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Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Decent Essays

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 …show more content…

This is reminiscent of interest groups tugging the government's attention and pocketbook towards their causes. The most direct connection to the government is at the very beginning of the movie when the governor of Smith’s state must appoint a senator to fill a vacancy. Under the Seventeenth Amendment, if a vacancy occurs due to the death or resignation of a senator, in most states, the governor of that state can directly appoint a senator until the next election. Another direct connection was the committee which investigated Smith, now called the Ethics Committee. One of the biggest connections to government was Smith’s use of a filibuster to protest the proposed dam. There is a man from CBS news giving a radio broadcast who reads the rules of a filibuster, that the senator cannot stop talking and cannot take a seat while they are talking or they will lose the floor. Another connection was between government and the press. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the press uses the tactic of framing, twisting the headlines to suit their point of view. One of the other newspapermen quips that the stories about Smith are “Taylor made.” Framing is the technique of putting importance on a certain issue and giving it meaning to suit the media point of view. Taylor was against Smith, so …show more content…

Smith Goes to Washington and its message were especially relevant at the time of its release, which enhances the plot. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was released in October of 1939, ten years after the beginning of the Great Depression and one month after the start of World War II in Europe. Overall, the movie inspires hope in viewers. The viewers see Smith struggle his way through Washington D.C., being beaten down by the press and other senators, but in the end they see Smith prevail. The plot of the movie is meant to reassure viewers that democracy is all well and living and that through persistence and pure intent, anyone can succeed. I felt the movie was meant to inspire efficacy in viewers and show that someone in government will always have the common man’s best interest at heart. During the Great Depression there was a huge expansion of the Federal government’s powers, and I think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was intended to remind people that their interests were still well represented and that the principles of liberty and justice for all were intact. There is a lot of patriotic themes throughout the movie, which I thought served as reminders that America is unique, and the patriotism and spirit of democracy contrasted with what viewers knew was happening in Europe. The romance between Smith and Saunders was a reminder that, hardened as they might seem, the government is no different than the people whose liberties it guarantees. It also shows that there is

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