Shakespeare and Trump by Jeffrey R. Wilson

Author:Jeffrey R. Wilson [Wilson, Jeffrey R.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
ISBN: 9781439916490
Publisher: Temple University Press
Published: 2020-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 4.3. Frank’s audience addresses, per episode, in House of Cards (including nods, smiles, and other nonverbal acknowledgments). (Created by the author.)

III. Theorizing the Kinds of Complicity

Let’s step back to formalize the varieties of complicity in Richard III and House of Cards. The easiest version to identify is the conscienceless complicity of the evil henchman or -woman who does the villain’s bidding in exchange for money or status: the Murderers, Tyrell, Buckingham, and Catesby in Richard III, and Claire, Doug, and Zoe in House of Cards. This complicity is a two-way street: the villain is legally complicit in the crimes of his lackeys, while they are morally complicit in the schemes of the villain. But the fate of the accomplice complicates this form of complicity. Does the accomplice remain loyal to the villain or turn against him? Does the villain remain powerful or lose his grip? Answers to these questions reveal three permutations of conscienceless complicity. First, if the accomplice remains loyal, and the villain remains in power, the accomplice continues to enjoy the benefits—wealth and status—of the villain’s power: this is the case with Claire and Doug. Second, if the accomplice betrays the villain, and the villain remains in power, the accomplice is killed: this happens to Buckingham, Zoe, and Peter. But perhaps the most interesting permutation of conscienceless complicity is the third: if the accomplice remains loyal, but the villain loses his power, the accomplice simply fades into the night, as with the Murderers, Catesby, and Tyrell in Richard III. We never hear from them again or learn their fates. As long as audiences get to see the main villain fall, they don’t need to see his accomplices punished.

In cases of conscientious complicity, a villain wielding enormous power, displaying a vindictive personality, and performing awful crimes secures the support of someone who recognizes his depravity and wants to resist but is afraid to do so. The conscientious accomplice may fear bodily harm, like the English nobles in Richard III, who do not want to end up like Hastings, or like Janine in House of Cards, who does not want to end up like Zoe. Or, like Peter, the conscientious accomplice fears that the villain will take away his or her livelihood. As the Scrivener in Richard III says, everyone knows what the villain is doing, but everyone is also afraid to acknowledge it. Resistance is suppressed.

With unconscious complicity, an obviously evil villain secures support from a mass audience by speaking directly to them from a stage; drawing attention to the artificiality of the phenomenon in which he is involved; speaking irreverently, and with energy, wit, and humor, about that discourse; taking great joy in seeking to destroy a political system that the audience also despises; displaying an irrepressible will; exhibiting remarkable talents and success (even if that is only being good at being bad); speaking with a confidence that persuades hearers that he can do whatever he wants; and establishing with them an us-against-the-system dynamic. With its serial

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