In Deference to Great Men: Aaron Sorkin vs. the Occupy Movement

[Bluenorthwest]

1. I do not agree with the author that the McAvoy character serves as Sorkin's 'mouthpiece' or

as a Sorkin substitute. There is nothing in the piece that supports seeing the McAvoy character as a proxy for the author's actual feelings and opinions. McAvoy is a Republican, Sorkin a Democrat. And from there it just goes on and on. If McAvoy sounds stubborn but well intentioned but ridiculous, it is Sorkin who made him sound that way.
In the episode the author references part of the point of the story had to do with the fact that the older and more cynical/pragmatic McAvoy and his producers do not handle the Occupy story well, in fact McAvoy's attack on the Occupy member on air fucks up their contacts for a major story, they lose a lead and will eventually regret this greatly, because they will wind up reporting a false story using their own sources. Younger characters on the show practice a new sort of method which the older and more powerful characters do not understand.
The author of this piece creates the 'Great Man' premise to avoid substantiation of his views of the McAvoy character. The reality of the piece is more complex than this author cares to admit, so he says 'Sorkin does the Great Man thing'. The actual moral centers of this show are women, and female characters are carrying the Sorkin voice far more than McAvoy is.