Downton Abbey, Season 5, Episode 1 (clip: minute: 10:20)

Title: Downton Abbey, Season 5, Episode 1 (clip: minute: 10:20)

Tags: established power, expectation, power dynamics, Power Elites, power positioning, right to power, social structure, social vs. political power, strategic command posts, symbolic power, tradition

Author: Savannah Hillebrand

Date: March 23, 2015

Summary: 

       The first episode of season one contains many allusions to the changing times of 1924. One of the most significant of the instances in which this theme is illustrated is when the villagers ask Carson, Downton’s butler, to head the committee of the war memorial instead of Lord Gratham. This surprises and unsettles Lord Gratham and puts Carson in an uncomfortable position, as his social standing and his traditional values are questioned.

Analysis: 

      Many of the concepts of C. Wright Mills, author of The Power Elite, can be applied handily to various episodes of power dynamics found in Downton Abbey. The social influence that such power elites possess is addressed in this affirmation by Mills: “They [the power elite] occupy the strategic command posts of the social structure, in which are now centered the effective means of the power and the wealth and the celebrity which they enjoy” (Mills, The Power Elite, p. 4). This quote is about symbolic power and power positioning. Power is a tool and a resource and can function as a way to establish rules within society of “who befits what.” This quote hits a couple crucial points, such as how the old aristocracy occupies a strategic command post within the established social structure, which is the foundation of their power, wealth, and celebrity. It successfully illustrates how certain members of the elite, those who are not necessarily directly involved in political processes, yet contain great influence and sway in the social realm, rely on their established, inherited, bestowed, and symbolic power, which is crucial to maintaining their privileged position and social authority.

       In this video clip, Lord Grantham expects tradition and adherence to the codes of comportment of established class structures to dictate all “scenes of the script.” Therefore, he is shocked when the villagers ask Carson (his butler) to head the committee, instead of asking him, on whom everyone expects the honor to be bestowed. Robert is accustomed to being the bearer of the greatest social influence, and cannot help but believe deep down that he is the rightful and appropriate figurehead of any village initiative. Though honored by the offer, Carson is also deeply uncomfortable with the prospect, and his reaction is perhaps the most fascinating to consider from a power analysis perspective. Here we see deference to an established, traditional power that has been accepted as completely legitimate, even though the power does not make a formal advance to assert its dominance over that which is "subordinate."  Despite this, Carson feels bound to perpetuate the old, established norms. His conflicted state has less to do with respect for Robert per say, and more to do with feeling compelled to align his actions with the established power dynamics of the time, which dictate that it is appropriate for the committee to extend the honor to Robert, who is of a much higher socio-economic standing (and thus occupies a position of great power) than Carson is. 

Downton Abbey, Season 2 Episode 8 (25:39-27:10)

Title: Downton Abbey, Season 2 Episode 8 (25:39-27:10)

Tags: Power Elites, Power Positions, Social hierarchy, Social norms, social structure, Access to power, 

Author: T. Stachowiak

Date: April 27th, 2015

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Downton Abbey:

The PBS and BBC Masterpiece drama, Downton Abbey, focuses on the Crawley family and residents of the household during 1912-1924. It is a perfect example of Mills classical power display, focusing on how the aristocracy and the household staff interact. Focusing on Mills’ Theory of Balance and how the characters uphold and challenge their society’s social structures. “It is very difficult to give up the old model of power as an automatic balance, with its assumptions of a plurality of independent, relatively equal, and conflicting groups of the balancing society.” (p.234) Thus, we can see Mills’ theories enacted in which all social classes work to maintain the norm. Mills’ theory of balance includes Tom Branson, a chauffeur, and Lady Sybil, daughter of Lord Grantham. They, unlike Carson, challenge the balance because they fall in love and want to be married. They try to change the minds of the aristocracy, however Lord Grantham greatly opposes because he thinks he knows what is best for Sybil. In his efforts to stop the marriage he tries to pay off Tom so he will leave the family alone. Tom doesn’t take the money and he states that he will not take the money because not everyone can be paid off like ‘people of his kind’ think is possible for every situation. This statement also shows that Branson tries to show that he deserves social power although he is 'under' Lord Grantham. This scene also displays the transition of power happening during the time. 

