Politics Through Film

1. Politics Through Film

2. Overview Recap Typology Film Process Documentaries/Non Fiction Film Definition Documentary/Docudrama Propaganda

3. Definition What makes for a political film? What do we mean by studying politics through film?

4. Political Films Behavioralism has dominated academic political science since mid-twentieth century Difficulty in determining whether movies are an independent or dependent variable (that is, do movies inform public opinion, or does public opinion inform movies?)

5. Political Films Most definitions of political films focus on content or message That is, a film is political if it focuses on political content or political ideology

6. Typology of Political Films

7. Impact of Political Films Contribute to general social and political education (socialization) Provide information and/or orientation to specific issues/events Affect specific political behavior (e.g., voting) Affect the knowledge and behavior of specific groups (especially political elites) Spark public debate and/or other media interest in specific issues

8. Filmmaking Process Creating a film is a costly, time consuming process Helpful to sketch out the basic steps in that process* *note, this is an idealized account, and some steps may precede others, or be omitted, in the �real world�

9. Conception The basic idea to make a film about something As a rough guide, smaller films that are more closely the product of a single person�s vision tend to have more overt political content and intentional political message than studio �collaborative� projects

10. Production Producers/production includes a variety of activities and decisions early in the process, including but not limited to: identifying and hiring creative talent (director, screenwriter, cinematographer, costumer, art director, casting director, editor, stars, etc.) assist in addressing the practical challenges to moviemaking that arise during filming serving as liaison or point person with studio But main responsibility is to ensure the financial viability of the project

11. Production Note, the vast majority of films in production receive no government funding, so finances are key consideration Cost of feature films has increased dramatically over the years, and costs of failure are thus more acute than ever before These profit making considerations will push producers in specific directions; namely to find a large enough audience to make a profit

12. Production Not necessarily ideologically, but rather in terms of the kinds of political content that will be addressed Unlikely will find coverage of unsettled political controversy, particularly if the controversy divides the public in roughly equal and large blocs More likely find films geared to the largest audience (which of course, means tweens, teens or young adults)

13. Screenplay/Story Screenplay develops the basic subject matter, characters, and plotting of the movie Obviously, this is one area where both political content and message can be introduced into a film Yet bear in mind the financial considerations mentioned above

14. Subject Matter/Genre As noted above, �genre� refers to a group of films with conventional settings, characters, and plots

15. Movie Conventions Movies, regardless of genre, tend to follow conventions to which audiences have become accustomed, including: Personalization (politics tends to be addressed through individuals rather than groups)

16. Movie Conventions Sugarcoating (political content tends to be covered with content from other genres -- romance, thriller, etc) Ambiguity (political content is rarely specific enough in identifying things like party labels, interest group affiliation, etc. Ambivalence (political content is diluted by attempts to give �both sides� to a story

17. Direction In general, the director is the single most important contributor to a movie�s final product and final artistic impact Responsibilities include, directing actors, but also determining the visual and aural aspects of a movie and other decisions relative to the artistic vision for the project* Titles, sound and dialogue, music, editing, composition all to an extent can all be used to convey political content

18. Cinematography Refers to the �photography� of movies; that is getting the action down on film lighting, color, camera angles and placement, set selection and creation In our study, watch how lighting and camera angles can be used to influence our political attitudes

19. Actors/Acting The casting decision, and the acting choices made by those cast in the film, can also be used to shape political content Note film actors have wider public reputation than stage or even television actors

20. Characters Characters: stock/stereotypical roles within genres that can be used as a shorthand to reflect (and frequently to reinforce) dominant social/cultural conventions, values, and attitudes. e.g., Italian mobster, Irish drunk/cop, corrupt preacher/politician, hypocritical religious zealot, etc.

21. Names Names can serve as a similar cue device e.g., in Rendition (2007), the CIA hero opposed to torture played by Jake Gyllenhaal is �Douglas Freeman� and the CIA officer who order the torture, played by Meryl Streep, is �Corrine Whitman�

22. Names In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, James Stewart�s character is �Jefferson Smith� In Independence Day (1996), the Bill Pullman plays President �Thomas J. Whitmore�

23. Viewing The final step in the process of course is viewing the film As we noted, there�s little empirical research on the political impact of films Undoubtedly a part of socialization and education (insofar as filmmakers can consciously try to influence/educate on political issues of the day)

24. Non-Fiction Film Non fiction films have co-evolved with film in general Early efforts (frequently with government support) to document important political events

25. Documentaries Documentaries differ from fictional films in three key areas: attempt to present �reality� or the world as it actually is rather than via an imaginary representation attempt to portray that reality without embellishment attempt to fashion an explicit point of view through the presentation of images or voice of witnesses

26. Docudrama Docudramas are a hybridization of the documentary and fictional styles Attempt is to develop fictionalized accounts from real world events or persons

27. Propaganda Propaganda films are attempts to present information in such a way so as to influence or persuade an audience in a particular way Origins date to 1622, and Pope Gregory XV�s establishment of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith

28. Propaganda The term has negative connotations today as shorthand for dishonest and manipulative attempts to shape public opinion in support of government or corporate positions and persons

29. Film and Politics Are all political films propagandistic by definition? Is advertising propaganda? How do we or can we �protect� ourselves from manipulation?

30. Sicko Michael Moore (b. 1954) director writer liberal activist Won 2003 Oscar for Bowling for Columbine (2002) Sicko nominated for Oscar in 2008