Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in House of Cards
The US streaming television drama
House of Cards returned for a fourth season on Netflix this month to a muted reception in major newspapers and media outlets.
The series, particularly in its mediocre and complacent third season, had been championed as the fictional representation
par excellence of the American political system, with its producers and leading actors paraded and celebrated on news programs and Sunday morning talk shows.
One would have expected, based on the trajectory of the previous season and its warm reception by the establishment, that the fourth season would have settled into a self-satisfied stride, content with its role as light entertainment for America's political elite.
Intriguingly, this season has taken a different turn. To be blunt,
House of Cards strongly suggests that the US government sponsors radical Islamist terrorism to keep a lid on domestic crises, spies on the American population for political gain and conspires to go to war, while claiming high ideals, for purely Machiavellian ends.
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