24 is Office Politics

Denny · 03-29-2006, 06:45 PM

EW analyzed the latest episode of 24 and points to office politics.

if there weren't office politics, the show would be called 12

As most viewers have become aware, 24 is not about terrorism or counterterrorism. It's about politics. Office politics, yes -- it's the only show that's at once audacious, fatuous, and, sadly, realistic enough to show officials dithering over desk space and protocol while the world goes to hell. But 24 is also about American politics, on micro and macro scales. Each passing season is a mirror of our national and political self-image.

The tone of the show was set: The world is a dangerous place, and so America needs dangerous men -- like Jack Bauer -- to protect her. Bauer steadily loses his humanity throughout that first season, and he's never regained it. He's been shorn of family and morality, and now serves only a reflexive notion of patriotism (which is challenged on a daily basis by all the traitorous "patriots" he encounters inside the U.S. government), a purely numerical sense of righteousness (choose the option where the fewest die, regardless of any other moral or legal consideration), and instinctive get-the-bad-guy bloodlust. (Dude loves to torture. At the drop of a hat, he will acquaint key parts of your anatomy with the wall socket.)

Which brings us up to present episodes. Last week, we saw Jack brutalize Audrey, the woman he loves, for her own good. (As is always the case with Jack, horrible things must be done to avert even more horrible things. In this case, more horrible things happen regardless: Audrey is tortured. Whew, that was close -- someone was almost not tortured on 24! I would've had to go out and kill something small and furry, just to achieve post-24 satisfaction.) We saw Edgar's replacement, Shari (Kate Mara, who played Alma Jr. in Brokeback Mountain), make a break in the case -- only to reveal herself as yet another hysterical woman! (Turns out she's paranoid about perceived sexual harassment.)

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006...tica.html#more

denny

MaTrIxLoVeR · 03-30-2006, 02:01 AM

Office politics combined with the drama and the action, makes up 24, and is a lethal combination. I believe that office politics is one of the very bests parts of 24. I love people lower on the political ladder stands up to a person on the higher ladder, just like the President's COS and the Vice. I love the tension of it, and it is just another great element that makes 24 the way it is today.

seeemilywrite · 05-20-2006, 11:26 AM

Why do you think so many people watch the show? Everyone can relate to it on some small level.

03-29-2006, 06:45 PM	#1
Denny Junior Member Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 14	24 is Office Politics EW analyzed the latest episode of 24 and points to office politics. if there weren't office politics, the show would be called 12 As most viewers have become aware, 24 is not about terrorism or counterterrorism. It's about politics. Office politics, yes -- it's the only show that's at once audacious, fatuous, and, sadly, realistic enough to show officials dithering over desk space and protocol while the world goes to hell. But 24 is also about American politics, on micro and macro scales. Each passing season is a mirror of our national and political self-image. The tone of the show was set: The world is a dangerous place, and so America needs dangerous men -- like Jack Bauer -- to protect her. Bauer steadily loses his humanity throughout that first season, and he's never regained it. He's been shorn of family and morality, and now serves only a reflexive notion of patriotism (which is challenged on a daily basis by all the traitorous "patriots" he encounters inside the U.S. government), a purely numerical sense of righteousness (choose the option where the fewest die, regardless of any other moral or legal consideration), and instinctive get-the-bad-guy bloodlust. (Dude loves to torture. At the drop of a hat, he will acquaint key parts of your anatomy with the wall socket.) Which brings us up to present episodes. Last week, we saw Jack brutalize Audrey, the woman he loves, for her own good. (As is always the case with Jack, horrible things must be done to avert even more horrible things. In this case, more horrible things happen regardless: Audrey is tortured. Whew, that was close -- someone was almost not tortured on 24! I would've had to go out and kill something small and furry, just to achieve post-24 satisfaction.) We saw Edgar's replacement, Shari (Kate Mara, who played Alma Jr. in Brokeback Mountain), make a break in the case -- only to reveal herself as yet another hysterical woman! (Turns out she's paranoid about perceived sexual harassment.) http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006...tica.html#more denny

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03-30-2006, 02:01 AM	#2
MaTrIxLoVeR Junior Member Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 20	Office politics combined with the drama and the action, makes up 24, and is a lethal combination. I believe that office politics is one of the very bests parts of 24. I love people lower on the political ladder stands up to a person on the higher ladder, just like the President's COS and the Vice. I love the tension of it, and it is just another great element that makes 24 the way it is today.

05-20-2006, 11:26 AM	#3
seeemilywrite Senior Member Active User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 115	Why do you think so many people watch the show? Everyone can relate to it on some small level.