Any time you get two people in a room who disagree about anything, the time of day, there is a scene to be written. That's what I look for.
Aaron SorkinRead
When I wrote 'The West Wing,' the juice behind it was that in popular culture, our leaders in government are generally portrayed as Machiavellian, or as idiots. I thought, well, how about writing about a group of hyper-competent people?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the desire to depict leaders as capable and competent rather than corrupt or incompetent.
Aaron Sorkin expresses a motivation to challenge the negative stereotypes commonly associated with government leaders in popular culture. By envisioning a narrative focused on 'hyper-competent' individuals, he advocates for a more nuanced and positive portrayal of those in power, suggesting that effective leadership can exist in reality and should be represented in media.
Themes
LeadershipCompetenceGovernmentCultureMedia
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about political series, one might quote Sorkin to highlight how media shapes perceptions of leadership.
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Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.
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With 'The Social Network,' I got into it at first because frankly I thought there was a cool courtroom drama to be had with the intellectual properties. And then what further drew me in was that the most extraordinary social networking device ever created was created by the world's most antisocial person. I liked that story.
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