An actual review of House of Cards on Netflix:
Good cast but honestly to see all the infidelity even between couples (Kevin and Robin’s characters) who should be having too much fun together than to cheat, It is over the top! Sorry, what could have been a really good movie for my husband and I was just not! I am sick of all the immorality smut!
Who cares about murder, corruption, high treason when there is a completely consensual open marriage depicted!
By the way, we watched the finale, and I had a creeping feeling that this guy might make a good president because he, at least, knows how to get things done.
Of course, aptitude should not come at the price of morality, but one does get tired of ineffectiveness and endless excuses. If one supports the Democrats, one has got to prepare to hear constant explanations of why nothing is working out and things aren’t getting done. House of Cards is a fantasy about a Democrat who is deadly in his effectiveness, and that’s seductive in a very unhealthy way.
Clarissa's Blog 
The show is entertaining, and that’s the only good thing I have to say about it.
To me the basic premise seems flawed. The thing I don’t get is that if Frank Underwood is a shrewd career politician, so are his peers and superiors. The way he runs circles around their stoopid little asses reminds me of playing a video game knowing all the cheat codes. He’s playing whack-a-mole with his peers, a group of people who have come to power precisely by being grade A lying, backstabbing assholes, just like him. Sure, make a show about someone rising to the top, but don’t make it look THAT easy.
Also, breaking the fourth wall can be satisfying if the character has something profound to say. Like, if he’s meeting the president, there’s no need for him to say crap like ‘This is make or break time. I need to convince the president to do xyz.’ Jesus christ, isn’t that fucking obvious to anyone who’s been watching the show for more than 5 minutes? The writers of the show seem to think that their audience is super dumb for the main character to explain himself so directly. Usually, good writing and acting can convey the same information without the audience being explicitly told what’s going on in the character’s mind.
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“To me the basic premise seems flawed. The thing I don’t get is that if Frank Underwood is a shrewd career politician, so are his peers and superiors. The way he runs circles around their stoopid little asses reminds me of playing a video game knowing all the cheat codes.”
– That’s exactly what my husband said, including the part about a video game. 🙂 🙂
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My student wants to know why men get married if they do not intend to be monogamous.
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I feel your pain. 🙂
My answer for these situations is, “For the exact same reason as women do.”
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If she wants a good movie “for my husband and I” why does it have to be relating to marital instruction or exemplifying? Can married couples get along with entertainment or other forms of information?
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I have a suspicion that seeing adultery reminds them of all the times they engaged in it and the guilt becomes overwhelming. 🙂
Poor suckers.
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It is quite the tragedy. But aren’t Americans amazingly and particularly dumb? I mean irony and all sorts of things float right above their heads in the same direction as flight 370.
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Compared to my people, Americans are all geniuses, so I should just be quiet.
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heh. I find them bubbly but disappointing. Always shooting for the stars and hitting their big toe.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acrtFlnM0RI
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I am frequently taken aback by just how judgmental students can be about the sexual activity of fictional characters.
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Yes! This is a constant obstacle to my teaching.
And right now a student is writing an essay on the positive sides of the patriarchy. I haven’t been able to make this topic less attractive, as hard as I tried.
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I confess that:
1. I have never seen the show.
2. I am very much put off by the bad grammar in the italicized quote from the review.
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I say if people want to screw around, they should stay single. Furthermore, I can’t see the point of getting married at all if you don’t intend to have children. But then I am a dinosaur.
And I don’t give a damn what fictional characters do in their sex lives.
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\\ Furthermore, I can’t see the point of getting married at all if you don’t intend to have children.
Buying a flat together. In Israel it’s easier and sometimes cheaper if you’re a married couple, to which government cares to provide easier conditions.
Recently in an Israeli paper – a man was killed in the army. His GF wasn’t recognized by court as a military widow, now wants to appeal again.
If you are old and ill, you may want the other person to have legal rights to care for you and fight for your rights, if you become unable to. Visits from a relative to a nursing home may make some difference.
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Hattie, as usual, is unfamiliar with the concept of tact.
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