Multimedia Analysis

Luke Evans Period 3 4/23/12

The movie Chinatown describes a private detective (Jack Nicholson) who must solve a murder mystery while facing obstacles such as the police and the local Los Angeles mob. This story epitomizes the political participation of the wealthy in politics and in the police force as well as showing medias pivotal role in this participation. Jack Nicholson is confronted at the beginning of the movie with the task of spying and collecting information about an affair. The affair was with a political boss of the Los Angeles water department. After collecting information of the so-called affair, the media scooped up the story right away. This shows the power of media in the government as soon after Gittes (Nicholson) was criticized at a local barber, and was pressed charges by the wife of the cheater. This is also an example of a leak which is an unofficial release of information to the media and explains the tension and frustration of the occasion. The quote let sleeping dogs lie, encapsulates the theme of the classic leak by showing that the problems of politics and even ones love life must be left alone for all things to be okay and once they are leaked and provoked things will never settle down. A whistleblower is someone who leaks information out of moral outrage; this is exactly what the executive political boss of the Los Angeles water department embodied. After finding out about a plan to move the water supply out of the city, he tried to stop it, but once he found out it was too late. He was a strong believe that, the water belonged to the people, and the corrupt ownership of the water supply was enough to spark moral tension. But before he could blow the whistle the other corporate elites had him murdered. This shows the problem of whistle blowing the idea that while an individual can let the people or the media know of something important, the cost on the individual may be too great. This relates to the whistleblower of the

challenger rocket, claiming that the engineers of the shuttle knew that it had flaws. While the leak of information was good for the public and was necessary to be heard, it cost the whistleblower any important job for the rest of his career. The political participation is evident through propaganda and patronage. Propaganda is providing information to advance an interest groups agenda. This information doesnt always have to be true, which is evident in the movie. During this ploy to create a new location of water supply throughout the movie, the individuals in charge covered up their plot by attributing the water loss in Los Angeles to the orange farmers that lived in the north county as well as saying that there were leaks in the dam that was there now. This false information led the people to think that a dam was needed to be made in order to save the water. This led the elite to manifest and hold the water themselves by buying land that the water would be soon be in abundance. This participation creates false information for the people and is a sign of corruption. Patronage is the idea of loyalty for payoff. This use of paying off individuals is supplanted throughout the movie. Each time Gittes sides and helps an individual he is paid for his troubles and always has money on his mind. This loyalty only stands until the money has run dry because after all he is in it to make a living. Another example of patronage is the famous line Let the police handle this, by Gittes and Mrs. Mulwray saying He owns the police! This shows that patronage can even be used to take control of powerful pieces in politics such as the police force. In lecture the idea of Aristotles Good State became a common topic. The five characteristics including: good laws, good people, wealthy economy, broad middle class, and liberty. In the movie, Los Angeles is portrayed as anything but a good state. In order to have good laws, they must serve the highest good and be right for the people, but in the movie the bills and laws being passed were corrupted and deceptive ways of getting the water supply toward northern land which eliminates the state of good laws. The element of good people is void because its citizens are not rational people. During a court case

its citizens led sheep run through the courtroom to show the humility they face once the water is gone and the political elite run the city without any remorse or sympathy for the distraught people. In the movie the main conspirator of the plot of moving the water supply laughed at the idea of being only worth ten million dollars. This means that there is extreme disparage between the poor and the rich. This widened gap leads to the destruction of the middle class and violated the broad middle class characteristic of the good state. While in a drought no economy can flourish. This is a direct example in the movie because while the elite began to become richer the majority of the citizens lost money and became less wealthy. The last characteristic is liberty, the right to rule and be ruled. In the movie the only ruling is that off the elite political bosses oppression over the poor through deception and corruption. The movie Chinatown all but summarizes corruption of politics in a growing city. Through the elite political bosses that control the water supply of the Los Angeles River, the citizens are the ones that suffer. Jack Nicholson uses is detective work to solve a murder mystery and eventually bring to light the political propaganda. This movie shows the incorporation of propaganda, patronage, leaks, whistle blows, and Aristotles Good State thesis to bring light on bad politics. But after all, its Chinatown.