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Emily LeForce
Ms. Gathof
ENGL 102 05
Research Paper
11 April 2016
Politics in Pop Culture
House of Cards, Scandal, even The Walking Dead - these are all current television
shows that affect your opinions on the government whether you want them to or not.
Politics are constantly represented in pop culture, and much of the time, this
representation is idealistic and false. People rarely consider the affect that pop culture has
on our minds, and because of this, media has more power over the country than ever
before. As young Americans, pop culture and media are extremely influential in molding
our opinions on politics. Since the 1990s, the portrayal of the American government and
the President of the United States (POTUS) in movies and television has changed
drastically and negatively, affecting our view of the government and in turn affecting the
way we vote - or lack thereof.
Politics have long been the subject of movies and TV, but within the past two
decades, the relationship between politics and pop culture has grown prominently.
Movies are now used to satirize the American political culture and since the American
mind-set is comfortably grounded in the linear thinking of cause and effect, the negative
consequences occurring in popular movies are rooted in either fear of hope of the
American people (Strada). Strada points out in his article that Hollywood political films
are cultural artifacts, depicting the mood of the American people and their opinions on

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the inside of the country at different times in our nations history (Politics and the
Movies: Art Anticipating Life). Film critics and political commentators alike have
noted that films often serve as a barometer of the countrys mood, reflecting changing
political attitudes and even presidential administrations, thus supporting the close
relationship between media, pop culture, and politics across the nation (Rostron, Mr.
Carter Goes to Washington).
However, Chris Berg discusses in his cover story Goddamn you all to hell!: The
revealing politics of dystopian movies how the political messages of many of these
Hollywood political films and television shows are on the worst-case scenario, and the
government is represented as the worst nightmare of the American people. Moreover,
Hollywood, more than any other force in society, has determined how people think a
president should act and look. In other words, Hollywood has given us a standard by
which to measure the actual people holding office (Rollins, xiv). The president is
representative of the nation; therefore, the portrayal of the POTUS in a film or television
show may draw from contemporary issues as it explores the decisions and personalities
of past presidents, commonly to satirize recent presidents (Rollins, OConnor, 4, 6, 14).
Politics and pop culture are undoubtedly closely related, but the relationship has changed
over time in a very negative way, therefore affecting the American peoples minds about
our government.
In the 1990s, the American government was represented very positively, with the
emergence of the action-hero POTUS. A prime example of the action-hero president is
the character President James Marshall portrayed by Harrison Ford in the movie Air
Force One. First of all, every self-respecting American is a fan of Harrison Ford, and he

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appears in multiple political and action films, giving him the reputation of an action-hero
president before the events of the film even take place. In the film, the presidential plane,
Air Force One, is hijacked, causing panic and deaths onboard. Although the POTUS was
supposed to escape the plane in an escape pod, he stays on board to save his wife,
daughter, and staff. In the film, President Marshall not only succeeds in saving the vast
majority of people on board, but also performs physical fighting, out-smarting of the
hijackers, and even a jump out of the moving plane (Air Force One, 1997). At this time in
American history, Bill Clinton had just begun his second term, unemployment rates were
at an all time low, and the mood of the country was positive and prosperous with a strong
government to stand behind. The positivity of the nation is reflected in the emergence of
action-hero presidents, and in each film, American forces reign supreme. The overall
opinion of the government in the 1990s, and the early 1990s, especially, was that of trust,
support, and strength. As time progressed, however, not much later the opinions of
American government changed in a more negative way, as illustrated by the movies and
television of the time.
By even the early 2000s, the American mood had shifted. President Clinton had
been accused of sexual scandal with Monica Lewinsky - a scandal still discussed
particularly in music today, the Y2K bug in computers posed a huge threat to American
technology, and the Columbine High School shooting had just occurred. At this point in
time, Americans desire a strong and trustworthy president to lean on. Although Pearl
Harbor may not be considered an entirely political movie, director Michael Bay captures
the American attitude about the US government in just a few short scenes. The movie
Pearl Harbor is unsurprisingly about the attack on Pearl Harbor that sparked Americas

