A Lot Went Wrong at the State Dinner | The West Wing

“We look good.”
Season 1 Episode 7: The State Dinner
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[@kwerrewk]

I love this series and have watched it back to back several times, but somehow Sorkin didn’t get the Indonesian language part right. It’s true that Indonesia has more than 400 native languages or dialects, but the country has a national language called Bahasa Indonesia. Nearly everyone in the country speaks it, it’s the language used by the education system, and the legally recognized language for official use. Nearly all Indonesians are bilingual - Bahasa Indonesia being one of them. Hi from Indonesia!

[@dirdib69]

Yes, some rather heavy-handed poetic license there in the interest of plot. Of course, it turns out that Mr Bambang speaks English and is just getting the staff back for his own President being insulted by Barlett's speech.

[@RidwanGosal]

As an Indonesian I laughed my ass off when I heard the scene the first time (had the video running background).

[@adamjeffries7235]

It was a long set up for a very old joke

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

I'm throwing my copy of the series in the trash now.

[@TairaEndless]

Not Bahasa Indonesia. Just use Indonesian, it's the name for the language and the people. Never use "Bahasa", it's confusing and make more misunderstanding like "Do you speak Bahasa?" or do you know that years ago there's a product manual who mentioned our language name as Bahasian?

[@FonzietheCapybara]

CJ: "How bad can this get?" Leo: "Catastrophic" KZbin editor: "And now time for the jaunty music!"

[@ctooner1]

Have you seen the show? End credits are the same way. Especially this particular episode. Jed's talking on the phone to the ship that's basically sinking, the situation is dire---- *jaunty music*.

[@TheCritic-MMA]

Exactly, this horrible "this was just a fairytale" end music is directly from the show, but you never really heard it on broadcast. It was jarring as hell on DVD though, just like here.

[@me.lms1126]

aaaaw, are you feeling... Teased ? Did it create an itch that could only be scratch by knowing what happens next ? Daaamn, how dare they...

[@veritatas678]

I am baffled how no one commented on the spectacular camera work and the smooth transitions. It was like magic how it went from one person to the next

[@pxcampbell4073]

A hallmark of this series - outstanding camera work

[@onothankyou]

How can this be titled that something went wrong? This is how all of my white tie dinners have gone.

[@flyboy152]

They left out the crazy 3-way translation scene in the kitchen.😅

[@Bazookatone1]

"The truth will do it almost every time" said by the woman secretly treating her husband's undisclosed Multiple Sclerosis

[@SirVer51]

"almost"

[@fendypradanasaputra8068]

Love the West Wing since i was in Junior High School. Hi from Indonesia! 🇮🇩

[@jimreily7538]

Hello from Australia ! I have been been to Indonesia but have always wished to go to Kalimantan, Jakarta and Sumatra. (Not Bali, I think maybe there are too many Australians there already).

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Love Abby trying to set CJ up! Have to say I don't think bad weather would be a problem for the Navy, however.

[@deBebbler]

Must be due to AGW.

[@masterofdesaster8]

Calling a hurricane at sea "bad weather" is a hell of an understatement, though. And if you want to know what damage a storm like that can do, I recommend you read about Typhoon Cobra, also known as Halsey's Typhoon.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

@@masterofdesaster8 Thanks - just read about that. Wow, what a disaster

[@daviddundas4140]

The president spoke to a guy on a tender boat supporting the carrier group, he said they were facing 120mph winds, 80 foot swell and they were shipping green water over the bow, so yes, thats a problem, a big one

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

@@daviddundas4140 Yes, I know. I think the Navy which has excellent weather forecasts would have moved the fleet out of the path of the storm. The US Navy conducts exercises in the North Atlantic every winter. They are very experienced in dealing with bad weather.

[@danielwarren7110]

i love Donna's comment about "he speaks Bahtok and Portuguese so i would not look down your nose" The other funny thing here is Bahtok which all of them are saying is not an Indonesian language it is Hungarian. I think they meant Bahasa ... which is also where there is an error in this ... Bahasa is the lingua franca for Indonesia, which is called Bahasa Indonesia which literally means language Indonesia, most people are at the least Bi Lingual but the majority are trilingual or more. There are between 800 and 700 languages across all the islands but 94% of the population speak Bahasa as the second "first language". But only about 20% speak Bahasa as their first "first language" with 30% speaking Java. But even so... still i love Dona's snark in this.

[@riversweet]

He's been a CFO at major public companies for over two decades..

[@bmitc264]

So this is what Karl was before he joined Waystar Royco.

[@joemello7888]

I miss that show.

[@clocksurfer]

Agent "Surf" is in the KGB! Miami Vice warned us about that guy!!!

[@A.D.0306]

The look on Sam face.... Gutshot.

[@JohnSmith-gb5vg]

That doesn’t happen. Prior, weeks prior, to the event, required languages are reviewed for each head of state and priority guest. Interviews are conducted to ensure certification is correct and professionalism is assured. Mom and dad worked for a couple of US embassies.

[@johnpunith507]

Artistic liberty was in play I suppose and to add a bit more drama, as if the evening needed more!!

[@katetallentpcconsultant]

Abby talking about vermae. The truth will do it almost every time.

[@elimb6071]

"Daaaanaaaa?"

[@GBTCO2b]

'They summarily execute people they suspect of being sorcerers'. Janel Moloney should have got an Emmy for saying that tongue twister. Aaron Sorkin was just messing with her by that stage . . . .

[@jeffreyjeziorski1480]

Ah hadda woot canal!!

[@cohenb18]

I was hoping for the part where Josh tells Mindy that the FBI hostage negotiator was shot cause it was her idea and she freaks out

[@xChemistryFTWx]

So why is there an 'official' channel dropping clips of The West Wing all of the sudden...

