TV drama rattles notions about US politics

US actor Kevin Spacey (C) portrays the cold-blooded Frank Underwood in the political series House of Cards.

Rendezvous with power

Popular US series uses Chinese elements

People across the ideological spectrum are able to find something to support their own beliefs: Those who hate the United States can have a field day, saying democracy, American style, is a sham fraught with wheeling and dealing no less dirty than China's feudal system; those who love the US will counter that the limited power of every politician, no matter how high his or her position, works well in preventing the evil side of human nature from totally corrupting the system.

If you flip the coin, however, it can also be argued that the show busts preconceptions for all those whose rigid views of the US are mostly derived from abstract theories. The game in Washington DC is far from the idealist's paradise of everybody working for the people. But the biggest revelation could be: The US government does not function as a single brain when dealing with a variety of issues. Even when the voice is unified, what is presented to the world is often the shifting results of wheeling and dealing among several political forces.

Season 2 holds special allure because the plot deals with China. When the US president, the secretary of state and other politicians float their proposals for China policy, we see the decision-making process as a deliberation of pros and cons and the trading of various interests, rather than a single person plucking the light bulb of a great idea from his head. This could be taken for granted by Americans, but here it could be startling and revealing.

The learning curve seems to be going both ways. China, as a narrative element of newsworthiness, is also no longer one big enterprise of mystery. There are different interests competing for favors and projects. (Spoiler: The person who claims to represent the Chinese government turns out to be one with his own agenda, possibly a sign of US television showmen's growing knowledge of the complexity of Chinese politics.)

For those who rely solely on highly dramatized accounts, such as House of Cards, for political insight, the perception and understanding indisputably will be warped. Still, it will be less ludicrous than basing every opinion of a vast and complex political structure on some outdated doctrine.