by Lina Bryce
Kevin Spacey deflected some questions regarding the real-life election while attending the season 4 premier for House of Cards at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery on Monday.
As reported by The Hill, the star of the Netflix original series said it was silly to compare the two when asked whether its upcoming season or the actual presidential election would be more surprising.
“They’re both a little bit unpredictable in that audiences have no idea where we’re gonna go and what we’re gonna do, and I think that’s part of the enjoyment that an audience has — they don’t really know.”
He continued, “And in the real world — I mean now it’s becoming a little bit more predictable, what’s going to happen.”
“At the same time,” Spacey added, “I happen to believe that we get what we deserve.”
While continuing to answer questions from various reporters on the red carpet, Spacey had more to say on the subject of the election, though it’s anyone’s guess if he recognizes that there are similarities to the show and the current real-life drama.
“Edward R. Murrow warned us in 1964,” Spacey commented. “that when news divisions decide that the news has to make money and has to get ratings it’s no longer news — it’s entertainment.”
“So if people are bothered by the fact that we seem to be having entertainment as news, it’s because the news divisions decided that money and ratings were more important than reporting,” he said.
But does life imitate art, or is it the other way around? If media is incentivized by ratings which allow them to be paid, they would certainly show more of what the people want to see, not less of it. Furthermore, if a large portion of those who tune in were to stop watching, they would effectively drive the ratings down and force them to change their format.
Spacey should understand this best, as it is likely one of the many attributions to the success of his show. Frank Underwood would be a less appealing character if he were a do-gooder who happens to be the president. Should the actor be blamed for setting a precedence for real-life presidential nominees?
Meanwhile, life imitating art is the appeal to the rising popularity of the drama series. Blurring fact and fiction has been Spacey’s bread and butter over the last few years, recently appearing in character on television commercials and again at the premier of House of Cards season 4.
“It’s really fun to blur fact and fiction to the point where no one f—–g knows what’s going on,” Spacey said.
After the filming, Spacey, in his Underwood, Southern drawl, chided the VIP crowd: “I’m incredibly honored to be hung in the Smithsonian. Oh that’s right, I made that joke.”
Which is it? Real life or fiction, Spacey?
Still, there is no doubt that Spacey indicated the real source of his frustration with his earlier remark, and that is with American people who propagate this cycle.
Indeed, Kevin Spacey, “we get what we deserve”.