Tyrant, Season 1, Episode 4 (14:04-16:17)

Tags: capacity, culture, decision making, positions, power elite 
Author: Jasmine Brown 
Date: April 26th, 2015

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          In this excerpt from the show Tyrant, the viewer is presented first and foremost with a quite literal demonstration of what C. Wright Mills identifies as the three central domains of power in society: the military, corporate and political elite. In this scene, the President of Abbudin (a fictional Middle Eastern country), Jamal Al-Fayeed, is consulting his counsel of advisors, among who are his uncle and leader of the military, Tariq, and his brother Bassam, a doctor recently returned from the United States. Thus there is a member of the political elite (the president), the military elite (head of the military), and the corporate elite (a doctor) all participating in the same conversation through which one can observe how their interaction leads to decision-making.
          Due to his position as the president, Jamal possesses the most power in terms of the final say in decision-making and the ability to exercise his decisions; however his decisions are not made in isolation. Jamal most highly values the advice and opinion of his brother Bassam and therefor his decisions are for the most part Bassam’s decisions. So although Jamal may have the greatest capacity for power (as Lukes says), Bassam’s position as the brother wields the most influence. If we recall the definition of power as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others, it becomes slightly more difficult to trace the seat of power even from a very observable and one-dimensional perspective. Perhaps Bassam is the most powerful elite member in the room; however this can only be observed through a two- or three-dimensional analysis.
          Furthermore, the theories of Mills and Lukes have been largely influenced by the social structure of the United States as this was their primary area of study. It is interesting then to apply their thought to Tyrant, which is set in a very different cultural context. Here we witness family itself as an elite position within Middle Eastern cultures. Nepotism is an intrinsic aspect of this culture, with members of the same elite family commonly belonging to each of the three power elite domains. This also reflects Mills' idea that, for the elite, it is relatively easy to move between elite circles. In the United States, the military leader with his years of experience would likely have a stronger influence over the president’s decision than would the president’s brother. In the excerpt, however, we observed that this was not the case. Although the military leader is also a family member, the position of brother is more highly valued. In this example we can see that these theories cannot necessarily be applied universally; certain positions in one cultural context may possess more power than they would in another.

Tyrant, Season 1, Episode 1

Title: Tyrant, Season 1. Episode 1 (20:10-20:55)

Tags: Power Elites, Democracy, Public Action, Freedom, West, Psychological Illiteracy, Control, Totalitarianism, Dictatorship

Author: M. Dakkak

Date: Mar. 30, 2015

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A Cable Network FX TV Series, Tyrant is an American drama television series based on a fictional Middle Eastern country Abbudin which is ruled by a tyrant who uses and abuses the privilege of power. With an application of Mills' The Power Elite, this analysis explores a scene where the main notions proposed by Mills come into place. The scene illustrates the role of the Power Elite in making decisions regarding all aspects of a nation hence gaining control over military, economic and social power. The notions of democracy and freedom are frowned upon as they go against order and control. The president -the Tyrant views his power position as a governor against chaos. He uses Mills' proposed notions of psychological illiteracy through psychic management and manipulation to persuade people to think that freedom is simultaneously linked with chaos and disaster. The scene also shows the Dictator supporting Mills' notion of Public Action, which is taken only by the assumed needs, and decisions of experts rather than the man on the street. Bassam on the other hand, the Westernized son of the Tyrant, presents the hybridity between the two where he brings notions of American/Western democracy to the East. Being a member of the Elite himself, he gains power within the Elite circle, yet also struggles to guide actions towards modern-day Western ideologies as opposed to the totalitarian dictatorship of Abbudin. 

House of Cards, Season 2, Episode 2

Title: House of Cards, Season 2, Episode 2

Tags: democracy, power elites, connections, public relations 

Author: A. Vogelaar

Date: Feb. 1, 2015

Summary analysis: Netflix wildly powerful, House of Cards, is a dark but poignant drama about the reach, extent and complexity of power in contemporary American politics and society. This analysis applies the thinking of C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite, to the drama such that it may help us ilustrate and better understand Mills' thinking and concepts. At its core, the television drama is a dramatization (and implicit critique/mockery) of Mills assertion that vast concentrations of power had coagulated in three increasingly inter-related organizations in America: the political, corporate and military 'elite'; and that America, as such, was not a 'democracy.' Though the 'players' in House of Cards are different, the 'positions' are not and indeed the show is an excellent illustration of Mills' concern over "the development of a permanent war establishment by a privately incorporated economy inside a political vacuum" (p. 19).  In the specific excerpt shown here, the main character, Frank Underwood, is commenting (during his confirmation as Vice President of the United States of America) about the'theater' of American democracy. Through what we are led to believe are not atypical (be they unethical) political maneuvers, Underwood secures a position in the top tier of American political power without ever having to be subjected to a democratic vote. Instead, Underwood uses his political, economic and military connections and debts (and public relations prowess) to maneuver his way to the top.