Y200 Politics and Film

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Y200 Politics and Film

• March 31, 2011

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Christensen and Haas Conclusions

• Political movies have debated the great issues
  of the day as the nation debated them, sometimes
  ahead of the public and sometimes lagging behind,
  sometimes dissenting and sometimes reinforcing.
  Regardless of the state of the union, however,
  some ideas about politics are constantly
  reiterated by movies. If audiences absorb these
  repeated messages, their cumulative effect must
  surely be cynicism and apathy. (p. 278)

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Structural Constraints

• The use of stars to portray heroes
• Audience preference for melodramas (conflict that
  must be solved by heroes)

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More from Christensen and Haas

• Hollywood movies have rightly condemned
  intolerance and corruption.
• More negatively, they have told us to rely on
  leaders and heroes for salvation, ignored the
  alternative of collective action, and neglected
  or condemned opinions that stray from the
  mainstream.
• They have disparaged politics in presenting it
  as evil and corrupting.
• They warn us to stay away from politics

p. 288
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Rambo
Yankovic video
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Films that Christensen and Haas Admire

• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• Reds
• Matewan
• Do the Right Thing
• Natural Born Killers
• Wag the Dog (viewed more favorably than the more
  successful film, Dave)

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Images of Democracy

• Visual Symbols of American Democracy
• The monuments and buildings of Washington, D.C.
• The founding fathers
• The great presidents Washington, Jefferson,
  Lincoln
• The people and the land
• Elections and Campaigns
• Government in Action
• Grass Roots Politics

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Democratic power imagery
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Imagery of Power

• Military vs. non-military capabilities
• Coercive vs. persuasive power
• Legitimate or institutionalized power (authority)
  vs. illegitimate power
• Representation of power in terms of institutional
  symbols

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Good vs. Bad Government
Frescoes in Siena by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
1338-1340
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Jabba the Hut
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Imperial power imagery