--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One would like to say in the aftermath of…" description: "\"One would like to say in the aftermath of the 2008 election that everyone lived happily ever after. But the American drama, especially when it involves..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/frank-rich-14674_after_one-would-like-to-say-in-the-aftermath-o_2819124.png" --- # One would like to say in the aftermath of the 2008… ![“One would like to say in the aftermath of the 2008 election that everyone lived happily ever after. But the American drama, especially when it involves race, is always more complicated than that.” quote by Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/frank-rich-14674_after_one-would-like-to-say-in-the-aftermath-o_2819124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/frank-rich-14674_after_one-would-like-to-say-in-the-aftermath-o_2819124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/269/frank-rich-14674_after_one-would-like-to-say-in-the-aftermath-o_2819124.png) > “One would like to say in the aftermath of the 2008 election that everyone lived happily ever after. But the American drama, especially when it involves race, is always more complicated than that.” [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Post‑election narratives often oversimplify outcomes, especially regarding race, ignoring deeper complexities. **In simple terms:** Election outcomes are more complex than simple happy endings. Key Takeaway Recognize and discuss underlying social complexities. Themes politics race complexity Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical political When to use this quote - public policy debates - community forums - educational curricula - media criticism Key Concepts sociology media analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can we better represent nuanced realities? - What role does media play in shaping these narratives? A Different Perspective Simplifying narratives can erase marginalized voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/) [Aftermath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aftermath/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-drama-915421/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Drama Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama-especially-2996716/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/) [Ever after](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever-after/) [Everyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyone/) [Happily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happily/) [Happily American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happily-american-3576447/) [Involves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involves/) [Involves Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involves-race-1843210/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-complicated-3576446/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [Within the context of the clubs, and perhaps the sex business as a whole, the issue of race becomes very complicated because you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-seymour/within-the-context-of-the-clubs-and-perhaps-the-sex-business-as-a/) [Craig Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-seymour/) > [I hate drama, especially when its in your own clique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-drama-especially-when-its-in-your-own-clique/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Typecasting is a thing, but when it involves race, it narrows the roles available to an almost comically small amount.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-byer/typecasting-is-a-thing-but-when-it-involves-race-it-narrows-the-roles/) [Nicole Byer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-byer/) > [This is an issue that has an exceedingly high number of threads in it. It involves race, it involves culture, it involves crime, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-dowd/this-is-an-issue-that-has-an-exceedingly-high-number-of-threads-in-it/) [Matthew Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-dowd/) > [Ironically enough, if the case involves race, and one claims that race is a disqualifying factor, nobody could hear the case. Everybody comes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rhode/ironically-enough-if-the-case-involves-race-and-one-claims-that-race/) [Deborah Rhode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rhode/) > [An advice: DO NOT date if you cannot handle drama ESPECIALLY IN high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-advice-do-not-date-if-you-cannot-handle-drama-especially-in-high/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With drama, especially, it seems like the bigger the budgets and the edgier the characters, the more interesting they are. We're very lucky because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-levitan/with-drama-especially-it-seems-like-the-bigger-the-budgets-and-the/) [Steven Levitan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-levitan/) > [I think American drama is at its best when it takes the domestic and makes it epic, like a Greek tragedy in the front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-marie-duff/i-think-american-drama-is-at-its-best-when-it-takes-the-domestic-and/) [Anne-Marie Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-marie-duff/) > [Whereas Absurdism in Europe seemed a logical, almost inevitable response to the irrationality of war, the analogous elements that surfaced in American drama seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-aronson/whereas-absurdism-in-europe-seemed-a-logical-almost-inevitable/) [Arnold Aronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-aronson/) > [So much of great American drama has been about a certain kind of dysfunctional family, and maybe my interests are in the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-karam/so-much-of-great-american-drama-has-been-about-a-certain-kind-of/) [Stephen Karam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-karam/) > [After having struggled through some close friends' and family members' battles with cancer, I wanted to create an American drama about the experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/after-having-struggled-through-some-close-friends-and-family-members/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) > [I'm not one of these people who say how much better American drama is than English. I find it mostly too American, except