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"THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT."
Term Paper ID:30379
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Essay Subject:
Analysis of Rob Reiner's 1995 film as an idealized presentation of the office of the presidency.... More...
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4 Pages / 900 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of Rob Reiner's 1995 film as an idealized presentation of the office of the presidency. Issue of real problems reduced to policy based on opinion polls. Plot of film a bland of politics and a romance. Conflice of president deciding whether to acknowledge real problems. Oversimplification of film's view of politics.
Paper Introduction:
In the film The American President the very idealized presentation of the office of the presidency, the politics of national elections, and the role of the media seems to reflect the wishful thinking of director Rob Reiner, producer Robert Redford, writer Aaron Sorkin, and the film's principal actors. The filmmakers unambiguously identify the central character President Andrew Shepard (Michael Douglas) as a very liberal Democrat and his probable opponent in the upcoming election, Senator Rumsford (Richard Dreyfuss), embodies all the most cynical aspects of Republican exhortations about "family values" and "character" as election tools. In the idealized world of the film the answer to many of the problems confronting those who wish to govern humanely is for a political leader to have the courage to openly state that the "family values" and "character"
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The film leaves out the role of themembers of Congress in devising the bill--they only seem to be allowed tovote on whatever the President chooses to "send to the floor"--and itleaves out the role of the media in perpetuating the style of attackfavored by the Republican Rumsford. While thefilm does not disguise its agenda at all, it continues the process ofmaking the president the center of all politics and it makes it appear thatthis President's remarks, just like those of Rumsford, will be conveyedalmost without interference or interpretation by the media. Robert Redford and Rob Reiner. The simplifications in the film are usually understandable in termsof the need to tell a story as efficiently as possible. The film seems to assume,in conformity with right-wing claims, that the media have an enormousliberal bias and would gladly support an unbiased account of thePresident's response. Fox), who urges thepresident to answer Rumsford's smears. Yet there isno follow-up on this exchange which, in real life, would initiate a fieldday among journalists of all kinds. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Scr. Instead the film chooses to flatter those segments of the populationit wants to take its message seriously. The President replies that "they drink the sandbecause they don't know the difference." Shepard, of course, turns out tobe wrong and sees that he has settled far too easily for extremecompromises that legitimize the opposition's cynical rhetoric. In the idealized world of the film the answer to many of theproblems confronting those who wish to govern humanely is for a politicalleader to have the courage to openly state that the "family values" and"character" claims of the Republicans are a cynical tool used to distractthe voters' attention from the genuine issues. There is a token acknowledgment that the concerns ofbusiness are of even greater importance than the concerns of "the people"--as in the mention of the "Motown Three." But the film fails to recognizethat it is the Democratic leadership's recognition of this reality andtheir desire to be as pro-business as possible--while maintaining therudiments and the appearance of being pro-environment, pro-worker, pro-guncontrol--that truly muzzles them. The key arguments in the film are put forward by thepresident's speechwriter, Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. According to Rothschild theAmerican people long for leadership and will drag themselves across thedesert toward the mirage of leadership. In the film The American President the very idealized presentation ofthe office of the presidency, the politics of national elections, and therole of the media seems to reflect the wishful thinking of director RobReiner, producer Robert Redford, writer Aaron Sorkin, and the film'sprincipal actors. The filmmakers unambiguously identify the centralcharacter President Andrew Shepard (Michael Douglas) as a very liberalDemocrat and his probable opponent in the upcoming election, SenatorRumsford (Richard Dreyfuss), embodies all the most cynical aspects ofRepublican exhortations about "family values" and "character" as electiontools. Rob Reiner. A televisioninterviewer seems to caution Rumsford as he makes slanderous allegationsregarding Wade and asks whether the Senator can name any of the people whosupposedly accused Wade of trading sexual favors for votes. Aaron Sorkin. Prod. They do not fail to attack the cynicalrhetoric surrounding family values because the media's interpretation ofand reporting of Republican responses would devastate them. Dir. And they donot go all out for gun control, emissions controls, and other such itemsbecause they fear not just the media interpretations and right-wingresponse but the money that automobile and gun manufacturers (and thousandsof others) will pour into supporting opposition candidates and defeatinganyone who has the nerve to speak as President Shepard does in the film.It all boils down to money yet, in the idealized world of The AmericanPresident, money is nothing but a punch line for the series of jokes aboutthe President trying to buy flowers for his "girlfriend" without theassistance of a corps of White House staffers. Instead the filmmerely asserts that if a president seems unpopular in the polls he will notbe able to hold on to Congressional support--which is true enough in somerespects but hardly gets at the real problems in such matters. Work CitedThe American President. This brings up the most important strand of unreality in the film'sview of politics. Thus the supposedreality of politics is shown in the trade-off of votes in which Detroit-area Congressional Representatives will support an Administration-sponsoredcrime bill in exchange for a lower limitation on fossil-fuels emissions inthe President's environmental bill. If, once they get there, theydiscover that it is a mirage they are so thirsty for leadership that theywill drink the sand. It flatters the media by keeping their role inthe perpetuation of the Rumsford-inspired scandal hidden. Atthe beginning of the film the President and his staff are jubilant over the6 -plus approval ratings, yet never say what, exactly, has produced thispopularity. The film sticks to the President'spoint of view and does not show the media response. Videocassette. But both of these omissions aresignificant in the effect they have on the slant of the story. They want "crime control,"for example, but refuse to acknowledge any need for "gun control." The plot hinges on the fall and rise of the opinion polls assembledby the President's pollster as they reflect the nation's satisfaction ordissatisfaction based largely, it appears, on his relationship with his"girlfriend," a political lobbyist named Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). And it flattersthe American people by suggesting that they will instinctively recognizeand follow honest and humane, but practical, leadership. It flatters Democratic leaders(and President Clinton?) by suggesting that they, indeed, want to be openabout problems such as gun control, limits on fossil-fuels emissions, andgenuine character issues. While it iscertainly a pleasant idea to believe that such a forthright response toRepublican cynicism would produce a favorable result of the sort the filmhopes for, it is unreasonable to assume that the media and the people wouldlive up to the roles assigned them in the film. But the desire for expanded ratings and readership,unfortunately, is the primary motivation of the media which are, as thefilm fails to acknowledge, businesses and are owned by the sameconglomerates that own so many other businesses of so many kinds. The romantic affair, however, causes a 2 percent drop inapproval which, in today's atmosphere, is hardly explicable but is blamedon the aggressive smearing of the President's values and distorting ofWade's past by Rumsford and the President's refusal to stoop to arguing atRumsford's level.
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