[Note: There are many spoilers in this film review, please read the full season
later ] Maybe many years later, when House of Cards When various indicators-including ratings, Emmy awards, Netflix 2013 performance, word of mouth of film critics, etc.-have achieved impressive results, there will be hard-core movie fans who want to visit the filming location. Sniff the political atmosphere of the Chinese Government on the screen.
They will find that the main scene in the film only takes place within a three-mile radius, and it takes no effort to walk.
Washington DC is a special existence. The name of "Washington City" came later than the positioning of the city itself. At the beginning of the founding of the United States, there were differences between the North and the South on the matter of determining the capital. In the end, the capital was neither New York nor a city in the south. The city, then called "The Federal City" (The Federal City), finally won this honor. On September 9, 1791, "Federal City" was renamed "Washington City". The result of "compromise" has finally witnessed the birth and development of political compromise stories one after another.
The story of "House of Cards" happened here.
Washington, DC was built on the Potomac River. The Lincoln Memorial on the North Shore and the Washington Monument are parallel to each other and echo each other. Along this horizontal axis to the east, you can reach Capitol Hill, where the Senate and House of Representatives are located, and the Supreme Court to the east. On the northern bank of the Potomac River, the political system of separation of powers that the United States is proud of runs. The "Covenant Bible" records that Sodom is a city that indulges in male sex and adultery. In English, it is a derogatory term. Here it means a dark and corrupt politician).
If you borrow the method of examining Beijing’s "central axis," you can walk north along the Washington Monument, less than one mile, to the White House, where the administrative branch of the United States is located. This "one horizontal" and "one vertical" constitute the big stage of Washington politics.
On the north side of the White House, K Street (K Street) crosses, all the way east, and meets North Capitol Street from north to south. Once here, you are not far from Union Station. If it is a short trip, many White House staff, members of Capitol Hill, lobbyists and other public officials will travel from this station to all directions-they may go to Boston to contact well-known lawyers who can speak eloquently, or to the electoral district to communicate and meet with voters.
The 2003 mini-series K Street ("The Street in Front of the White House") brought American lobbyists to the screen. The background of the story is K Street in Washington, where a large number of think tanks, lobbying groups and public relations companies are located. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are also located here. In this mini-series, whether it is dealing with the executive branch of the White House or balancing the interests of all parties on Capitol Hill, ultimately ensuring the passage of a bill that benefits the interest groups that you represent, and through the producers’ shaping and combining of the real and the fictional characters in the play Performance, audiences can find answers to related questions from the show.
In such a neat and horizontal layout, Pennsylvania Avenue crosses it diagonally. This road connecting the White House and Capitol Hill has become synonymous with power. At the four-year presidential inauguration, the new president—the man considered the most powerful in the world—convoy will pass through Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House to begin his presidential career.
If you are a road idiot, you will definitely scold your mother after reading the above text. Most of the time, in terms of impact, simple text is definitely no better than empathetic pictures and videos. Then we might as well go back to the opening credits of each episode of "House of Cards". In the opening song of 1 minute and 25 seconds: 36 pictures appear one after the other, and Washington of day and night appears before our eyes. In addition to the White House, Capitol Hill, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Grand Central Station mentioned above, you can also see East Capitol Hill Road, the World War II Memorial, Reflecting Pool, and the Ulysses Grant Memorial Statue. Everything and everything tell you: Welcome to Washington DC!
The Democratic Party whip of the US House of Representatives Frank Underwood (Frank Underwood) is a long-sleeved political veteran. After graduating from Harvard Law School, his political career went smoothly, becoming the youngest legislator of the state legislature in South Carolina's history and the Democratic Party whip in the House of Representatives. His wife Clair runs a non-profit organization that aims to provide drinking water and other assistance to underdeveloped areas. But apart from this statement, Clair's career seems to be an important bargaining chip in her husband's political career.
Although there are no children, the lives of the two are still happy and rushing. Mr. Underwood even has a leisure time to go to the well-known "fly restaurant" in Washington to taste pork chops.
However, when he learned that he could not serve as the Secretary of State as promised by the previous president, Underwood's life track changed.
American political drama has a long history. Director Frank Capra’s "Mr. Diez Goes into Town" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" depict the ugly side of the politics of the US Congress. The recent "Newsroom" (The Newsroom) also fully demonstrated the symbiotic relationship between American politics and the media.
And "The West Wing" (The West Wing), which premiered in 2000, is the pinnacle of a political drama. The seven-season drama has shaped the overall picture of the political ecology of Washington during the two terms of office. "The White House", which has won multiple Emmy awards, has laid the foundation for a number of "must-have plots" of political drama: flesh and blood politicians, difficult to coordinate interests, based on current controversial topics, and the agenda setting of the liberals behind the film .
In addition to many of the above characteristics, "House of Cards" also continues an important motivation for the development of the plot: desire.
Desire stems from the thirst for power. When Underwood lost his election as Secretary of State, his infinite loss and anger became the fuse of all events.
Underwood often said that money is not hard to buy, but loyalty is hard to buy. In a series of political operations, he insisted on practicing this principle: to buy the loyalty of everyone. Facing Zoe, he firmly believed that he had the initiative. Zoe was like a sheep waiting to be fed, without the strength to fight back; Facing Congressman Russo, Underwood held the handle and played Russo between the palms, whether it was Encourage him to betray the voters or urge him to run for governor. The ultimate winner will always be Underwood himself; in the face of his personal bodyguard, Underwood ordered him to be a silent "rock", like a dog. Obedience is enough; even facing the president's chief of staff, Underwood believes that she can buy off her "loyalty" by helping her children enroll in school.
