Politics & Power Quote by Geena Davis

The casual tally of cop shows, lawyer shows, and forensics procedurals is doing more work than it seems. Geena Davis isn’t just pointing out a TV trend; she’s naming a cultural default: we accept endless variations on power exercised through badges, gavels, and lab coats, yet treat political leadership as a one-note genre. Her “look at the number” is a soft dare to the industry’s risk-avoidance. If audiences can handle a dozen flavors of crime-solving, why is a single depiction of a high office presumed to be enough?

The subtext is feminist, but strategically un-grandiose. Davis doesn’t argue that representation is morally necessary; she frames it as a market and storytelling problem. That’s an actress speaking in the language gatekeepers hear: not scolding, but opportunity. “Two quite different examinations” hints at the thin range usually afforded to political authority on screen, especially when a woman occupies it. One examination can be idealized and aspirational; the other can be messy, compromised, funny, or lonely. The point is range.

Context matters: Davis, long associated with advocating for gender equity in media, is pushing against the idea that a woman-led political story is automatically “issue TV.” By comparing it to procedurals - the safest, most replicable format on television - she’s arguing that political office can be normalized as narrative terrain, not treated as a special event. The line is a pitch wrapped in critique: make room, not because it’s virtuous, but because it’s overdue and dramatically rich.