House of Cards- Production Analysis

This is a post related to a paper that I wrote for my COM311 course, "Money, Power and Communication" about the popular Netflix TV show, House of Cards.

While watching House of Cards, there are so many characters and plot lines to keep track of. The one that most captured my attention was the portrayal of women and journalists. House of Cards has an approach that is clouded with cynicism but I find it reliable because of the show writer's background working in politics. Beau Willimon was involved in many political campaigns, including the first one that harnessed the power of the internet. He brings in his knowledge of how internet and social media can be harnessed for both good and bad through Zoe Barnes' character, a  spritely young girl who wants to change the scene of journalism. 

Click below to read my entire paper.

When watching a show like House of Cards, it’s easy to get scared, intimidated and completely overwhelmed by the intensity of the characters and the plot. Suspension of reality is needed, but one has to wonder where some of the themes come from. Distributed by Netflix, the show was produced by Media Rights Capital, an independent film studio. House of Cards was a game-changer for both of these companies.

Media Rights Capital founded its television sector, MRC Television in 2008. (MRC Studios) Prior to House of Cards, it was known for producing Seth MacFarlane’s animated series “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy,” which generated more than 100 million web-based views. (Patel, 2014) From that experience, they learned that the internet is an ideal platform for long-form television series. Advertising and distribution were much more easily accessible through these means. Once the series was developed by David Fincher, who had a previous production deal with the studio, they decided to pursue networks, eventually signing on with Netflix. (Willmore, 2013) MRC has financed and produced shows as well as movies that have been distributed by “high-profile programming partners” such as HBO, CBS and ABC. When Netflix read the script, they instantly fell in love with it, and wanted to make it their “anchor show,” one that would “define [their] network.”

When David Fincher started writing the show, the original vision had been a movie. Then he decided to change it to a mini-series, and MRC ended up financing the show “under the radar,” for a year until the script for the first episode was complete, along with “a bible for the first season.” (Patel, 2013) HBO, Showtime and AMC were all potential networks that MRC produced. However, Netflix was the first network that they approached, since they had an existing relationship. Surprisingly, Netflix offered to buy two seasons of 26 episodes, costing $100 million.

There was a doubt about whether or not Netflix would be able to profit from this investment, since their main source of revenue was $7.99/month subscription fees.  As of February 2013, Netflix had 33.3 million subscribers, and would have had to increase their subscriptions by 10%. Netflix’s main competitor since taking on House of Cards has been HBO. The biggest challenge has been lacking a direct partnership with a media conglomerate, like the relationship between HBO and Time Warner. (Greenfield, 2013)

David Fincher realized that “The world of 7:30 on Tuesday nights [is] dead” and told Robert Abele in an interview that they had planned to reach out to Netflix from the planning stages of the show. (Abele, 2013) He felt that shooting a commercial-free show would give directors more creative freedom. Fincher approached directing the first two episodes on his own as directing mini-movies. He knew he had to scale back the preparation, but did not want to compromise on industry-tested methods. Fincher knew that when Netflix agreed to distribute the show, they would not interfere in the creative process of the director. After directing the first season of the show, Fincher remained on staff as the executive producer, but chose to not direct it. (Jagernauth, 2013)

Perhaps even more than the production of the show, what piqued my interest the most was the background of the writer, Beau Willimon. The creator of this show started his career in politics, devoted to the VT Democrat Governor Howard Dean’s nomination for president. (Zakarin, 2013) He realized the potential of the internet, harnessing the anti-war anger that was circulating in 2004. His friend, Jay Carson, who is a political consultant for the show, ran part of the campaign, which eventually became the first major political campaign to productively utilize the internet for mass fundraising and volunteer organizing. Howard Dean eventually became the chair of the Democratic National Convention. When asked about how the media is portrayed in the political backdrop of House of Cards, Willimon said that “good journalists are perceptive of what’s going on around them,” and that “the media doesn’t create narratives, really.” In essence, he tries to show that the media does not cause any more political turmoil than there already is. Willimon spent almost a full year writing the pilot episode alone, and took another 9 months for the rest of the first season. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report, the lead writer admitted that the creative team of House of Cards has a “dark, exaggerated view of DC.” Having worked with the likes of Hilary Clinton, he speaks with some authority on how things get done in the political sphere.

