Netflix political drama House of Cards rings true – just ask the Chinese, Russians and Iranians
- Feedback suggests this prime example of the United States’ creative soft power may have backfired geopolitically. For people who don’t know better it validates anti-US propaganda
United States President Donald Trump might take a look at the television viewing habits of Vladimir Putin to get an idea of what the Russian president really thinks of him. Putin is a fan of House of Cards, the Netflix drama about contemptuous, conniving, murderous politicians that returns for its sixth and final season this week. In his book All the Kremlin’s Men (2016), Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar says that Putin has recommended the show to officials as a way to better understand the US, and that it “affirmed his belief that Western politicians are all cynical scoundrels”.
To Americans, House of Cards is a soap opera told through a dark portrayal of US politics; its depiction of the quest for unfettered power by Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) and his wife, Claire (played by Robin Wright), has both reflected and reinforced the rising public perception that Washington is corrupt and selfish. But abroad, it may have done much greater damage.
It has found success among audiences that know little about American democracy and may, like Putin, already subscribe to a warped idea about how its machinery works. In places like those, the show is a poisonous piece of soft power that validates toxic conspiracy theories and the anti-American propaganda of US rivals such as Russia, China and even Iran, all of which have avid viewers of the show.
Despite being panned by critics in recent seasons and tarnished by sexual assault allegations against Spacey (who has been written out of the final season), House of Cards holds a special spot as a pioneer in its portrayal of political cynicism. While peers such as Homeland, Scandal and Veep have dealt with similar themes, the Netflix drama has set itself apart and drawn in global audiences through its massive production budget, star power and attention to detail.
The show’s ability to combine a personal quest for power with the minutiae of the US legislative process is a unique draw. An episode would track Underwood’s efforts to whip votes in the House and then follow him as he personally murdered a journalist or aide to cover his role in a conspiracy. All the while, the character would break the fourth wall and let the audience in on the true meaning of power: “The road to power is paved with hypocrisy. And casualties,” he says to viewers, late in the second season. “Never regret.”
For international viewers under unfriendly regimes, this well-produced caricature of Washington proffers an unspoken truth about the duplicity of American power. And their governments have been all too happy to have their citizens believe that these dark shenanigans are realistic.
