Asian American feminism, politics, and pop culture
By Guest Contributor: Lakshmi Gandhi (@LakshmiGandhi)
Remember when Designated Survivor first began and I was extremely impressed by the newly-inaugurated president’s reluctance to go to war? President Tom Kirkman has apparently gotten over those scruples, as viewers instantly saw on Wednesday night.
Continue reading “‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 5, ‘The Mission’”
By Guest Contributor: Lakshmi Gandhi (@LakshmiGandhi)
On this week’s Designated Survivor, President Kirkman struggled with whether or not federalizing Michigan’s National Guard was a good idea, dealt with a rogue general who wanted to rush into war, and continued to defend the right of American Muslims to protest.
I don’t know about you, but watching the whole jam-packed episode felt like a refreshing break after the depressing whirlwind that was Election Twitter last night.
Continue reading “‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 4: “The Enemy””
By Guest Contributor: Lakshmi Gandhi (@LakshmiGandhi)
The White House has been attacked by the cyber!
That was my first thought during Wednesday’s episode of Designated Survivor just after viewers learned the White House computers were being hacked.
Continue reading “‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 3: “The Confession””
By Guest Contributor: Lakshmi Gandhi (@LakshmiGandhi)
Shortly after the fifteenth anniversary of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, The Week posted this excellent piece headlined September 12, 2001, which detailed just how terrifying the day after that devastating loss was.
“And while most of us remember with unsettling clarity where we were when we heard that hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center (and later, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field), killing nearly 3,000 people,” writes Lauren Hansen, “it might be the next day — September 12, 2001 — that actually marked the beginning of a new era, one in which full-body scans at the airport, color-coded threat levels, slow-burn wars that never really end, and an undercurrent of fear running beneath the mundanity of life became the norm.”
I kept thinking about that line as I watched Wednesday’s episode of Designated Survivor. Aptly titled “The First Day,” viewers were thrown into a world that’s chaotic, violent, and fearful — and ready to pounce on anyone who appears foreign or brown.
Continue reading “‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 2, ‘The First Day’”
By Guest Contributor: Lakshmi Gandhi (@lakshmigandhi)
As with any recaps, please be wary of spoilers.
What would you do if you were an earnest civil servant who suddenly became President of the United States after a devastating terrorist attack?
If you’re Tom Kirkman — the Designated Survivor of the ABC show of the same name — you throw up. Repeatedly.
Continue reading “‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 1, ‘Pilot’”