We are less than three weeks away from what will likely go down as the craziest presidential election in United States history. At any other time, and by any other measure, an incumbent president would have no chance at re-election in the face of a teetering economy and a mismanaged global pandemic that has already claimed over 200,000 American lives. And yet here we are, in the darkest timeline, still facing the very real possibility that Donald Trump could get another four years at the White House.
How did we end up here? How do we make sense of all the special interests and political forces at play? It’s hard enough for two people to decide on where to have dinner, how do 330 million people decide on taxes, abortion, guns, and whether or not they want to wear a mask? American politics is complicated. But it doesn’t have to be abstruse. And The Circus on Showtime might just be the best tool we have at understanding the ins and outs of American politics.
Umapagan Ampikaipakan: The Circus has become my go-to recommendation for anyone who is trying to make sense of the sheer insanity that is American politics. I honestly can’t think of a better guide. I mean, this show is current, it is journalistic, it is all up in the zeitgeist. It’s pretty darn close to perfect.
Bahir Yeusuff: The Circus is also the best behind the scenes look at American politics and how – even in the best of times and circumstances – it is already pretty crazy/messed up/unfair/money driven/etc. etc. etc. This is the show that pulls back the curtains to the industrial complex that is American politics. And that was before Donald Trump even came into the picture. If The West Wing is the fairy tale, idealized version, then this is the documentary that shatters any and all pretence of equality and “for the people” that American puts out there. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching this from when it started and my goodness does this show just ruin American politics for me.
UA: I have the opposite reaction. In that I am so in awe of just how complex and complicated American politics are. So much so that I have become completely untrusting of anyone who comes along claiming to have figured it all out. That’s snake oil.
With every episode of The Circus, we see just how intricate this machine is. From all the competing interests, to just how the system – which was established with noble intent – has been rigged and gerrymandered over the last 200 years to deadlock. We have at least two generations now for whom politics is nothing but this partisan impasse. Academically speaking, it’s incredibly fascinating. But the reason Donald Trump hasn’t ruined American politics for me is because there are these foundational principles behind it that I find remarkably compelling.
BY: He hasn’t ruined it YET. But he’s doing a damn fine job of trying. Also, this show must be hard to watch for an American. I mean, it’s hard enough for us to watch, with no real skin in the game, watching it like we would any piece of fiction, but to actually be someone who is living all of this, it must be infuriating to watch all of these competing interests who are seemingly in it for themselves.
Looking past the content for a minute, I also want to bring up the production of this series. Each episode is shot, edited, and released the week after it’s happened. Trump gets the coronavirus on Friday? It’s on Sunday’s episode. The turn around is just madness. Which also makes watching it interesting because there are times when you’d reach out to me to say that you can’t wait to see how The Circus would handle some real world event. The hosts’ reactions here are practically in real time.
UA: I have never seen a documentary series with production timelines like this one. They must have one heck of a team. And one that’s really shown us their chops in this age of coronavirus.
I think the reason why they’re able to pull off a show like this one is because of the kind of access they have. All four of these hosts are either respected journalists or well established political operatives, and that gives them enough cachet to speak to anyone they want. What this means is that they always get the best talking head to address the issue that’s in the news that week.
BY: Let’s go back to the early seasons, when these guys would be all over the country, following one candidate as they criss-crossed the nation. These guys would be on the plane with the candidate, doing interviews on the bus with their campaign managers, meeting representatives as they shook hands, and kissed babies, and took selfies. This series really showcases the retail aspect of American elections. The face-to-face nature of this game. You go to people’s kitchens, and bars, and diners. The photo op of the candidate eating a local delicacy, smiling, giving the camera thumbs up. And then the cameras get whisked away to talk to the local delegates and local politicians, talking about what their local town or district really needs, and how candidate or the other is promising to keep their local factory open. This show must really rack up some frequent flyer miles. Or at least it used to.
UA: There is this great book by Timothy Crouse called “The Boys on the Bus.” And it was a chronicle of what life was like for journalists who were on the road and covering the 1972 presidential election. This was the Nixon/McGovern election. That book was seminal, in that it gave people an in-depth look, not just at journalism, but political journalism on the campaign trail. Which is a completely different beast. Because everyone is constantly being fed the same diet of information, it becomes a kind of bubble. And over the years, campaigns have become very smart in exploiting this bubble to their advantage.
What makes The Circus unique is that they feel very much like outsiders. And when I say outsiders, I mean journalists and documentarians that have a much wider view than what we usually get from inside the White House press room. They’re not bound by the same pressures. They’re not caught up in the news churn. And it feels like I’m getting a different perspective. It isn’t just the same recycled news like CNN, and MSNBC, and Buzzfeed.
