Josh was an easy crush (Picture: E4)
The West Wing is regularly heralded as one of the best TV shows of all time – and as it turned 25 this year, I would argue that’s definitely still the case.
Except for one glaring issue that’s become increasingly apparent to me as I’ve got older – sexism. This is especially the case for one of the show’s most popular characters.
Josh Lyman, played by Emmy-winner Bradley Whitford, was easily one of my favourite men on television when I first watched the show as a teenager.
Smart, funny, passionately nerdy and (generally) brilliant at his job as Deputy Chief of Staff for President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen), Josh was an easy crush – even when he ended up horrifically hungover and wearing a fisherman’s suit at work after a raucous night out.
Then add to this some tragedy and plenty of guilt in his backstory over the death of both his sister when they were kids and his father more recently, as well as stellar acting from Whitford in the episode where Josh’s subsequent PTSD is revealed, and he’s immediately someone you can sympathise with.
There’s also his quick wit and neuroses that make him very much like the Chandler Bing of the show (always my favourite Friends character) – plus his long-suffering assistant Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) is clearly in love with him.
A fun, slow-burn possible office romance. Swoon.
I adored Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whiteford) in The West Wing when I was young
(Picture: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Josh is also a master of former showrunner Aaron Sorkin’s famous walk-and-talk sequences, quipping a mile a minute as the camera follows him and his castmates through the warren of White House corridors.
The West Wing was a liberal haven and fantasy during the years of George W. Bush’s presidency, where Sorkin created a world filled with decent, idealistic people – more often than not compelled to do the right thing.
It also showcased a partisanship among characters from opposite sides of the political spectrum that would now be considered laughably rare: it’s unsurprising that fans have been crying out for a new version of the show, as well as (consistently) Sheen to run for President in real life.
However, I would not be the first to comment on Sorkin’s unfortunate proclivity towards sexism 25 years ago, as well as in more recent work like The Social Network’s (2010) shrill and underdeveloped female roles and The Newsroom’s (2012-14) lack of capable women.
Although I lap up anything he writes like the optimistic, banter-loving fan that I am, I can still reflect upon characters and relationships I previously saw through my young, rose-tinted glasses.
I’ve rewatched The West Wing again in fits and starts over the years, but it was New Year’s Eve last year when I settled down, ill on the sofa, to begin a full rewatch of one of my favourite shows for comfort. And it painted the issues …read more
Source:: Metro