for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-m-not-one-of-these-people-who-say-how-much-better-american-drama-is/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [I think there is a long exploration in American drama of women in particular who, by force of circumstances or because they are predisposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-think-there-is-a-long-exploration-in-american-drama-of-women-in/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [The situation in the West Bank and Gaza involves a military occupation amid urban guerrilla warfare, analogous to the British security measures in Northern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schwartz/the-situation-in-the-west-bank-and-gaza-involves-a-military/) [Jack Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schwartz/) > [A lot of my work involves instilling objects with the power of touch - a transference of soul, spirit, energy through actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-involves-instilling-objects-with-the-power-of-touch/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) ## More by Frank Rich > ['Up in the Air' is not a political movie. It won't be mistaken for either a Michael Moore or Any Rand polemic on capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/up-in-the-air-is-not-a-political-movie-it-won-t-be-mistaken-for/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Unless and until Barack Obama addresses the full depth of Americans' anger with his full arsenal of policy smarts and political gifts, his presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/unless-and-until-barack-obama-addresses-the-full-depth-of-americans/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Looking back at my high school years, I'm struck by how slowly history can move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/looking-back-at-my-high-school-years-i-m-struck-by-how-slowly-history/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Feckless as it was for Bush to ask Americans to go shopping after 9/11, we all too enthusiastically followed his lead, whether we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/feckless-as-it-was-for-bush-to-ask-americans-to-go-shopping-after-9/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [My particular historical vantage point is a product of my upbringing as that odd duck, a native Washingtonian whose parents were not in government.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/my-particular-historical-vantage-point-is-a-product-of-my-upbringing/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The only truly shocking thing about last Tuesday's election is that the Democrats didn't do far worse, or as badly as they deserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-only-truly-shocking-thing-about-last-tuesday-s-election-is-that/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [I'm always struck by the kids who turn up in New York and LA, and places in between. Chicago. Wanting to do theater, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/i-m-always-struck-by-the-kids-who-turn-up-in-new-york-and-la-and/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [“In Shubert Alley that night, I had unwittingly reached the threshold of an entire landscape of alleys that would lead to a world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/in-shubert-alley-that-night-i-had-unwittingly-reached-the-threshold/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Yul Brynner's performance in "The King and I," . . . can no longer be regarded as a feat of acting or even endurance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/yul-brynner-s-performance-in-the-king-and-i-can-no-longer-be-regarded/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [There’s nothing entertaining about watching goons hurl venomous slurs at congressmen like the civil rights hero John Lewis and the openly gay Barney Frank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/there-s-nothing-entertaining-about-watching-goons-hurl-venomous-slurs/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The most wonderful street in the universe is Broadway. It is a world within itself. High and low, rich and poor, pass along at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-most-wonderful-street-in-the-universe-is-broadway-it-is-a-world/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [In that sense, when a Bush or a Gore, or whomever, goes on David Letterman, that's the news, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/in-that-sense-when-a-bush-or-a-gore-or-whomever-goes-on-david/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The truth is that a lot of plays aren't political at all. In American theater history, political theater has tended to crop up when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-truth-is-that-a-lot-of-plays-aren-t-political-at-all-in-american/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Hollywood no longer depicts reporters in ruthless pursuit of criminals, high and low. Now they are the criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/hollywood-no-longer-depicts-reporters-in-ruthless-pursuit-of/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [I grew up in Washington, D.C. But also loving the theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/i-grew-up-in-washington-d-c-but-also-loving-the-theater/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) [Explore all 45 Frank Rich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) ## More After quotes > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. It's there with a bunch of other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/at-the-drop-of-a-hat-people-will-say-there-are-no-roles-for-women/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [I was strictly after hits when it came down to the Jackson 5. That's all I was concerned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-richards/i-was-strictly-after-hits-when-it-came-down-to-the-jackson-5-that-s/) [Deke Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deke-richards/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [See to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/see-to-do-good-and-you-will-find-that-happiness-will-run-after-you/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [After The Wizard Of Oz I was typecast as a lion, and there aren't all that many parts for lions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-lahr/after-the-wizard-of-oz-i-was-typecast-as-a-lion-and-there-aren-t-all/) [Bert Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-lahr/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. 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