Fictional Politics on TV: Comparing the Representations of Political Reality in the U.S. Series The West Wing and the German Series Kanzleramt

Authors

  • Cordula Nitsch Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf
  • Christiane Eilders Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf

Keywords:

fictionalization of politics, TV-series, The West Wing, Kanzleramt, content analysis, international comparison, fictional entertainment

Abstract

It is generally agreed upon that fictional stories can serve as sources for the audience’s perceptions of reality. This also includes the political realm. Our paper examines the fictional representation of politics in the U.S. series The West Wing and its German adaption, Kanzleramt. The comparative content analysis concentrates on political actors and political themes as key parameters of fictional politics. It investigates whether the national political context is reflected in the political dramas. Results show a rather small impact of national contexts. This indicates that the logic of fictionalization levels out national differences in shaping fictional politics.

Author Biographies

Cordula Nitsch, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf

Cordula Nitsch (PhD, University of Augsburg) is a post-doc at the Institute of Social Sciences, Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Her research focuses on political communication, entertainment, fictional media content, and media effects.

Christiane Eilders, Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf

Christiane Eilders (PhD, University of Munich) is full professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Her research focuses on political communication in general and public spheres more specifically. Current projects deal with the spiral of silence, cultivation, and online communication.

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How to Cite

Nitsch, C., & Eilders, C. (2015). Fictional Politics on TV: Comparing the Representations of Political Reality in the U.S. Series The West Wing and the German Series Kanzleramt. Global Media Journal - German Edition, 5(1). Retrieved from https://globalmediajournal.de/index.php/gmj/article/view/62

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2015): Spring/Summer 2015: Special Issue: Contemporary TV Drama Series

Section

Peer-Reviewed Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2015 Cordula Nitsch, Christiane Eilders

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.