The portrayal of journalists is one of the subjects that is frequently discussed in context to House of Cards. Not only does journalism play a huge role in how politics are portrayed in the media, but due to characters like Zoe Barnes and Frank Underwood getting involved with each other, the two subjects often become intertwined. Ethical boundaries are crossed and in the show, journalists are frequently portrayed as willing to do whatever it takes in order to get a scoop. Female journalists, in particular, are shown as catty and promiscuous. Willimon’s defense is that he wanted to show the nature of someone who isn’t ethical, but someone who is a “good climber,” in the case of Zoe Barnes. The truth and power are often aligned in her goals, but when she abandons one for the other, it throws off the viewer who is advocating for her uncovering the truth behind Frank Underwood’s motives. Critics have compared the portrayal of journalism in House of Cards to how the Watergate Scandal was uncovered in the movie “All the President’s Men” (Lyons, 2014) Like many jobs that are glamorized for the movie or television audience, journalism is portrayed as sexy and a business where something life-changing is happening every second.

Season two even brought in some real-life figures to play journalists and news reporters. For example, CNN’s John King, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow were all featured in the show, interviewing characters. (Rooney, 2014) Even though this brought the show to life and made it seem more realistic, it poses a problem when thinking about the audience’s perception of Washington DC. The political scene in America is already unstable, and there is a palpable sense of mistrust in the Obama Administration. (Rasmussen Reports)

House of Cards has been repetitively criticized for its overly sexualized portrayal of the White House work environment, and this does not only stop with journalists. (Petri, 2014) Everyone in the show is sexualized and uses their flirtatious natures to coerce people into making decisions. However, the show has been praised for its portrayal and criticism of what actions have been taken in reality against sexual assault. A main focus of the second season was Claire Underwood’s mission to get a military sexual assault bill in front of Congress. The audience sees Claire in a moment of weakness when she reveals to Frank, “Every time I think of her, pinned down like that, I strangle her, Francis,” referring to herself being raped in college by a high-ranking military official. She beautifully portrays the unfortunate reality that many women have simply had to cope with sexual violence, not even for their image, but because being angry and wanting to smash things is “unlivable.”

House of Cards changed the landscape of many players who were involved. From the production side, House of Cards now stands as a pillar of how a show can be distributed in a new way, allowing Netflix users to stream the entire show at once. It also has unavoidable political undertones that, in my opinion, have made people who might not be invested in politics pay more attention.

Bibliography:

Abele, Robert. "Playing With a New Deck - Directing House of Cards with David Fincher and Colleagues." Playing With a New Deck - Directing House of Cards with David Fincher and Colleagues. Directors Guild of America, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1301-Winter-2013/House-of-Cards.aspx

Emily Gasperak (Producer), Jim Hoskinson (Director). 5 March 2014.  Beau Willimon, The Colbert Report. Comedy Central. Retrieved from http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/0exuju/beau-willimon

Greenfield, Rebecca. "The Economics of Netflix's $100 Million New Show." The Wire. TheWire.com, 1 Feb. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/02/economics-netflixs-100-million-new-show/61692/

Jagernauth, Kevin. "Exclusive: Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright Directed Episodes Of 'House Of Cards' Season 2, But David Fincher Won't." The Playlist. IndieWire.com, 29 Aug. 2013. Retrieved from http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-kevin-spacey-robin-wright-direct-episodes-of-house-of-cards-season-2-but-none-from-david-fincher-20130829

“Media Rights Capital.” Media Rights Capital. Retrieved from http://mrcstudios.com/

"Obama Approval Index History." Obama Approval Index History - Rasmussen Reports™. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history

Patel, Sahil. "How Media Rights Capital Built Its 'House of Cards'" VideoInk How Media Rights Capital Built Its House of Cards Comments. Video Ink, 14 Feb. 2014. Retrieved from  http://www.thevideoink.com/features/media-rights-capital-built-house-cards/#.UzDpdPldXBY

Petri, Alexandra. "'House of Cards’ Is Back, but First, a Note from ‘Zoe Barnes’." The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com, 14 Feb. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/02/14/house-of-cards-is-back-but-first-a-note-from-zoe-barnes/

Rooney, Brian. "Journalism's House of Cards." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-rooney/journalisms-house-of-cards_b_5018904.html

Willmore, Alison. "5 Things We Learned About the Unconventional Assembling of 'House of Cards' From Media Rights Capital's Modi Wiczyk." Indiewire. IndieWire.com, 14 Feb. 2013. Retrieved from  http://www.indiewire.com/article/television/5-things-about-the-making-of-house-of-cards

Zakarin, Jordan. "The Hollywood Reporter." The Hollywood Reporter. HollywoodReporter.com, 26 Feb. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/house-cards-beau-willimons-journey-421559