GAD Applied to "Madam Secretary"

I have recently started watching the show Madam Secretary on Netflix. It had been recommended to me and I have to say, I am enjoying the show! I will be the first to say that I do not support many of the U.S. government's policies and ways of handling particular situations (cough cough gun control). Granted though, I have to admit that my experience of policies and culture in other countries is very limited. Therefore, watching Madam Secretary is giving me a view, however accurate, of other countries.

A couple of noteworthy instances from Madam Secretary:

1. Sexuality
In the first episode of the first season, the main character, Elizabeth McCord, is placed into the position of Secretary of State for the United States by the President. She is tasked to host a dinner with the King of Swaziland, all the while handling a hostage crisis in a different country. The King of Swaziland, as he is portrayed in the TV show, has ten wives. There is criticism made of his lifestyle choices and the Secretary of State's team of staff become concerned that she will say something inappropriate. Additionally, she also makes it a point to ask questions about the AIDS epidemic in this country, which is something strongly discouraged from bringing up at the dinner table. However, at the dinner table, in the bold manner she becomes known for, she proceeds to ask the King of Swaziland about the status of the epidemic as it used to be at the forefront of his political agenda. She proposes to help Swaziland bring the AIDS epidemic back to focus and aid in fixing the epidemic.

Upon further research, I found that Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence in the world, with 27% of their population living with the disease. Additionally, the average life expectancy in Swaziland is just 49 years and I suspect this is because of the epidemic of the disease. Directly related to our course is how the epidemic has impacted the women in Swaziland. "Of the 200,00 people living with HIV in Swaziland, 110,000 are women" (see source here). That is a staggering 55% of those that have the disease. Juxtaposition this fact with those that have HIV in the United States and the demographics are starkly different.

2. Genocide
In the first season, episode six, Secretary McCord's husband's old friend, Father Adisa, calls. He is from the Republic of West Africa and has family there. Recently the junta have "become a campaign of ethnic slaughter against the Beko people" (as said in the episode) and Father Adisa is summoning the help of the United States to prevent a genocide of 50,000 people in the RWA. Secretary McCord seeks information from the Ambassador of the RWA, who only denies any ill-doing going on in his country. As these shows go, drama happens between the opening of this information and the closing of the episode. Secretary McCord finds aid from other countries, including the African Union, and is able to help those in the RWA including Father Adisa's family members. What I found most interesting was how the niece and her kids found refuge in a camp with, what appeared to be, just women. This only further perpetuates the need for groundwork in gender and development, again, assuming these portrayals have truth in them somewhere.

When looking further into the RWA I found the African Sun Times, where Dr. Chika Onyeani is the publisher and editor-in-chief. He wrote an article (see here) giving a summary of this particular episode (spoiler alert). He also writes with sarcasm, "Imagine that scenario where there is genocide being committed in one African country, and the African Union takes a decisive action to assemble a force to prevent the genocide from taking place.  Wouldn’t we all just rejoice if this was not a movie rather real life situation?" He seems to be critical of how politics are actually handled in the country, which I find telling.

If you have not watched the show, I encourage you to at least give it a try. I have, clearly, learned quite a bit already. I will be the first to admit that my geography, history, and political knowledge is severely lacking, so this kind of show is both entertaining and educational for me. Having learned GAD throughout the course, I relish in my ability to see concepts applied to "the real world" if we can consider a TV show such a thing.