A Lesson In Corruption Via The Movies

My human loves movies.  She especially loves movies about politics.  So...while discussing corruption in politics with Shasta, I asked her to explain what she meant by that.  She did and then decided that I needed to watch some movies with her that would give me an idea of what she was talking about.

First, we watched Mr. Smith Goes To Washington starring a man named Jimmy Stewart.  It was quite telling how he had to fight the very people responsible for his appointment to the Senate. Candi said that the movie represents what one honest person can achieve if he is willing to take a stand and do the right thing.  I asked my human if things like that went on today.  She said, "Yes, Patton.  It does.  Unfortunately, most of the people in Washington that are there through a "special appointment", don't have the character that Jimmy Stewart's character had in the movie."  That is something I couldn't quite understand.  As a dog, I want to do the right thing.

So, then we watched Primary Colors starring John Travolta.  Candi said the similarities to President Clinton were eerie.  Not sure what that means.  I am only a puppy, after all.  Anyway, the movie revolves around a candidate running for President and the lengths he goes to in order to secure the election.  Lying, trickery, hiring people specifically to dig up dirt on the other guy just to hide his own dirty deeds, and the list goes on.  These are things dogs would never do!  I expressed concern about this and Candi told me not to worry.  "There are people like me out in the world who are always on the watch for things like this," she said.

We're going to be watching more movies over the next few days.  Some are black and white and some are in color.  Candi says that even though they are "fictional", we can learn something about the way campaigns are run, the strides people will take to get elected and also, how the media plays a role.  Our next two movies are going to be, Meet John Doe and Swing Vote.  One is about a political movement started by a false story run in a newspaper and the other is about a little girl who takes civic responsibility seriously.  Maybe I'll learn something I can share with you guys.