As a counter-point to watching the wonderful Wag the Dog, I tried watching a couple highlight scenes of The West Wing (1999-2006) on Youtube. The show had a very large impact on liberal minds, to the point where modern liberals and establishment Republicans in DC act like they’re living out a West Wing episode everyday.
The scenes reek of Reddit-tier shitlib sanctimonious pigheadedness, of competence porn, a whitewashing of the neoliberal and ultimately neocon worldview through performative empathy. It was horrific and disgusting; I felt dirty and wanted to take a shower.
Maybe I should watch more of it to experience the horror of it more than just bits and pieces, but from the feedback I’ve seen about the show this energy permeates it throughout.