BY: Oh absolutely. These guys are working towards the bigger story arc, they’re reporting on a weekly basis, so they’re less concerned with who said what, and the resulting outrage, that a lot of the 24 hour news channels are focused on. The Circus is looking at the big picture. How does the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg affect the elections. Let’s talk to some people who worked with her, who’ve argued cases in front of her, and see what they say. Let CNN and MSNBC worry about how Justice Ginsburg’s former personal trainer did push ups in honor of her passing.
I can’t figure out how they shoot a show like this. How do you lay out your production schedule when you can never know who you’re going to need to speak to, and when, and how that would fit into the shooting schedule? The editors and the story editors must be constantly tearing their hair out. How do you plan Sunday’s episode when your footage starts coming in towards the end of the week? I get heartburn just thinking about it.
UA: Which had me wondering how they were going to finish up this season. More so with America in the state that it is with regards to the coronavirus. When COVID-19 hit, this show became even more important in my mind. Because we have an unprecedented situation in American politics and electioneering, t’s easy to get lost in the weeds with the 24 hour news cycle. I needed something that was unconcerned with the pithy retort that AOC had to a Trump tweet, but spoke to me instead about the long-term consequences of the issue at hand.
And despite all the SOPs, despite social distancing, and having to wear masks, The Circus still manages to craft really entertaining and enlightening television every week.
BY: You’re right. This is enlightening television and it is also necessary. This show seems to address politics from a different angle. This isn’t John Oliver pointing out how wrong it is for the postmaster general to remove post sorting machines. This is Alex Wagner going and speaking to the head of a post office and asking him how this is going to affect the elections. It feels more grounded. It feels less like entertainment. It feels more like news.
A few episodes ago, they covered the presidential debates and watched it with Steve Bannon. The episode after that had them watching the vice presidential debate with the guys from The Lincoln Project. Gaining access is one thing, but they also have the awareness to get Bannon in the same venue where Trump first took on Hilary Clinton. The Circus feels like long form investigative journalism, while cable news is more daily reporting. In the long run, this feels more valuable.
UA: I want to go back to what you said earlier about not having any skin in the game. I think this has become an increasingly important show for Malaysians to watch in the face of this global pandemic. The person who gets elected president in three weeks is going to have an impact on your life. I mean, they always did, but in the past it was harder to quantify.
Let me just give you one obvious example. Today, the situation in America, which has lead to all but a complete shutdown of Hollywood, has resulted in cinemas in Malaysia on the verge of collapse. This in turn means the loss of hundreds of jobs. Which means the decimation of one segment of the economy.
We need to pay attention to what’s going on over there. God knows we’re at risk of losing our livelihoods because of it.
BY: Sure, but there’s very little we can do about it right? Knowing how badly the Republican party is handling this pandemic isn’t going to allow us to move the needle on their elections. But you’re right in saying that it is worth paying attention to.
My only comment against the show is that it feels very one sided. The show goes out of it’s way to speak to Kellyanne Conway and other menbers of Donald Trump’s campaign, but it feels very much like they are the opposition. Do I want a more unbiased look at the elections? Maybe. Do I think Republicans are crazy, and would rather burn the whole thing down before they let the other side take over? Absolutely. I don’t know if I want to hear more from the MAGA wearing idiots. But I do think I want to hear more from the Ohio farmers and the Virginian loggers. I want to hear what they have to say.
UA: I think a lot of that has to do with whether or not the other side actually wants to engage. Under Trump, politics in America has become a lot like politics in Malaysia. You end up with the same talking heads because everyone else is so afraid that if they say something wrong, they’ll get taken out by the big guy on Twitter.
And you’re right about not having a voice in their elections. But being that global citizen, having that knowledge means we can better plan our own futures. Going back to what’s happening with cinemas in Malaysia. It’s clear that it doesn’t matter how Malaysia handles this pandemic, our fates are unfortunately stuck in the hands of… what did Jon Stewart call him… F*ckface von Clownstick?
BY: I’ve always felt that the American presidential election is the best TV show ever. It only happens once every four years, but for a 12 month period, as that election machine gets to full speed, it’s just great to watch. All the talk about history, and the constitution, and polling numbers, and electoral colleges, and stats and figures. It’s the best. It’s better than the World Cup. These next couple of weeks are going to be crazy. And I’m here for all of it, with The Circus as my guide.
The Circus
Showtime
Cast: John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, Alex Wagner, and Jennifer Palmieri
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