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entrance into World War II. The film follows the relationships between best friends Rafe
and Danny, played by Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett, respectively, as they experience the
Pearl Harbor attacks firsthand. After the atrocities of the attack, the next scene in the film
is of the speech made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt about the attack and what
the act of war would mean for the American people. The speech used in the film was the
exact speech made by President FDR, and the use of this iconic speech reminded
Americans of the strength that comes with a united country and a strong leader (Pearl
Harbor, 2001).
Pearl Harbor is an example of the political pop culture, described by critics
Rollins and OConnor, in which the movie depicts that desire of the majority and what
the country expected and wanted with newly elected POTUS George W. Bush (x, 6).
Despite the general positivity of the presidents role and message in the film, the
American people appear to be dissatisfied with the state of the government at that time,
warranting the aspiration for the supportive, trustworthy president in the film. Another
parallel between the film Pearl Harbor and American political opinion at the time is the
realistic portrayal of President FDR. As the events unfold in the Pearl Harbor attack,
FDRs reaction is very human and relatable, giving the POTUS a more personable
appearance. This modest personification of the POTUS presents the ideal that the
American President is a regular citizen of the nation that we may all relate to on a more
personal level. The key underlying feature of Pearl Harbors representation of the
President is that it reflects the nations opinion that the president is not supportive,
trustworthy, or a regular, reachable citizen an inferior view of the POTUS and the

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American government in general and the representation of American politics in movies
and television only continues to diminish.
Finally, in the 2010s, the portrayal of the American President and government has
hit an all time low. Due to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, recession, unemployment, fear of
nuclear war, and overall distrust of the government, recent portrayals of American
politics in pop culture have been that of corruption, betrayal, and scandal. A prime
example of this corrupt representation is the current ABC TV show Scandal. One does
not even have to look past the first episode of the series to experience the corruption of
the POTUS and his Administration represented in the show. The series opens by
introducing a young lawyer to the firm of Olivia Pope, former White House
Communications Director and notorious attorney, who is called upon to keep a White
House employee quiet after she claims to have had a sexual relationship with the
president. Olivia does what she is asked, but along the way discovers that the president
was lying when he denied the relationship (Sweet Baby, 2012). The show revolves
around trust vs. mistrust disputes, and begins the series with a high-stakes scandal around
the POTUS.
The popular American opinion of our government recently has been that of
distrust. Shows like House of Cards, Scandal, and even shows like The Walking Dead
display this mistrust through worst-case scenarios, corrupt leaders, and the consequences
of their actions in negative ways. Critic Chris Berg claims that the dystopian film, or in
this case, TV show, has reflected societys fears of monopoly, capitalism, totalitarian
socialism, environmental catastrophe, technology out of control, and now, theocracy
(Goddamn you all to hell!: The revealing politics of dystopian movies). Recent pop

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culture depicts negative fears and nightmares of the American people that are only
sustained through the excess of negative political movies and television shows. As more
and more films and TV shows centered around the corrupt government systems emerge,
there are less and less films and TV shows about how the government can be a strong
force one to support and protect the American people. The widespread negativity goes
almost entirely unnoticed at this point in time, and US citizens have become numb to the
effect that pop culture and medias portrayal of the government and POTUS has on their
opinions, as well.
With media and pop culture, though, comes bias and assumptions, so it is
important to note that many films, TV shows, and social media accounts are not very
credible sources of information. First and foremost, as put by Peter C. Rollins and John
E. OConnor, presidential leadership and personal style can be vastly different form one
office-holder to the next as well as the trials they face while in office (3). For example,
in Michael J. Stradas article Politics and the Movies: Art Anticipating Life that
appeared in USA Today Magazine, he points out that in the 1990s, movies seemed to
focus on Russia as an antagonist due to the worries of nuclear weapons in the Soviet
Union during the Cold War in the early 80s. He claims, scores of cathartic films helped
relieve the nations anxiety by lighting up the silver screen with Russian villain after
Russian villain (Strada, Politics and the Movies: Art Anticipating Life). Although over
time, Russian antagonists almost entirely disappeared from movies, they still appeared in
Golden Eye (1995), appearing seedy and sleazy, The Peacemaker (1997), killing 1500 of
their peers to hijack 9 nuclear weapons, and in Air Force One (1997), hijacking the
presidential airplane. During the time of foreign villains, an assumption was made for

