Windows into The West Wing - by Patrick Webster (Paperback)

About the Book

""The West Wing, first broadcast in 1999, is thought by many to have been one of the most significant dramas shown on network television. Despite its overly idealized depiction of American political life, and blatant contradictions in the way we consider America, its values, its aspirations, and its behavior in the world, The West Wing nonetheless succeed in attaining popular national and international aesthetic appeal.This book aspires to explain the appeal of the show by considering issues such as race, religion, sexuality, disability, and education-from both a practical and theoretical perspective-through the lenses of feminism, gender theory, Marxism, psychoanalytical theories, structuralism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism, postmodernist approaches and more. These new interrogations of The West Wing seek to offer more informative and more revealing readings of one of the most significant television productions of recent times."-Provided by publisher"--

Book Synopsis

The West Wing, first broadcast in 1999, is thought by many to have been one of the most significant dramas shown on network television. Despite its overly idealized depiction of American political life, and blatant contradictions in the way we consider America, its values, its aspirations, and its behavior in the world, The West Wing nonetheless succeeds in attaining popular national and international aesthetic appeal.

This book aspires to explain the appeal of the show by considering issues such as race, religion, sexuality, disability, and education--from both a practical and theoretical perspective--through the lenses of feminism, gender theory, Marxism, psychoanalytical theories, structuralism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism and more. It seeks to offer informative and revealing readings of one of the most significant television productions of recent times.

About the Author

Patrick Webster is a musician, writer and university lecturer. A graduate and postgraduate of the University of Leeds, he has written on subjects including Stanley Kubrick and masculinity, ecology and dyslexia. He lives in Leeds, in the North of England.