Homeland, Season 1, Episode 1

Title: Homeland, Season 1, Episode 1
Tags: Military Elites, Power Dynamics, Military Power, Status
Author: M. Giglioni
Date: 30 April 2015


Summary Analysis: Homeland is an American Television thriller produced by Showtime adapted from the 2010 Israeli drama series Prisoners of War. While it centers on the life of Sgt. Nicholas Brody, a recently released P.O.W. from the War on Terror, the show also features members of the CIA tasked with outing a possible P.O.W. turned sleeper agent by his captors. At its core, this drama/thriller serves as a discursive platform for the variety of power systems at play within the US military and government bodies while also touching on points relating to the civilian perspective on the Global war on terror and the life of a soldiers family. Each of these individual components aims to explicate a different form of power dynamic. However the most visible are those pertaining to the military systems of power as suggested by C. Wright Mills in his book The Power Elite, and the hierarchical power system made evident by Homeland’s focus on the internal dynamics at play within the CIA. This critique of Military Power Elites presents itself plainly within the bounds of the first episode of the series. Most primarily we are exposed to one of Mills’ core critiques of Military Elites in that a great deal of trust is afforded to Brody without regard for actual evidence to support his position in people’s eyes other than the fact that he has served in the military. Mill’s particularly points out that those who are esteemed members of the Military realm often have great influence over their colleagues in other fields of power (p.198). While Mill’s applies this most directly to high ranking officers (Generals and Admiral) such a concept can be generalized to include Sgt. Brody in this context as his particular situation allows him to be held in high standing by sheer virtue of the nature of his service. In short, throughout this episode we can see Brody passively utilizing his power status as he does little to imply that he should be implicitly trusted, instead his service record and time as a P.O.W. does this work for him. As a result, those around Brody treat him respectably despite the inherent fact that he may actually be a sleeper agent turned by his terrorist captors.

House of Cards: Power in the Modern State

House of Cards: Power in the Modern State
Capacity, Mills, power, power elite, religion, state

By Ashley Vandehey

https://youtu.be/DjhCemxQmts

            Episode Summary

Frank has a secret meeting in a church late at night, the same day that he makes a presidential decision that cost the lives of American Navy SEALs (an event which draws similarities to Operation Neptune Spear, carried out by SEAL team Six). The man Frank is speaking with, a military priest, tells him he was not chosen to rise to power and greatness. Then, pointing at the crucifix of Jesus says, "He is the only chosen one.” The man leaves and Frank goes to look up to Jesus wherein he says, "Love, that's what you're selling. Well I don't buy it." Frank then spits on Jesus. 
When he goes to wipe it off the figure comes crashing down and shatters all around Frank. As he leaves the church he takes the broken ear of the figure and says, "Well I've got God's ear now."


            Analysis

The Netflix television series House of Cards can do just about whatever it likes since it is not affiliated with a network; this includes addressing faith and religion with a certain vehemence that is not found in traditional network television series. House of Cards is able to confront the intersection of politics and faith like no other. This scene captures power dynamics relative to both the series and state governance. In it we see Frank’s true ethos to power. For a brief moment in this scene, we witness what could be the rediscovery of Frank’s moral compass (since we’re all fairly sure he lost his). But once alone, he commits what a shocking display of sacrilege that would never have been shown on network television. The fact that an episode, and a scene, like this alone cannot be broadcast on network television but through Netflix is additionally telling to who has power over the media. It is also incredibly symbolic towards where power is held in the modern state.

            On a microanalysis level, this scene further shows that the character Frank does not allow any outer power or agenda to surpass or interfere with his own. He worships his own power and capacity to fulfill he wants and needs, and refuses to rely on anyone else. I believe that is because when you rely on someone else, you are inadvertently giving them power over you. Kant referred to true enlightenment as thinking for oneself without needing the guidance of others, so in that respect Frank could be seen as wholly enlightened. Foucault believed that there is a deep and intimate connection between power and knowledge that makes their influence effective. Power in this respect coincides with Marx and Webber’s definition, in that it is the realization of one’s will despite the resistance of others, or in this scene, despite the gospels of Jesus. This scene coincides with another from Season 1 Chapter 13 where Frank says that he prays to himself, for himself. To Frank, his capacity, or ability to possess and carryout power and tasks, is greater than all those around him—save perhaps his wife Claire. The Gospel of Frank Underwood is that power is power, and he can whip anyone to his will whether they’re aware of it or not.

            The cinematography is expressing the power struggle between the modern roles of church and state. For centuries, before the rise of the modern state with the Treaty of Westphalia, the clergy held a majority of power both in government and personal lives. In Wells’s book, “The Power Elite” he dedicates chapters to relevant sources of power in the United States. Not one of these chapters is entitles The Clergy, or The Church, which I believe is truly relevant to the cycle of power dynamics in human history. Had a book on the power elite been written 200 years ago, the church would have without a doubt been a major influencer and propagator of power. The church and religion (at least in a Western context) has lost a lot of the power and influence it once had, while we see the rise of celebrity as a guide to moral behavior.

References

Gates, T., & Eason, L. (2015). Chapter 30 [episode 4]. In House of Cards. Netflix.