Choose from the following films, watch (or re-watch) each film, and write a 3-5 page paper comparing and contrasting your selection from the films below with a film viewed in Class. A reminder of Films Viewed (or to be viewed) in Class: Recount, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Thirteen Days, Hotel Rwanda, The Last King of Scotland, Too Big to Fail, All the President’s Men, Casablanca, The Mouse that Roared, All Quiet on the Western Front, and 12 Angry Men.
The Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers);
The Contender (Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges)
Lawrence of Arabia;
Fail Safe (Henry Fonda)
Manchurian Candidate” (Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey) (Original);
Seven Days in May (Burt Lancaster)
Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney, David Straithairn)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore’s documentary, not Fahrenheit 451″)
JFK (Kevin Costner)
Ides of March (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney)
Power (Richard Gere, Denzel Washington)
Judgement at Nuremburg (Spencer Tracy)
Margin Call (Kevin Spacey)
Wag the Dog (Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman);
Charlie Wilson’s War (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts)
The Distinguished Gentleman (Eddie Murphy);
The Candidate (Robert Redford, Peter Boyle).
The American President (Michael Douglas, Annette Bening)
The Runaway Jury (John Cusack, Gene Hackman)
The War Room (James Carville, George Stephenopolous)
Syriana (George Clooney, Matt Damon)
Your paper should address, but not be limited to, the following elements:
a) Which or both are realistic portrayals of politics and government?
b) Which or both are positive views toward politics and government?
c) What elements are purely fantasy and what elements are normative or prescriptive (describing the way things ought to be)?
d) What events, real or fictitious were they describing?
e) Who were the major characters?
f) What leadership qualities (if pertinent) did they possess?
g) What did the films appear to get right?
h) What did they appear to get wrong?
i) Were they representative of a time or circumstance historically?
j) Were they a warning of future problems?
k) What relevance do the films have to the current political situation in the U.S. or world?
