Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant, multi-dimensional, necessary for today's time.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
I started watching this show recently, only knowing that it was highly acclaimed and Jeff Daniels was in it and was brilliant.
It is brilliant, yes, I agree with the positive reviews. I do not agree with the Leftist propaganda/two-dimensionality of the negative reviews for well founded reasons.
I see where both positive and negative reviews have valid reasons for their ratings; the negative reviewers suggesting two-dimensionality of characters and the theme of Leftist vs. Rightist = Right vs. Wrong as too black and white with no murky gray area. Yes, I could see that. But, then, I watched more, with this critique in mind, and realized that the show itself responds directly to this negative criticism: It's not Leftist, it's about fact (and when you're point of view is sooo far to the right of center, center looks leftist.)
Now, I'm as much a Republican as I am a Democrat, because I have voted for both, so you can't blame bias for what I'm going to say. My conclusion is this: I have to agree with the points that the News Night staff is making to Leona Lansing (Jane Fonda), namely, news is no longer about facts or informing an electorate so that our democracy runs as was intended; it's now about ratings, feeding on fear, racism, hatred, division, and ignorance of so many concepts necessary for our version of democracy to function as theorized. This isn't Leftist. It's not "Leftist" to point out the correct definitions of "debt ceiling" or "grassroots;" the definition is the definition, it's a fact, not an opinion, as the dictionary doesn't have a party affiliation. We all saw the signs of several Tea Partiers reading, "Keep Government out of my [insert *Government Provided Service Here]". It is a fact that Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are withIN the government; it's not Leftist to disagree with that; it is fact; heck, even the websites end with .gov. What would be Leftist is marked expansion of the services provided under Social Security/Medicaid/Medicare. What would be "Right Wing Extremist" is elimination of the services provided by Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, along with no regulation governing the resulting chaos and expenses. The murky gray area that both L/Ds and R/R's would agree on for the most part - is figuring out a way to streamline those services to cut expenses and increase efficiency; that requires working across the aisle; that requires an informed voting public; that requires facts. It certainly isn't Leftist to point out that Moderate Republicans - those willing to dance in the gray area with Conservative Democrats - are being forced out of the Republican party by the likes of corporate interests including well today, the likes of Trump. And the show explicitly defends this gray area, inhabited by moderates of both parties, in episode 3. So, for all the aforementioned reasons; it is not two dimensional. It is cleverly multi-dimensional, graspable brilliance; and if one's vision is soooo far from center, then, yes, I'd say that person shouldn't watch the show because they just wouldn't be able to even see the center... It's sad for me to say that, because that person is the very person who could benefit the most from watching this show with an open mind. (And yes, that would apply to those who are sooo far on the left, too.)