[@morpheus636]

The Warner Bros channel has been dropping clips too. Teasing something???

[@arthurbriand2175]

Maybe a streaming deal

[@ryanoconnell1905]

A grand conspiracy, no doubt. Good thing we have your eagle eye on the case.

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

Cos we’re lucky!

[@frankbalster1153]

Prepping for Season 8…fingers crossed

[@summernightlavvy9771]

Cuddy!

[@clocksurfer]

Matchmaker 😂

[@pavanatanaya]

Hurricanes travel at 15 mph, War ships are ya know Faster than 15 mph

[@tspencer227]

And the fleet leaves Norfolk several days before a storm is projected to be in the vicinity, and will sail out and then around behind the storm, several hundred miles away (at definitely more than 15 mph, or even knots). And hurricanes don't change direction on a dime either. Source: emergency sortied for Hurricane Isabel back in '03.

[@FrankDyke]

Tenders aren't that fast, though.

[@tspencer227]

​@@FrankDyke we sailed with USS Camden, which was in commission at the time of this episode. She absolutely was. Also, they weren't based out of Norfolk in the late 90s.

[@softberries5143]

I miss Leo

[@CaptXpendable]

All I can think of is how bad an idea it is to let Sledgehammer anywhere near The White House.

[@Mokkari77]

Trust him, he knows what he's doing!

[@Sol-k9]

There is an Indonesian language though - very similar to Malay 😊

[@cynthiacassel]

I’m weary of people using up my energy just trying to get me in bed.

[@syruplease]

KARL

[@garrysinclair9767]

This segment was not researched with any rigor at all. It is simply wrong. The official language of the Republic of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian). There are 718 regional languages in Indonesia plus the national language. Bahasa Indonesia was chosen to be the national language as the regional languages are not mutually intelligible. My wife's language is Javanese, which has three levels and not all Javanese can speak all three. As well, within the Javanese community there are regional variations of Javanese which are not mutually totally intelligible. The country became independent in 1945. As education improved and the media became more sophisticated, Bahasa Indonesia speakers increased in number. Most young and middle-aged people speak the national language although some older people may not. The situation posited in this segment has two men who are in the USA. I would think they'd both speak English. However if not, it is simply not possible that one of them would not be able to speak Bahasa Indonesia - simply not possible. The social ranking of the two would be too high.

[@DomClancy]

That it takes your like 500 words to explain all this demonstrates they didn't do this whole thing a disservice in selecting the country for comical communication confusion

[@aaronleverton4221]

It's a fictional show, it will create fictional versions of real situations to suit the drama. Or perhaps you think the three cops translating the country accent in Hot Fuzz was also claiming to be factual?

[@garrysinclair9767]

@@aaronleverton4221 I'm sorry. I'm not aware of Hot Fuzz. A couple of Americans with whom I worked in Jakarta claimed that many Americans do not know much about the rest of the world. My perhaps too lengthy explanation of the many languages in the Republic of Indonesia was addressed more towards Americans than it was a criticism of the segment per se. I recently wrote to another Australian fan of the series that it is "... a political fantasy. But oh such a beautiful fantasy." Begitu 'aja. Pak Aaron.

[@garrysinclair9767]

@@DomClancy I can be a wordy fucker, no doubt. As an Australian permanently living in Central Java, I thought that an explanation of the reality of the languages might be of interest. I didn't intend that my explanation would offend. Pak Bumshka, Garry minto ma'af.

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@garrysinclair9767 You're an Australian, but you need a couple of Yanks to tell you Yanks are ignorant? Pub test, mate, we all know Yanks don't know crap, why else would they vote in George W Bush or Donald Trump? The point is the drama, not the reality.

[@megtravers327]

Do Brad and Rob have this relationship in real life?😊

[@MikeyDommino]

The Westwing end Theme music has to be the biggest mistake in TV history

[@edscott2433]

Oh God. A clip with Mandy. Bye!

[@bwer123gt]

I still like West Wing don't get me wrong. but this episode shows how little Sorkin actually does his research( which is odd given the entire premise of this show hinges on smart liberal characters owning their political opponents with knowledges). I notice in such mistake is not isolated in this episode too, judging by discussions in other clips posted on youtube. This episode has 3 : 1. There is an Indonesian language, it is as old(it's predecessor is even older) as the country itself, it's impossible a politician in a position as high as a senior adviser to the Indonesian President can't speak it. 2. this episode takes place in 1999, somebody as politically opinionated as sorkin should know That Indonesia has experiences political reform the previous year, removing the old CIA installed dictator from power, the guy that replaced him is a western educated technocrat, he enacted a lot of reforms, press freedom, released political prisoners(this is Toby's grievance in the episode), allowing the Timor referendrum. If West Wing really reflects Sorkin's politics, I think Sorkin would have liked this guy, its unfortunate he never bothered to read up about him. 3. a bit of nitpick, "Rahmadi Sumahidjo Bambang" is not a bataknese name, it's javanese.

[@pac401]

Relax, it's a tv show that made up the Russian presidents name (Shagorin) and a fake middle eastern country (Kumar).

[@Circa1628]

Ugh...Mandy. season 1 Mandy

[@tomshea8382]

Almost no reason at all for being. No idea what to do with her.

[@normiewoo787]

There is such a language as Indonesian, though. More than 210 million people speak it. This show is dumb.

[@hobnob_]

That verme scene is poignant. Back when the Democrats weren't woke.

[@845835]

Has to be the most pretentious TV show ever.

[@pauls.7530]

Poop and pee

[@jeffreyjeziorski1480]

You must hate all the Emmys thiis show received for being, you know, pretentious.

[@vizpop18]

One of the greatest Show ever.