Series for Social Change? From Sorkin to Simon: The Portrayal of Democracy in Television Fiction

From the West Wing of the White House to Borgen, from The Wire to The Thick of It, over the last 20 years television fiction has shown us many different ways of doing politics and of conveying politicians. Evil, useless, charismatic, intelligent or utopian. On the small screen there is as much room for the greed and perversion of Frank Underwood (or Francis Urqhart in House of Cards) as for the honesty and social commitment of Birgitte Nyborg (Borgen). Democracy is in danger and we are informed of this by the television series of the 21st century, whether from the utopia of Aaron Sorkin or the hyper-realism of David Simon. An alarm bell for heightening awareness, informing and provoking the television viewer.