Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The 1939 movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington portrays a fairly accurate picture of how Congress operates, although the film is rather idealistic at times. The film is an accurate representation in that there is undoubtedly behind-the-scenes scheming and planning that goes on akin to what was portrayed when an unnamed state's political boss in the movie, Jim Taylor, conspires with the state's senior senator, Joseph Paine, to ensure that a dam is built on property that Jefferson Smith wants to build a boy's camp on. The plan involves corruption and graft and a lot of deal-making among various parties. An attempt is made at first to persuade Smith to keep quiet about the events and then there are attempts to discredit him, but in the end, Smith and his ideals prevail. At the risk of sounding cynical, there is no
The movie is also accurate in its portrayal of how Jefferson Smith becomes a senator. Usually, a senator is elected to the office, but in cases in which a senator dies, retires, or otherwise leaves the office vacant, the governor of some states can appoint someone to take his or…
The mine owners did what they did for profit and personal gain, while the coal miners who worked until they died, only wanted a measure of respect and value. Their fight was justified, and they used legal means to attempt to get what they wanted, while the brutal owners used brutality, violence, and finally murder to keep the protesters in check. The difference in these two films is the ways
exception, most of Director Frank Capra's greatest movies take place during the depression, 1929-1941, or shortly after. His films are unique in that they are some of the first to display a faith in American opportunity and values in the context of institutional reform. Author Annalle Newitz aptly articulates Capra's contribution to films with the following quote: The kind of 'socially conscious' movie we associate with Frank Capra's name does
A film that does not have this power, be it narrative or documentary will either simply not get made, or not get supported in such as way that anyone of import will view it or know its title and plot. Conclusion Both narrative and documentary films, in order to be viewed and understood must have a compelling social interest to the viewer, be it emotional, political or both, which it usually
Paine is broken and reveals the entire scheme. Similarly, Dumbo suggests that a belief in one's self can accomplish anything, even in the face of the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Dumbo is the story of an elephant with enormous ears. Dumbo is a freak and the mockery of the circus. His mother is taken away after she tries to protect him. The circus is a cruel and judgmental environment that
Italian-Americans -- 1930s The American experience for Italian immigrants (with particular emphasis on the 1930s) is the salient topic for this paper. The materials presented from scholarly sources in this paper show the positive and negative impacts experienced by Italian-American immigrants; those sources will also be critiqued and analyzed in the context of the experiences, including impacts such as discrimination that Italian-Americans went through during the 1930s. Italians Arrive in the United
" The Aftermath Uncle Tom characters were common in both white and black productions of the time, yet no director before Micheaux had so much as dared to shine a light on the psychology that ravages such characters. By essentially bowing to the two white men, Micheaux implied that Old Ned was less than a man; an individual whittled down to nothing more than yes-man and wholly deprived of self-worth. At this
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