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almost all movies that the US was always the good guy or the hero. But as time went on
and distrust of the US government grew, writers began to place the antagonist within our
borders. Recently, many antagonists that appear in film and TV are American traitors,
whether it is the government or the POTUS themself, leaning to the new assumption that
America may be the bad guy, and that you may not be able to trust the government any
longer.
It is evident that politics have a significant impact on Hollywood but Hollywood
also has a significant impact on politics. As badly as Hollywood often presents the
presidents, it has had an endearing impact on how we see them, on how they behave, and
even, in a few cases, on who we elect (Rollins, OConnor, xi). The fact of the matter is
that many Americans, young Americans in particular, rely completely on media to keep
them informed about political opinions but these opinions, for better or for worse, are
biased. Young voters are make up a significant amount of the overall voting population,
and young voters now are the future voters as well so their opinions hold substantial
weight. If the media and pop culture continues to negatively impact young citizens views
on the government and its leaders, the affect on the polls will be detrimental.
Based on a recent study by Paul Taylor, he learned that the majority of young
voters, ages 18-33, chose to register as independent in order to avoid making a
commitment to a specific party. He also discovered that only 19% of voters in that age
range claim they believe that the government will do that is right (Taylor, The
demographic trends shaping American politics in 2016 and beyond). Young voters are
no longer voting as much as they have in the past, and when they do, they vote based on
the opinions of the media at the time. With the media portraying such a negative view of

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the American government, it is no wonder that young voters also have a negative view of
the government. Taylor notes, not since the early 2000s has a majority of the public said
the nation is on the right track, making these past dozen years the longest sustained
stretch of national pessimism since the onset of polling (The demographic trends
shaping American politics in 2016 and beyond). Politics have inspired films and
television for decades, and now Hollywood is stirring politics.
The increasingly negative representation of American politics in Hollywood and
media has sparked a national pessimism in our country. This national pessimism is
reflected in our media, pop culture, and voting polls. The question is: what do we do
about it? Hollywood and media will forever draw from events that affect the people, but
that does not mean that we must be negatively swayed, too. In order to be active citizens
and not become victims of the widespread biases and assumptions that come with media,
it is important to stay informed about politics outside of what may be said or represented
in movies, television, and media. Although newscasts hold bias, they bring wide arrays of
information to the public as events occur, and are therefore good resources. Especially in
presidential elections, there are often times rallies to hear about what the candidates
themselves have to say not their social media team or another candidates opposing
social media team. As young voters, we hold a lot of power, and with that power, comes
responsibility to stay informed, not fall to the negative biases and assumptions portrayed
in Hollywood, and make an educated decision when we vote for the members of our
government.

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Works Cited
Air Force One. Dir. Wolfgang Peterson. Perf. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close.
Colombia Pictures, 1997. DVD.
Berg, Chris. Goddamn you all to hell!: The revealing politics of dystopian movies.
(Cover story). Institute of Public Affairs Review 60.1 (2008): 38-42. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Pearl Harbor. Dir. Michael Bay. Perf. Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett.
Touchstone, 2001. DVD.
Rollins, Peter C. and John E. OConnor. Hollywoods White House: the American
presidency in film and history. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
Print.
Rostron, Allen. Mr. Carter Goes to Washington. Journal of Popular Film and
Television 25.2 (1997): 57-67. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
Strada, Michael J. Politics And The Movies: Art Anticipating Life. USA Today
Magazine 127.2642 (1998): 44. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Sweet Baby. Scandal. Writ. Shonda Rhimes. ABC Studios, 2012. DVD.
Taylor, Paul. The demographic trends shaping American politics in 2016 and beyond.
FactTank 27 January 2016. PewResearchCenter. Web. 7 March 2016.