’m probably a bit biased, because I absolutely can’t stand the character Hal Wyler. He’s simply a slimy guy who tries to push his own agenda and doesn’t give a damn about his wife. Here, the male part of the series wasn’t cut down, but simply made into an unsympathetic asshole. That’s certainly one way to create a counterpart to a strong female role, but personally, I then have problems with rewatching it. Back to Madam Secretary!

In Madam Secretary, there is also Elizabeth’s husband, who definitely has a strong character and occasionally makes one or two subtly questionable decisions. But here, these conflicts are voiced, discussed, and worked through. Occasionally, the whole family or Elizabeth’s office environment is also involved. Not only does this strengthen character building and development, but also the credibility of the characters. Of course, it’s largely a work of fiction, but if it’s so strongly rooted in reality, as is the case with Madam Secretary, then a certain degree of credibility and identification should be maintained in the development of the characters. The Diplomat also succeeds in this, although, as described above, the husband completely goes off the rails, but in House of Cards, they definitely go too far and often end up in scenarios that only make sense on paper.

But why the comparisons? Well, they simply suggest themselves, since all three series are about women in positions of power, and it’s always interesting to see how these women are portrayed, at least for me. How do they interact with others? How is their strength and power portrayed? What kind of relationship do they have with their family?

They also offer an insight into how, at the time of production in Hollywood, I intentionally avoid the word “society” here, because there are significant differences, a strong woman is seen or portrayed. Because there are many differences between an Ellen Ripley (Alien, 1979) and an Elizabeth McCord (Madam Secretary), even though both are strong women.

However, this only happens on a micro level here, because I don’t have the time for anything bigger. Nevertheless, such comparisons, especially over such a long period, should be made. Because you can also see how an understanding is represented now and how it was represented back then. But without making the mistake of judging the past with today’s understanding, that can backfire badly.

Conclusion

A strong woman is not the same as another strong woman, just as a strong man is not the same as another strong man. I always find it exciting to work out the differences like sculpting a statue from a block of marble, and you also learn a lot for yourself in the process. I find placing things in time the most important, which is why I also kept the comparison with Ellen Ripley very brief. Because in my opinion, I can’t watch a series, or in this case, a film, from back then with today’s metaphorical glasses. Because I always have to put what I discover into a temporal context, otherwise my statements become a crude form of analysis without a reference point. Unless you just want to put something in the pillory, then okay, but that’s not my intention!

That’s why I’ve chosen these three series, because they all take place in the same time period and are therefore easy to compare. If I had now included Cagney & Lacey or Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, I could have included them in the comparison, but then the article would have turned into a book. Simply because I would have had to deal with a comprehensive temporal placement of all the protagonists before I could get to the actual analysis. Maybe for another project, let’s not overdo it here.

In conclusion, I wish for more series like Madam Secretary and The Diplomat. The Diplomat is supposed to get a second season, and I hope we don’t have to wait too much longer (it was released on Netflix on October 31). Madam Secretary, due to a not entirely successful penultimate season, was given a final but short season. A good decision in my opinion, because it gives the series a worthy ending and we get to see what we might have secretly been waiting for since about the second season: Elizabeth as president!

One last wish, and then I’ll really stop. In films and series, the quality seems to be declining more and more, and well-written characters are becoming rare. This should change, and the focus should return to what strong characters are. Credibly strong characters who don’t tear each other down, but complement each other, resolve conflicts, and move forward together. Because mutual bashing doesn’t get anyone anywhere, quite the opposite, social conflicts that should actually be reduced are only fueled by it. Let’s just leave the socially critical speeches at award ceremonies out, no one takes them seriously anyway. Standing up for good roles, leaving out buzzwords, and moving into the future with intelligently written films and series, that would be my wish! There are such series and films out there, but they are becoming fewer, you have to search longer, it’s tiring, and that should change.

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Footnotes

FN1
Hollywood has massive problems portraying people with extraordinary abilities, including a high IQ, over a long period without turning them into absolute asshole characters. At some point, the characters become aware of their antisocial behavior and live it out with a perverse fervor. Besides Bones, another example is Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.