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Popular Culture Review
several White House staffers and some members of a conservative Christian
coalition. As Bartlet enters the room, Toby Ziegler, his communications
director, and one of the Christian coalition members are arguing about the First
Commandment. The coalition member, John Van Dyke, has said it is “Honor
thy father.” Ziegler says it’s not.
VAN DYKE: Then what’s the First Commandment?
BARTLET {speaking loudly as he walks through the door into
the room): “I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt
worship no other God before me.” Boy, those were
the days, huh?
Bartlet is a president who takes over a room, not simply because of his title,
but because he commands attention. Allen, on the other hand, is a quieter
presence who, even when she does take charge, does so without the force or
passion that Bartlet seems to bring to the job. This study, which focuses on the
first season of The West Wing and the first and only season of Commander in
Chief, examines the differences in the portrayals of these two fictional presidents
and at the role that gender plays in the way the characters were written.
A Woman in the White House
When ABC announced that the United States would have a woman
president—albeit a fictional one—critics flocked to the show. New York Times
writer Alessandra Stanley called Commander in Chief “a. feminist twist on ‘The
West Wing,’” (Bl) and then said the show was well written with a playful
premise. John Fund, writing for The Wall Street Journal, said that the new series
would pit “Academy Award-winner Geena Davis against the patriarchal world
of national politics until her ‘You Go, Girl!’ attitude puts to rest the doubts of
her many detractors” (1). The idea of a woman president became fodder for
reviews, tabloids, and countless columns, and even landed Davis a spot—
alongside President George W. Bush—as one of Time magazine’s “People Who
Mattered” in 2005 (148). What is especially notable in the media coverage of the
show, though, is that Davis’s physical appearance often got top play. Kristen
Lombardi, writing for the Village Voice, noted Davis’s “power-flip hairdo and
ruby lips” in her story on the program (1). And Tom Shales, a Washington Post
writer, used his lead to focus on her appearance above all else. He wrote:
Geena Davis can veto my legislation anytime. Starring as the
first woman to hold the highest office in the land, Davis
reminds us what we have missed in most of our past, real-life
presidents: cuteness. She’s got a twinkle in her eye, a twinkle
in her smile, a twinkle everywhere. She’s President Twinkle—
just what we need to tame the extreme, charm the militant,
inspire the troops (C1).
James Poniewozik, writing for Time magazine, noted that the first female
president was, well, “very tall” (90):