‘When You Think of the Taliban, Think of the Nazis’: Teaching Americans ‘9/11’ in NBC’s The West Wing
| DOI | 10.1177/0305829811408680 |
| Author | Jack Holland |
| Published date | 01 September 2011 |
| Date | 01 September 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
MILLENNIU
M
Journal of International Studies
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
40(1) 85–106
© The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0305829811408680
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Corresponding author:
Jack Holland, University of Surrey, UK
Email: j.holland@surrey.ac.uk
Article
‘When You Think of
the Taliban, Think of
the Nazis’: Teaching
Americans ‘9/11’ in NBC’s
The West Wing
Jack Holland
University of Surrey, UK
Abstract
Only three weeks after the events of 11 September 2001 (hereafter 9/11), Aaron Sorkin’s The
West Wing delivered a special one-off episode, outside of usual storylines. The episode, titled
‘Isaac and Ishmael’, is interesting because it adopts an explicitly pedagogical theme to teach
viewers how to think about the events of 9/11. The episode can thus be read as an instance
in the wider construction of the meaning of those events. In this respect, this article argues
that the production of the episode contributed to notions of rupture and exceptionalism. In
addition, despite the potentially ‘liberal’ and ‘academic’ lessons given by the show’s stars, the
extensive contextualisation of the previously incomprehensible events for a dominantly American
audience actually relayed, amplified and reinforced the emerging dominant discourses of the
Bush Administration. Accepting and repeating official tropes, The West Wing ultimately served to
further limit space for debate in the wake of 9/11.
Keywords
discourse, The West Wing, US foreign policy
Introduction
On 3 October 2001, three weeks after the events of 11 September (hereafter 9/11), epi-
sode 0, series 3 of NBC’s The West Wing aired in the United States. Attempting to con-
front the events of 9/11 head on, this episode was remarkable in a number of ways.
Firstly, the show’s creator, Aaron Sorkin, deemed it necessary to produce an episode (the
86 Millennium: Journal of International Studies 40(1)
only episode ever) that did not follow the ongoing plotlines of the popular series.
Interpreted as an exceptional event and moment of temporal rupture, The West Wing
responded to 9/11 with an exceptional episode and a temporal rupture of their own.
Secondly, having been produced in only two weeks and written in only two or three days,
the episode presented a ‘formidable logistical challenge for the directors, editors and
cast’, who were left ‘scrambling to meet a virtually unprecedented production schedule’.1
Thirdly, the speed of this televisual ‘response’ to the events in New York, Virginia and
Pennsylvania ensured that it ‘was the first TV show to address the events and aftermath
of 9/11’.2 Fourthly, The West Wing achieved extremely high viewing figures of approxi-
mately 28 million (an 18/26 rating/share), ‘Isaac and Ishmael’ received the show’s high-
est ever viewing figures and was the most watched programme in the US that week.3
Fifthly, the show was met with a generally polarised critical and popular reception. While
some noted that it felt like ‘op-ed’ TV and others found it ‘preachy’, these readings of the
one-off ‘Isaac and Ishmael’ episode were in the minority among the general public, with
most reviews voicing positive readings and warm approval for the show’s attempt to
tackle the issue dominating US politics and society at the time.4 Approximately 40 per
cent found the show sufficiently engaging to afford it the highest possible ratings, award-
ing 10 stars out of 10 with the episode declared a ‘Wing-ed Victory’ despite some critics
arguing that Sorkin had ‘wimped out on terror’.5 In general, reviewers found the episode
to be ‘very informative’ and helpful in ‘clarifying issues after 9-11’.6
I loved this episode coz I think it wonderfully manages to walk the fine line of honouring the
events of 9/11 while still reasonably and calmly talking about what happened and why. A very
educated and informative episode!7
Against this background, the episode arguably offers ‘the perfect example of knowledge
transfer and emancipative anti-racist education’.8 Mining traditional liberal themes of
1. Brian Lowry, ‘“The West Wing” Is in a Rush to Wrap’, Los Angeles Times, 2 October 2001; Aaron Sorkin,
‘Interview – Post Terror America: Hollywood Reacts’, Occidental Policy Forum, 22 October 2001.
2. Kel, ‘Message 9150 of AaronSorkin@yahoogroups.com’, The West Wing Episode Guide, posted 6 October
2001, http://www.westwingepguide.com/S3/Episodes/45_IAI.html, accessed 23 March 2011.
3. Internet Movie Database, ‘The West Wing’ (2001), http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200276/news?year=2001,
accessed 10 December 2010.
4. See, for instance, reviews at: TV.com, ‘Episode Guide: Isaac and Ishmael’, http://www.tv.com/the-west-
wing/isaac-and-ishmael/episode/77672/summary.html, accessed 10 December 2010; Internet Movie
Database, ‘Isaac and Ishmael’, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745644/, accessed 10 December 2010; and
The West Wing Unofficial Continuity Guide, ‘Isaac and Ishmael’, http://westwing.bewarne.com/third/
isaac.html, accessed 10 December 2010.
5. The average rating for the show was 8.1 out of 10. Interestingly, for non-Americans the average was only
7.6 compared to 8.7 for US citizens. Potential reasons for this divergence will be borne out in the article.
Internet Movie Database, ‘The West Wing’; Adam Buckman, ‘West Wing Wimps Out of Terror’, New York
Post, 4 October 2001.
6. Sil_lee, ‘Fans’ Reviews: A Very Special Episode to Clarify Issues After 9/11’, TV.com, 16 October
2007, http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/isaac-and-ishmael/episode/77672/summary.html, accessed 10
December 2010.
7. Ibid.
8. Ruth Wodak, ‘The Glocalisation of Politics in Television’, European Journal of Cultural Studies 13, no. 1
(2010): 50.
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