Films Dealing with Political Action

Films can reflect aspects of political action and suggest certain ideas about politics and political activity, though films can only hint at these realities in a dramatic form and cannot explain them fully. The films viewed all show certain important facts about political activity:

( Political activity involves the deepest needs of human beings played out in the public arena.

( Political activity involves interaction and conflict and finding ways of working through that conflict to action.

( This is a method that takes time, and some are impatient and seek extra-political means of accomplishing what they want.

( Each society is defined by the way it handles political activity and so by the way citizens interact to accomplish their goals.

Contemporary American and British societies are similar in their respect for the law and in their respect for political action, though at the same time, they show a certain cynicism about politics and politicians. This is clearly evident in The Politician's Wife and in The Enemy Within, and yet both films also show a faith in democratic institutions and a belief that in the end those institutions will win out over personal ambition and even corruption. The personal nature of politics and the law is apparent in Brotherly Love as well. Our fears of politics come to the fore in The Enemy Within and 1984, both of which suggest that we fear that there is always someone ready to wrest our political institutions form us, to turn a democrac

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re are clear parallels between the incidents in this film and the charges leveled at President Clinton over the last year, and perhaps this association is one of the reasons the film appeals so strongly at this time. More than this, of course, is that the film is well-made, thoughtful, and always interesting. The players in Britain may have somewhat different roles, but underlying all this is the reality of political action as a way of getting things done, of redressing wrongs, and of fulfilling ambitions. The latter function is given prominence by most of the characters in this film. The women seeking a day-care center are using politics to get something done to help the community. Mark reveals much information to the wife not to further his ambitions but because he resents the way the Minister panders to gays and then treats them badly, much as he panders to the women and ignores their needs as well. The Minister and most of his cohorts in the party think only of promoting their own interests, and they are perfectly willing to lie to those they need for support and to ignore those who do not have sufficient power to pique their interest. They are not dedicated to representing their constituents and the needs of their cons

Category: Film - F