Jefferson Smith Film Analysis

The main plot of the movie, Mr. Smith goes to Washington is a conflict between Jeff Smith, Senator Paine, and Jim Taylor. A senator of a state passed away causing a new senator needing to be appointed. Jim Taylor a local publicist who had pull around the Senate, pressured the governor to select Jefferson Smith. He was appointed as the new Senator of the State, because everyone thought that he was incompetent, naive, and would not get in their way. However when Smith passed a clever bill that got in the way of Jim Taylor’s scandal, Jim and Senator Paine tried to do whatever they could to get Jeffrey expelled from the Senate.

1. This film is saying the American democracy can be easily corrupted. The film portrays that it takes strong, determined men with much integrity to stand up for what they know is right.

The main characters in the movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, are Jefferson Smith, his secretary Clarissa Saunders, the senior senator from Smith’s state, Joseph Paine, and a newspaper magnate by the name of Jim Taylor. Jefferson Smith is in charge of the Boy Rangers and is avery patriotic but politically inexperienced man. His secretary Clarissa Saunders has lived and worked in Washington for some time and has become disillusioned with politics and tells Smith to go home, that a man like him has no chance in D.C. Senator Joseph Paine is the senior senator in the state he and Smith are representing. Paine’s career success is owed in large part to Jim Taylor, the crooked newspaper man who helped Paine win his seat. Jim Taylor has a large

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a film about an average man’s journey and experience in Congress as Senator of Mississippi.

This docility and willingness to vote according to the older Senators was most likely caused by the new Senators’ fear of the political bosses. Mr. Smith, however, was sheltered from knowing that the political bosses even existed and, as a result, was not afraid to stand up for his beliefs. Mr. Taylor, a typical political boss of Smith’s time, had extreme power in his state and was able to tilt the public opinion of Senator Smith. He did this through his control of the state media and connections within the government. Taylor concocted evidence with the help of his government connections alleging that Smith owned the property intended for the boy’s camp and was only promoting the camp bill so that he could sell his own property to the government at a high price. Taylor then publicized these false accusations against Smith in the newspapers that he controlled, thus persuading public opinion and ultimately causing Smith to be accused of wrongdoing by a Senate committee. Throughout this entire entourage, Smith was too inexperienced and naive to stand up against Taylor’s political machine and resorted instead to crying at the Lincoln Memorial. Smith only returned to the Senate after Saunders convinced him that he should fight for his rights. This situation ultimately proved once again that Senator Smith was too naive to be an effective Senator. Smith did not realize that the other Senators were inclined to believe the accusations against his character, and therefore,

Imagine being in a situation where there are a limited number of options and your life can only go in one direction. Has this ever happened to you? Either way, this is the predicament that the character of Jefferson faces in A Lesson Before Dying, who is sentenced to death for crimes that he did not commit. Although Jefferson has only thirty days left to live, he learns three valuable lessons that he carries with him into his final hours. This includes learning to open up to the people closest to him, showing kindness and love to those who have shown kindness to him, and finding self-worth in the age of Jim-Crow.

The film Swing Vote is an American political culture film that relies heavily on film subtext to depict the negative attitude many Americans have towards voting, corruption inside a political election, and the spectacle of media frenzy. While the film gives a light hearted impression of a rare political snafu it is still consistent with the main themes of other political films of manipulation, money lust, and power hungry political heads that will stop at nothing for their own personal gain. We also see the political candidates merely as puppets while their campaign managers are the ones truly calling the shots. Swing Vote is a unique political culture film because due to the ordeal in the film’s plot, the politicians are at a disadvantage when they are usually the ones in power. With the tables turned we see how they construct their corrupt schemes and the direct effect it has on the character representing the American perspective. The strong symbols that convey the cultural norms in America’s political system are in need of a deeper analysis.

When protagonist Jefferson Smith very suddenly becomes a US Senator, he is portrayed as the perfect example of nominal patriotism. He has several speeches by Washington and Lincoln memorized, is the leader of a group of what are basically Boy Scouts, and spends his first day in Washington DC in awe of the monuments.

Lincoln was a noble man. He was known as honest “Abe” when he practiced law. When he spoke he stood still and kept his hands behind his back. He used his words very cautiously but spoke with conviction and motivation. He was always very positive, hoping for a reconciliation between the states. “Lincoln's distinctively human and

Mr. Smith is portrayed as an honest man with strong opinions. He is the ideal politician in an ideal society. The film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington depicts a "reassuring image" that happens to be "an image of the past" (Wheeler). However, in today's legislature, people like Mr. Smith are rare due to the fact that a politician's primary goal is re-election. The good of the people may come as another intention of a politician, but it is always secondary to "bringing home the pork." There should be more people like Mr. Smith because the legislature would be able to make decisions more effectively and efficiently, rather than how slowly they currently operate. This is an unfortunate truth, yet it is how our society has been shaped to operate.

Jefferson Smith: The Unlikely yet Perfect Senator Imagine this: your governor wants someone to become your state’s Senator and its between them and his corrupt political boss’s selection. He decides to flip a coin to choose, which happens to land on its side.

Smith Goes to Washington. An example from the movie is James Taylor. Taylor, an influential businessman, told the governor who he wanted appointed to the vacant senate seat, told the senators in Congress how to vote, and had complete control of organized media in his state. Taylor repeatedly told Senator Paine and Governor Hopper that his influence got them elected. In government, everybody has an interest that they want to carry out and they use their influence to help achieve their aim. However, influence and the power of incumbency is also demonstrated here as both men had been in office for many years, surviving reelection and retaining their positions. Incumbents are typically supported and reelected also due to the influence they have (Bardes

Americans freedom of Speech and the Rights to be equal. On July 4th, 1776, the Continental

Essay Question: In what ways does this movie demonstrate the “Iron Triangle” and its powerful influence in the manner that our government functions?

Jeff Shannon, a noted film critic, comments, "The film covers familiar territory and deals in broad metaphors that even a child could comprehend." There is nothing deep or complex about the message, and yet the cinematic metaphors are so broad that countless applications are possible. The film begins with the introduction, “Once upon a time”, thus some see it as a kind of superior fable or parable of the eternal cosmic battle between good