Succession is one of modern television’s revolutionary shows that speaks to its audience in layers. To some, it exists as a cynical examination of corporations, while to others, the show is a darkly satiric reenactment of the legacy of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News media empire.
Whichever way one looks at it, the HBO series has always been about the cutthroat world of business politics. But the blatant and transparent portrayal of misogyny and sexism seems to be a far more dominant theme in terms of storytelling than the arc of succession.
In this one aspect, even Taylor Sheridan needs to bow down to Jesse Armstrong when it comes to the portrayal of women in television.
Succession takes the lead over Yellowstone on 1 issue
In Taylor Sheridan‘s universe, strong female characters exist in a quite literal sense of the word. They are a lone wolf protagonist who can bring down a room full of powerful white men with a few words or stab someone in the back because they are just that fearless and unbothered by societal expectations.
Succession offers a more nuanced approach to its female characters by not trying too hard to prove to the world that women can be fearless, too, but doing quite the opposite. Instead of focusing on the female protagonist, Jesse Armstrong shifts the audience’s focus on every other character that she is surrounded by and provides a stark, realistic, and brutal portrayal of sexism and misogyny that exists constantly in a woman’s world.
While Beth Dutton may be the undefeated queen of one-liners and untameable rage, Shiv Roy is the exact replica of every woman simply existing in modern society and trying to get by while surrounded by men in positions of authority.
Succession gets real with its female characters
Taylor Sheridan may be trying too hard to appease and appeal to his female demography by writing a character as autonomous as Beth Dutton, but forcing a case simply doesn’t make it true. One may argue that the genre demands two separate sets of reactions from two very different characterizations of women; however, both Shiv and Beth overlap each other’s worlds when it comes down to business.
The main point of difference between Shiv and Beth is in their ability to handle a situation at hand – while Shiv struggles with the multi-layered stages of control, misogyny, male egotism, and bureaucratic jibberish, Beth is shown to simply waltz into a room at the last minute, say a few words, and have men who have been in the business for 40+ years fall at her feet and whimper.
Fiction only becomes entertaining when one gives in to the suspension of disbelief, but when a subject becomes too unrealistic, even by television standards, it immediately pulls the audience out of a scene. Succession doesn’t insult its audience’s intelligence by being too flamboyant with its female lead.
portrayal of sexism & misogyny in the show
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Jesse Armstrong uses every subversive technique known to man who consciously or unintentionally participates or enables sexism and misogyny in their everyday vocabulary. The understated throw-away words and dialogues directed at Shiv that are filled with examples such as this make Succession all the more interesting as a modern-day drama.
Succession is available to stream on Max, and Yellowstone is streaming on Paramount+.
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