Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Educates as It Entertains. That’s a Problem.
The series models its foreign policy dynamics on those of the real world. Here's the issue with that.
As promised, although admittedly delayed, here’s the second installment of my two-parter on “The Diplomat,” which was published today at World Politics Review (shoutout my employer).
To read the entire article, click here.
In the two months since “The Diplomat” premiered, much has been written about how realistic the show is, with most articles specifically focusing on the series’ depiction of the ins and outs of diplomacy. The series is still, as one would expect, a glamorized version of diplomacy. Still, many current and former diplomats said they were happy with the glamorization, especially since it may lead to a so-called Top Gun effect for the foreign service.
Glamorization isn’t always positive, though, as the effect of “spytainment” on the intelligence community shows. Still, the bigger issue with “The Diplomat” has less to do with its depiction of the inner workings of diplomacy. After all, spytainment has mass appeal and depicts organizations whose inner workings are purposefully cloaked in secrecy. Political dramas, on the other hand, tend to attract an older, more educated audience that will mostly have an awareness that what they are seeing is a dramatization.
What the series’ audience may be less aware of, however, is the state of international politics and the debates occurring in the foreign policy sphere. While some political dramas build their worlds around fictional events, debates and political priorities, “The Diplomat” makes the very specific choice to place its characters in a fictional world where the dynamics of international politics mirror, for the most part, the dynamics of the real world—yet another nod to authenticity.
Read the rest here.
That’s all for this edition of Cansler Culture. Some stuff on AI and poptimism and maybe the masculinity crisis coming in July.