When the blockbuster US series "House of Cards" premiered in 2013, many still believed that reality could not get this bad. But the election of Donald Trump has changed that way of thinking. As "House of Cards" has relentlessly focused on the machinations of campaign politics, today the series appears to many observers to be too realistic.

Almost 80 years ago, politics were perceived differently in Hollywood. At the time, directors and producers portrayed politicians that were still marked by heroism and idealism. A classic example of such "hopeful" political films of the time was "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" (1939), starring James Stewart.

In addition to James Stewart, Henry Fonda in particular ensured that cinema-goers were given a rather positive picture of their politicians in the cinema. Playing the lead role in the film "Young Mr. Lincoln," also released in 1939, Fonda portrayed a future president full of kindness and humanity.

In the 1972 film "The Candidate," idealism was balanced with pessimism about the political process. Robert Redford played the role of the sympathetic Democratic Party candidate who wins in the end, but along the way reveals much about the depravity of politics.

The 1998 film "Primary Colors" provided some of most realistic insights into political electioneering on the big screen. Based on an autobiographical novel by political journalist Joe Klein, who followed Bill Clinton's run for the White House, the film dealt candidly with a cynical election campaign and gave Hollywood food for political thought.

In 1997, director Barry Levinson sparked a fireworks at political gags and satirical side notes in "Wag the Dog." A filmmaker (Dustin Hoffman) and a campaign manager (played by Robert de Niro) have all the means to keep the US president in office in a film that blatantly exposes the corrupt underside of American politics.

America's television producers and series writers have also discovered politics in recent years. Before "House of Cards" became a much-celebrated TV series, cable network ABC presented a sensational political scenario in "Commander in Chief," a show in which Geena Davis portrayed the first female US president.

The series "The West Wing," about the everyday intrigues of a US president, was a great success in the years 1999 to 2006, collecting numerous awards (including four Emmys for best drama series) and drawing in millions of viewers. Running for seven seasons, the series also received critical kudos for its realistic portrayal of backroom machinations in the Oval Office.

In the tradition of the engaged political films of the 1970s came George Clooney's 2011 film, "The Ides of March." Clooney, who plays a Democratic presidential candidate, is assisted by the young election campaigner Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling). "The Ides of March" presented an intelligent and complex picture of the inside workings of American election campaigns.

Just a few weeks before Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, Michael Moore released his prescient documentary film, "Michael Moore in Trumpland." The popular and often contentious director gets to the heart of Trump and his election campaign in a documentary that lets the images and voices speak for themselves.

Award-winning photographer Pete Souza has documented newsworthy events throughout his career, from the Kosovo refugee crisis to the start of the war in Afghanistan. In 2009, after spending time shooting Barack Obama on the campaign trail, he took on the role of official White House photographer — and gained more access to a sitting president than likely any other photographer in history.

Although he accompanied Obama on trips around the world, often Souza's most memorable images were those snapped spontaneously — like this one in the hallways of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, when Obama fist-bumped custodian Lawrence Lipscomb. The images, when released to the media, helped to create a narrative about Obama as a president who is also a friend-of-the-people.

The @PeteSouza Instagram was opened January 20, 2017 — Trump's inauguration and Obama's last day in office. After posting two seemingly innocuous photos, Souza made his opinions known with a third picture. That image, posted January 22, shows the former president in the Oval Office, with red curtains in the backdrop, as here. The shot was a jab at Trump's dissatisfaction with White House decor.

"Shade" is not Souza's first book of images from his time with Obama. In 2008, before Obama's election, he published "The Rise of Barack Obama," which included images from his time as a senator and later on the campaign trail. In November 2017, "Obama: An Intimate Portrait" was released, featuring many images like these, which spotlighted the former president's ease with children.

Although this image was snapped by a Reuters photographer, Souza captured the same moment — a private moment between Merkel and Obama at the G7 summit meeting in Krün, Germany — with his own lens. A similar image is included in "Shade" as a means of conveying the differences in the relationship the two presidents have had with the German chancellor.

In an interview with the New Yorker, Souza said that some days it was hard to know how important the shots were that he was taking. Like this one, above, which occurred spontaneously but in retrospect, held quite a bit of meaning as an image of the importance of representation for young people.

Although Souza has risen to fame as a result of his award-winning photos and Instagram jabs, the photographer posts few selfies. Seen here on the other side of the lens, Souza's job as official White House photographer means he was present throughout the entirety of Obama's eight years in office. He claims to have only missed one day of work due to illness.