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January 06, 2005
No One Comes Out on The West Wing
by Malinda Lo
AfterEllen.com
This year marks the sixth season of the Emmy Award-winning NBC series The West Wing. Some of the shine has come off the series by now, with many critics no longer wondering whether the show has jumped the shark, but speculating which episode was the one that pushed it over the edge into has-been territory. At this time in a television series, producers are likely to pull some tricks out of the old keep-the-show-alive hat that include allowing the actors to write or direct episodes, and anything to do with lesbians.
This week’s episode, titled “Faith Based Initiative,” was The West Wing’s opportunity to check off two boxes at once. Written by actor Bradley Whitford (who also plays Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman) in his first screenplay, the episode is typical of The West Wing in that it deals with a hot-button issue (gay marriage) while simultaneously telling a personal story that intersects with the issue (C. J. is accused by an internet blog of being a lesbian).
Don’t worry—with The West Wing we at least know we’re not going to get two straight women kissing; in fact we’re not going to get anyone kissing. The episode turns out to be a fair and balanced summary of where we are as a nation in terms of gay rights; in other words, lots of debating but not a lot of action from both sides of the political spectrum. Your left-leaning liberals spouting civil rights ideals, your right-wing politicians quoting passages from the Bible, your middle-of-the-roaders arguing both sides of the fence.
This resulted in an episode that was mostly inoffensive, but also mostly dull. Nevertheless, overnight ratings for “Faith Based Initiative” showed The West Wing in the top ten shows on Wednesday night, taking the sixth spot just ahead of CBS’s 60 Minutes and just behind CSI:NY. That means that over eight million people watched last night’s episode, and got a handy primer on the gay marriage debate.
The episode opens with a close-up shot of C.J. Cregg (Alison Janney) putting on her lipstick, only to be interrupted by the shrill beeping of her Blackberry. Can you get any more overtly symbolic? When C.J. takes a look at the incoming message she declares in disgust, “My god—are you kidding me?” It turns out that an internet blog has accused her of being a lesbian.
Once C.J. strides briskly into the White House to do her duty as Chief of Staff, her assistant reads to her from the blog: “What team does she play on? Washington abuzz about fresh allegations that a certain former Bartlet Administration press secretary may have more than a passing interest in pursuing what many have described as a radical homosexual agenda.”
Dismissing the blog’s accusation as unimportant in relation to the business of running the country, C.J. nonetheless asks the White House’s media consultant, Annabeth Schott (Kristin Chenoweth), to draft a statement. Annabeth quips, “You want to emphatically deny something you have no problem with and make it publicly clear that this is a private matter.”
Meanwhile, it turns out that conservative Senator Wilkinson has attached a Sanctity of Marriage Act to the budget bill—something that throws the West Wing staffers for a loop because it’s President Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) last budget, and it’s important for his legacy that he get it passed. Unfortunately, the Sanctity of Marriage Act puts President Bartlet—currently struggling with MS—in a sticky situation. He won’t agree to veto it, knowing that could be political suicide, but he doesn’t want it on the bill either. As White House Director of Communications Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) eloquently puts it, “This amendment isn’t about protecting marriage, it’s about institutionalizing the last acceptable form of discrimination.” Score one for gay rights activists!
In order to get the act off the budget bill, Toby and Josh lobby numerous members of Congress with pork barrel tidbits as well as moral grandstanding. Vice President Russell (Gary Cole) even gives a natty little speech about how he loves his gay nephew, but it’s more important to pass the budget. “Five thousand years of socialization didn’t go out the window with the first Village People album,” Russell says. “You do this wrong and there’ll be a backlash that sets us back 50 years. You do it right, we’ll be there in ten.” Score one for the moderates!
As the day goes on, C.J.’s alleged lesbianism increasingly dominates the news cycle, until we are granted an impassioned speech from C.J. to ex-Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), in which she declares that she is “heterosexual,” just in case any of the West Wing viewers weren’t clear on that. She goes on to explain the plight of the successful career woman, which has resulted in most men being afraid of her independence and success, leaving her with “bad numbers, really rough stuff” in terms of romantic possibilities. “You just want to share it all with someone, you know?” she says plaintively. Yes, C.J.—and so do gay people.
Eventually Senator Wilkinson, sponsor of the anti-gay marriage bill, meets with President Bartlet in the sanctity of the White House. President Bartlet hopes to convince Wilkinson to take the marriage act off the budget bill by explaining that as president he raised his right hand and swore to uphold the US Constitution, which guarantees equal rights for all. Wilkinson asks him, “Where was your left hand, Mr. President?” Score one for the religious right!
In the end, C.J. doesn’t give in to the temptation to state that she’s straight; instead she tells the waiting press that “it’s none of your business.” If only a real-life situation were to play out this way. In the real world, it’s much more likely that a high-powered political figure would either respond with a statement denying the accusation, or they would be forced to come out. After Monicagate, there’s no such thing as “it’s none of your business.” Which just goes to show that The West Wing is, after all, only a television show.
Now that George W. Bush has been elected to a second term, The West Wing seems even more like a fantasy Democratic administration, in which all the things that Democrats wish they could do in reality are played out on the small screen. You can’t really fault The West Wing for providing a fair and balanced look at the gay marriage debate. But it’s too bad that The West Wing didn’t actually say anything new about it, and instead just rehashed what most Americans are likely to already know.
And it’s also too bad that C.J. really isn’t gay--because that would really be something.
Posted by Jo at January 6, 2005 09:53 PM