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Using
Prime-Time
Fiction to
Teach
Politics in the
Classroom
A Discussion on THE WEST WING
and BORGEN as Media Resources
Maria Cervera (Plano a Plano, Spain)
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I thought it was very interesting that in our self-sufficient
western democracies, we don't want to bother with defending
democracy. Perhaps we don't even vote. And yet when we
[don’t] have democracy, we're willing to die for it. And that is an
interesting dilemma; how can we stand up for democracy when
so many are so cynical about it? That was perhaps the very
beginning of Borgen for me.
Adam Price, creator of Borgen
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Introduction
Media, Politics and Education

Talking politics at school proofs a difficult matter:
indoctrination, accusations of partisanism
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However a key educational point specially for
students close to voting age.
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Case Study Spain: Passivism and lack of participation,
suspicion of corruption, crisis of ideas, political fight
over “Civics” subject
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Voting survey June 2013 in Spain among 18-30 year-olds
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EU level survey among 15 to 30-year-olds from
different social and demographic groups
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 375 – TNS Political & Social. European Youth:
Participation in Democratic Life. May 2013
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Introduction
Media, Politics and Education
FICTION

Fiction characters are easier to relate to and analyze than reallife people.
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BUT: students need to learn to identify drama constructions
(Media Literacy)
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Introduction
Media, Politics and Education
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Why these shows?
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BUT both The West Wing and Borgen base on the premise
that there are some “politicians who really care”.
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Influence between media and politics is cause of debate.
Politics frequently portrayed as a field of corruption (House of
Cards, Crematorio)
Politics becomes an aspirational occupation
Goal: Helping students close to voting age understand
democratic institutions and develop their own political
mindset
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Case Study
Making Politics Popular
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Case Study
Making Politics Popular
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US. NBC 1999-2006. Winner of many Emmy
Awards. Great Ratings success. Created by
Aaron Sorkin
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Made Americans believe they could trust
their politicians again
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Follows the members of a newly formed
Democrat government staff through their 8
years in the White House. Case-of-the-day
structure plus season arc. Ensemble cast
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Portrays the (Democrat) White House Staff
as engaged, over-prepared, workaholic, but
lovable people who only have the peoples’
best interest in mind
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Deals with the most important events on
the US political calendar cycle (caucus,
elections, voting,…)
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Although liberal idearium is evident, most
Democrats and (some) Republicans are
seen through a positive light.
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The character of President Barlett evolves
from a distant, father-like figure to a more
present one, never losing the halo of
greatness traditionally connected with
this figure in the American imaginarium.
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Person-centered vision of politics.
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Case Study
Regenerating a Political Utopia
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Case Study
Regenerating a Political Utopia
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Denmark. DR 2010-2013. Has achieved
international acclaim in recent years. Very
popular in the UK (BBC), being
considered for US remake, sold to over 75
countries. Created by Adam Price
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Premise reflects the ideal of starting an
alternative government out of the
established parties (Season 1) and
evolves towards the idealistic foundation
of a new party (Season 3).
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Case-of-the-day structure plus season arc.
Follows hero Birgitte Nyborg
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Portrait of the government staff more
diverse: coalitions, balance of power,
counselors, with different motivations.
More negative characters
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Media and politics have more interaction
than on The West Wing, with characters
moving between the worlds
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Nyborg is a human President with no
absolute power. She evolves and
completes a classic hero’s journey
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Practical Tools
Possibilities in the Classroom
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Use episodes (beware of attention span) or clips to
showcase topics.
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Institutions, separation of powers, relationship media and
politics, European/International policies...
How is USA/Denmark similar/different to our local system?
Debates: Women in power, the power of media, pros and
cons of coalitions, family and work life, international
influence of US politics…
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Practical Tools
Possibilities in the Classroom
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Media Literacy: How are characters and situations
portrayed?
 How do creators make the audience care/despise the
characters?
 What is the role of the younger characters in these
shows? How are they portrayed?
 Discuss use of casting, light, music, wardrobe and other
filmic elements beyond the script.
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Practical Tools
How do creators make audiences care/despise the characters?
Pilou Asbæ plays smart spin
doctor Kasper Juuls
Actor Ole Thestrup characterized as Svend Åge Saltum,
ultra-conservative Freedom Party leader and swine farmer
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Practical Tools
Analysis: How are the younger characters portrayed?
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Practical Tools
Analyzing a sequence: Birgitte Nyborg’s Candidate Speech
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Practical Tools
Analyzing a sequence: Birgitte Nyborg’s Speech on Foreign Aid
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Practical Tools
Analyzing a sequence: Josh Lyman’s explanation of 9/11
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Practical Tools
Possibilities in the Classroom
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Reality vs Fiction: use real-life clips and compare them to clips
from the shows.
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Debate: do journalistic media construct realities?
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Role-Playing: Be in the shoes of one of the characters and
write an essay/speech from this point of view; debate in class.
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Local adaptation: Rewrite scenes (and dub them?) changing
the background to their own country.
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Selected Resources
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The West Wing. NBC 1999-2006
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Borgen. DR 2010-2013
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third and final series. The Guardian, 14 Nov
2013
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Kegel, S.: “Borgen”: Wir tun Dinge, die uns
nicht gefallen, Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung, 21 Nov 2012 (in German)
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Journell, W.; Buchanan, L. B.: Making Politics
Palatable: Using Television Drama in High
School Civics and Government Classes.
Social Studies., Vol. 103 Issue 1, Jan/Feb 2012
Berry, R.: They're Remaking Borgen in
America? Now I Do Need to Suspend My
Disbelief, The Huffington Post UK, 31 Jan 2012
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Beavers, S.L.: The West Wing as a
Pedagogical Tool. Political Science & Politics.
Jun. 2002
Episode Guides:
www.linktv.org/borgen/press and
www.westwingepguide.com
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tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Bo
rgen
Richardson, K.; Corner, J.: Assessing
Television’s ‘Political Dramas’. Sociology
Compass, Vol. 6, Issue 12, December 2012
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tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Th
eWestWing?from=Main.TheWestWing
Jeffries, S: Borgen creator Adam Price on
what's next for Birgitte Nyborg in the show's
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Wikipedia, IMdB, YouTube, Google Search
Flash Eurobarometer 375 – TNS Political &
Social. European Youth: Participation in
Democratic Life. May 2013
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Thank you for your attention!
Any thoughts?
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mcervera@ucla.edu @teletuiteando