Yellowstone’s sixth episode of Season 5 furthered several season developments, including Jamie’s recent descent into villainy (his inevitable betrayal of his adopted family), the ranch’s precarious future, Beth and Rip’s likely doomed Hallmark relationship, and the friction between Governor John Dutton and the overall political establishment. This last plot point has so far been confined to state politics. Last night, Yellowstone motioned toward the national stage, introducing for the first time, character relationships to the President.
The President comes to town via Broken Rock Reservation and an apparent call—and political move to displace Thomas Rainwater—from Angela. Mo runs into Secret Service personnel securing the landing site by corralling onlookers and shooting “stray” dogs. Rainwater later appears, furious that such a speech was organized without his approval. Angela doesn’t seem to care, making her deposing plans obvious. The President then arrives on Marine One. Drama.
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Before taking the stage, Rainwater brings up President Obama’s relationship to the Dakota Access pipeline—and his later silence on the project despite earlier promises to native groups. “Obama visited Standing Rock two years before he tried to run a pipeline through it,” Rainwater tells Angela. “Presidents don’t see us even when they’re standing right in front of us.” (Ultimately, the Obama administration did halt development of the pipeline toward the end of his presidency, a decision that was immediately reversed by an executive action issued by President Trump after taking office, furthering construction on the pipeline.)
The moment is somewhat jarring; although the series has followed Montana politics, no real historical figures have ever entered into the series, keeping it somewhat politically fictional. (Even in former Governor Perry’s office we never see photos of the sitting President, which would be common—of course, we may have also missed these, so feel free to shame us in the comments if this is the case.) By name-dropping Obama, the series suggests that we aren’t simply seeing a TV version of America, but a historically real America—a universe that does in fact contain figures of contemporary American politics.
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So who are they?
Who is the President in Yellowstone?
While some commentators have suggested that the series takes place in “post-Trump America, the political backdrop of white grievance and white reclamation,” it’s unclear what moment in post-Trump America the series is set. The show aired in 2018, a year after Trump took office, although events of the show have transpired over at least five years, making the present moment likely during President Biden’s administration.
While we don’t get much insight into the actual sitting President, we do get a quote from John Dutton. When asked if he would return to Helena to meet with the President, John says, “I have nothing to say to that idiot.”
Who is “that idiot”?
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Fans might be keen to identify him as President Biden—if only because of the date, the series’ previous allusion to Obama, and Dutton’s assumed political party, which, although it isn’t said, appears to be Republican. (Of course, this identification assumes John Dutton is partisan, which isn’t so obvious; he is his own party.)
Yellowstone’s overall politics is also not all obvious; it’s more than likely “that idiot” simply refers to both party’s appraisal of the opposing president—the way most Democrats felt about Trump and the way some Republicans now feel about Biden—the show’s commentary going something like: no matter the party, there is always some “idiot” in office. So: interpret John’s statement however you vote.
Yellowstone creator and writer Taylor Sheridan (who has a writing credit on Episode 6) appears to have a slightly more obvious political appraisal. When promoting Wind River, Sheridan had some less-than-kind words for then-President Trump, saying, “Can we just impeach that motherfucker right now? Like what are we—I don’t understand … It’s just, it’s so embarrassing”—comments that Sheridan later downplayed in an interview earlier this year with The Atlantic, chalking the quote up to general anger and long press junkets for the movie. The Atlantic’s very mentioning of the quote apparently created backlash from Sheridan’s team; the article also mentioned Kevin Costner’s wearing a Liz Cheney shirt, which led to an audience backlash on Twitter. The interpretation of both events: Paramount’s trepidation in alienating what many see as their base, i.e., conservative viewers.
Reading into Sheridan’s politics may not help identify who sits in the Oval Office in Yellowstone, but it does give us some clue as to what the show might think about national politics.
Idiots all around.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