Loyalty, the eternal theme of Washington. Even in the locker rooms and gyms on Capitol Hill, the breath of these two words lingers. American political commentator Chris Mattews once said: If you want to make a friend, ask him to do you a favor. In a political arena full of profit transactions, experienced politicians are good at getting what they want from them by telling others what they love to hear.
In 2001, Bush Jr., who won the "General Election of the Century", appointed Paul O'Neil as Secretary of the Treasury at the beginning of his term. O'Neill, who is outspoken and daring to speak, often makes remarks that conflict with Bush's administrative branch. The conflicts in anti-terrorism and the war in Iraq are especially obvious. Just as Bush Sr. wrongly chose Souter to serve as Supreme Justice (Judge Souter is not a representative of the conservatives, which is equivalent to Sr. Bush sending the spokesperson of the liberal camp to the Supreme Court), so his son's choice in the Treasury "Father's" style. After leaving office, O'Neill was interviewed by reporters and recalled many feuds and even quarrels between himself and Bush. The conflict between roles and opinions made him miserable. In the end, in less than two years, Bush replaced O'Neill with John Snow.
The reporter’s interviews and a large number of detailed documents were finally compiled and published. The title of the book was "The Price of Loyalty" (The Price of Loyalty).
No matter how deliberate politicians are, there are also mistakes, and no matter how carefully weaving spider webs, there are also flaws. We often use "black swan" to describe the uncertainties and emergencies in economic operations. For Underwood, everything he manages is still a problem.
Finally, the crisis broke out.
The Underwood couple in the kitchen had a fierce quarrel.
The logic here seems quite simple: the wife believes that the Secretary of State is favored by her man, and she should help herself in her man's sake. However, in the eyes of her husband, this is simply nonsense, because not only is there no "receiving", but many diplomatic efforts are in vain. It can only be said that "everything is settled and everything is done in a hurry." I can't urge the Secretary of State to get this done. It seems that the core of the problem lies in the inability of the State Secretary.
But in fact, the fundamental contradiction between the two is that the chain of exchange of interests between husband and wife is broken.
Yes, this sounds too cruel-even husbands and wives need a chain of exchange of interests! But this is the fact before Underwood, and it is also the seed planted by the couple when they joined in their early years. Wife Clair once said frankly to her photographer lover that when faced with many suitors, she knew that only Underwood could give her what she wanted. The implication was that when her husband could not give what she wanted When things happen, the marriage falls apart.
In all fairness, this really does not blame her husband. Politics is a sophisticated chessboard. The difference between masters and ordinary players lies in whether they can understand the intricate situation through the fog and know how to make the next move. But the difficulty is that this game of chess is not played by two people. Too many unknowns make it possible for the most outstanding players to fall under the rookie's stinky move.
Looking back along the timeline, it is difficult to say what went wrong with the game designed by Underwood. Perhaps it was his inability to cultivate Remy as his former press spokesperson, which caused Remy today to fight against his former boss in pursuit of fame and gain; perhaps the call girl Rachel was unable to keep secrets, making his staff Doug tired of coping. Eventually it was a catastrophe; of course, the more likely explanation could only be: Underwood didn't control his crotch stuff. Is it true that only by having a relationship with reporter Zoe can you get what you want?
Jobs taught people "Connecting the Dots", but there are some things, even in hindsight, we are not so easy to understand.
In any case, when the story progresses to Ruso's selection of governors, the development of the situation has developed in a direction beyond Underwood's control.
However, even if everything is under the control of Underwood, this kind of powerlessness still does not blame her husband, and of course, she does not blame herself, because they all have an insurmountable calamity: aging.
Clair and Underwood knew that their worst enemy was time. When Clair insists on running in the morning (even at night when there is no time during the day), and when Underwood chooses the Rowing machine, what we see is the infinite enthusiasm for eternal youth. Yes, they can't grow old, because the "power never sleeps" above Washington, politicians are fighting for energy, and whether they can appear radiantly in the push of a cup and a change of lights seems to have become a sign of judging a successful politician. For Clair, the nature of a woman makes her work harder-even if it is not for my career, I have to run for my beauty.
It sounds beautiful, but the rope of Underwood's rowing machine is still broken. Clair accidentally ran into the cemetery and was scolded and cursed by the old man-everything seemed to be a truth, and all the results seemed about to be fulfilled. .
During the quarrel in the kitchen, Underwood accidentally broke the bowl and cut his hand (S01E09).
Remember the poster of "House of Cards"? The bloody hand held up the "V" sign of victory. At this time, Underwood seemed like Ah Q, not believing that the arrival of the crisis had already eroded the hope of victory.
Politics has always been a game of the brave, and a game of collaborators. Therefore, the fearless collaborator is the most terrible. When "one's own person" becomes an unstable factor, no one can predict the outcome.
We might as well think that politics is a two-person rowing, two people rely on each other, and no one can bear the consequences of the other party's failure. The painting when Underwood and reporter Zoe met for the first time (double rowing) seemed to confirm this statement.
View more about House of Cards reviews
