Wednesday November 28, 2001
227209
C.J. is outraged about an arms sale to secure an airbase lease with a Middle-Eastern country which perpetuates atrocities against its women; the staff anxiously awaits test results to determine the possibility of an outbreak of mad-cow disease; Josh debates a women's group lobbyist over a treaty's wording concerning prostitution; Toby meets with veterans upset about a Pearl Harbor anniversary exhibition at the Smithsonian; Sam explores the idea of a national seatbelt law after Bartlet is sued by a woman whose husband died in an automobile accident.
Write a Recap »The senior staff and the President debate when to go public with a possible outbreak of mad-cow disease, C.J. is furious that the United States does business with Qumar and Josh wades into the thorny issue of freedom and 'forced' prostitution. hide show
By all accounts this is a wonderful episode, fully entitled to the praise and awards associated with it. It deals with various complex and emotional issues (i.e. foreign policy, women's rights and prostitution) in an environment that seems real, albeit I have never worked in the White House before.
Yet, the episode does have a few plot holes in it, that keep me from giving it a perfect score. C.J. reaction is necessary for the storyline to illustrate how amazing she is at her job, but also how public policy has very real world implications for real people and that it is not always easy to balance U.S. economic and security interests with concerns for universal human rights and dignity.
Yet, this is the same C.J. who once strongly defended the 'realists' foreign policy perspective to a group of high school students when the West Wing was on lock down. Simply put, the realists tend to believe that when it comes to foreign policy; if you can do it, you probably should. If you want it, take it. Don't complain and don't fuss over human rights issues. C.J. defends this perspective when it comes to hunting down actual or suspected terrorists, but in this episode she seems furious that the U.S. is pursuing a realists foreign policy.
No doubt that Qumar government is oppressive to many different segments of its society, women included. Yet, a realist would argue that foreign policy is about power, economic and national security and not liberal-feminist goals.
Also, the arguments used in regards to the language in the international treaty regarding "forced" prostitution were a bit of a stretch, albeit it probably reflects the views of most audience members and the writers wanted the newly introduced character to be well liked.
Prostitution that involves minors, slavery or any sort of force, harassment and or intimidation would be treated as "forced" prostitution. Minors cannot give consent and consent cannot exist when their is force or fraud involved.
If adult prostitution was legalized and regulated for public health and safety it probably would make the lives of the women (and men) who are prostitutes a heck of a lot better. IMHO.
True, few adults strive to be prostitutes and I can see reasons for giving such people alternatives; job training, education, etc. However, I felt that the arguments put forth as to why the U.S. needed to treat all forms prostitution as deserving of the same sanctions to be weak.
Beyond these two complaints, it is a wonderful episode.
This is a story about the sheer strength of CJ and how good she is at her job. Amongst the brilliance of the show and it story telling abilities, "The Women of Qumar" stands out as being truly outstanding story telling. hide show
I love the west wing and the way it tells the stories. This is a story about the sheer strength of CJ and how good she is at her job. Amongst the brilliance of the show and it story telling abilities, "The Women of Qumar" stands out as being truly outstanding story telling. It stands out by handling a topic that ALL women should be passionate about as just one of the usual five stories in an episode, but by treating it this way it highlights the issue. Bartlet at the start of the episode after brokering the arms deal makes a slight comment about CJ's reaction, and throughout the story it seems as though CJ is the only one who cares about this subject of selling arms to a country that condones the beating of women and who CJ feels that one day the US will fight a war against. The scene where CJ breaks down while speaking to Nancy McNally, the passion was truly in Allison Janney's voice, the line "They are beating the women Nancy" was delivered with true anguish, to then follow it by doing a normal press briefing where she managed to joke about it, shows CJ's depth of character and her dedication to her work. One of the best episodes of season 3.
I liked the storyline of this episode - it all was on important topics and it did felt like they take it seriously and they have a message to forward and something to think about. CJ really managed to move by the way she cares and the conversation she had with Nancy.. it was maybe the best part of this episode.
But we just cannot get episode without some fun and even if the topic why Amy and Josh met was far from fun, the way they ended it and Josh yelling if she is twelve years old.. That was worth it.
Thoughtful episode.
Difficult issues tackled with style. hide show
I have to admit that I'm a CJ Cregg fan and this episode is one of her best. Though it is crammed with interesting themes such as food scares and forced prostitution, one story line jumps out (and gives rise to the title). CJ's unease and anger with the administration's decision to sell weapons to a country that ignores the most basic of women's right, gives Allison Janney a chance to make of CJ more than just a talking head. CJ's efforts to get people to change their minds are heroic and each time she fails, the exasperation shows more clearly in her body language. In the end she has to accept a very clichéd answer from Nancy McNally and announce the sale in the press room. She does this with a straight face, even using humor. Remember that you are watching an actress playing a woman who is hiding her emotions. Her tragedy still hits you.
I've cried during 3 episodes of WW, Bartlet For America, Take This Sabbath Day, and the Women of Qumar. hide show
I love this episode so much, it reminds me why I love CJ, and how awesome she is...
Allison Janney is at her very best in this episode. Her whole preformance is amazing, especially the end scene with Nancy McNally. I love how she was crying, and how she made the Nazi analogy, standing up to Toby, and it was all just great. It really does make me cry.
I love Amy Gardner. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest Josh and Donna supporters, but I love Amy anyway, cause if Josh can't get his act together, Amy is a good second. And Josh and Amy aside, she is just an awesome character. I love her balloon animals and her water balloons. She is an amazing feminist and rocks!
Then mad cow disease, i wish they followed up on that, it could've been very interesting. The Pearl Harbor thing was okay, but there was much better stuff going on. This episode was so great. I love it!!!
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