bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Rob Woollard

THE JURY MIGHT be out as far as the rest of  America is concerned, but in Hollywood, at least, it appears that a woman can be president.

Not one but two television series featuring a female leader of the free world have hit US screens in recent months, lending fuel to the  debate about whether a woman - be it Hillary  Clinton or Condoleezza  Rice - will enter the 2008 race for the White House. Recent polls are more or less unanimous that most Americans would vote for a woman if they thought she was the best candidate.

But sitting before a life-size model of Air Force One's fuselage on a Los Angeles backlot, Geena Davis, who plays President Mackenzie Allen in Commander in Chief, is  more circumspect. 'The polls say up to 80 per cent of Americans would be comfortable voting for a woman, but who knows what would actually happen? It's a nice thing to say on a form.'

Yet if Clinton or Rice end up running in two years, they  may owe a small debt of gratitude to Davis. The 50-year-old's performances in the series, which premiered in Hong Kong on Friday,  earned Davis a  Golden Globe award for best actress in a television drama.

In her acceptance speech she regaled the audience with details of a heart-rending exchange with a little girl who told her she wanted to be president  when she grew up. When Davis admitted that the encounter was entirely made up, she brought the house down.

'I had thought of it a couple of days as a joke and my husband said I should do it. So I did. But then when everybody went, 'Ahh', I started thinking, 'Oh, my god. Should I just leave it at  that, or are they going to be really disappointed when I say that wasn't true?' But it worked out great.'

However much Commander in Chief may have affected mainstream attitudes to woman politicians,  Davis says she's received nothing but positive feedback. 'From the people that come up to me, I really see such a strong, strong reaction,' she says. 'They don't just say, 'Oh, I like your show' or, 'You're the president'.  They say, 'Thank you. This is so important. I'm so glad they're doing this.' And they really are attaching some great significance to the fact that this is [a woman president].'

Davis' Mackenzie Allen - a mother of three who happens to be vice-president   - goes against the wishes of an incapacitated and dying president, and of her entire party, by taking over the nation's highest office and becoming the first female commander-in-chief. In the process, she finds herself endlessly at odds with her sceptical, largely male White House staff, and is  forever sparring with Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton, played by a wonderfully reptilian Donald Sutherland.

'There's just so much conflict for her to deal with,' Davis says. 'I mean, this is ... this is revolutionary for Washington. Templeton articulates, 'What about Muslim nations? You have any hope that they're going to deal with a female president?' It's an impossibility, but she lands on her feet and she finds her way - and the crises just keep coming.'

In many ways, Davis was a celluloid US president waiting to happen. The academy award-winning actress (The Accidental Tourist, 1988) - who graduated with a degree in drama from Boston University in 1979, and whose modelling career led her to a role in Sydney Pollack's Tootsie in 1982 - has become something of a feminist  figure through her performances in 1980s classics as Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own. She's also  brainy (an IQ of 140 and membership of Mensa) and  made the semi-finals of the Olympic archery team when she was in her 40s.

Gender equality is  a subject close to her heart - she's involved with the non-profit organisation Dads and Daughters and helped set up See Jane (seejane.org),  which lobbies for greater balance between the numbers of male and female characters in children's television and movies. 'It would be hard to argue that kids are better off if characters in movies and TV  shows they watch are predominantly male,' Davis says. 'For boys to see girls taking up half the space on the planet is a really good thing. And for girls to see themselves taking up half the space is a good thing.'

It doesn't hurt that, at 1.83 metres tall, Davis often finds herself towering above  men. So when the lead in Commander in Chief came around,  she was a logical choice. She admits that it might have been tailor-made for her.

'As soon as I heard about it, I thought, 'Why didn't I ever think of that?' I'm always thinking about, what do I want to play, what would be great, what would be fun and inspiring and challenging. And so I think playing the first female president is all of that. And it also just sort of made sense as far as the trajectory of my career has gone. I've increasingly wanted to play female characters that have interesting things to do, that are complicated, that are central to the story and that make their own choices about their own fate.

'And also [the fact] that women can watch and identify with it. I think there are so few opportunities for women to watch something and go, 'Yeah'. And I think I got spoiled early on. I mean, Thelma & Louise was that kind of experience where, if I'm driving in traffic sometimes, the car next to me would be honking wildly and it's a car full of women going, 'Whoo!' And that just doesn't happen when you're playing things like Earth Girls Are Easy. So I kind of got hooked on that.'

That her character is also a working mother was an attraction for Davis, who has three young children with Reza Jarrahy, her fourth husband, whom she married in 2001. Davis became a mother for the first time - at the age of 46 - in 2002 and has since given birth to twin boys. Davis' children are regular visitors to the set,  but juggling motherhood and a busy acting career is a constant challenge - an experience she's able to bring to her role in Commander in Chief.

'It would be the same for a female president as any working mother. It's just tough, but, you know, a lot of people don't have a choice about it. I mean, the vast majority of American women have to work. They don't have the luxury of saying, 'Well, should I stay home with the kids, or should I work?' The family needs that income, so you've just got to make it work somehow. And I think that's what we're trying to show with the president. You know, it's like the  highest and oddest example of it, but to see that the same kind of things go on in the First Family is pretty interesting.'

Although Davis' characters in Thelma & Louise and Commander in Chief couldn't be more different, she sees certain similarities between the two. 'The ultimate metaphor that Thelma & Louise had was that it was women who refused to give up control of their own lives. They took it as far as they could. And, you know, they fly off to freedom. And this character is trying to keep her moral centre  in the face of all this pressure and the wheeling and dealing that goes on in Washington. So, I think  that's really interesting. She  hears the advice but she has a gut instinct about what needs to be done.'

That Davis' president is guided by an overwhelming sense of moral purpose - she doesn't have to toe a strict party line - is one of Commander in Chief's hooks. So, does Davis believe that her character represents the presidency  as Americans would like it to be, rather than how it is? 'Absolutely. I don't think there's any question that watching this character fulfils the wish that we all have. We want to believe that the person we elect to represent us is going to have the moral fibre  and the backbone to do what's right, rather than what's forced upon and pushed upon them, what's politically expedient, what the polls say - that they're going to be somebody that will do the right thing for us. And I don't know that we can say that happens incredibly often. But it is what we want.'

Commander in Chief, ATV World,  Fridays, 9pm



This woman's place