The films Primary Colors (1998), Election (1999), and The Ides of March (2011) focus around political campaigning, all having one major theme in common: political campaigns reveal one’s true character as well as shape it. Primary Colors and The Ides of March both focus on candidates and campaign teams who are running for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination. Although Election is instead about high school students running for student body president and the teacher who oversees the student government and its election, it still delivers the same message. All of these films center around corruption in politics, especially in campaigns. Movies such as these have a positive effect on the political culture of the United States because they
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Each film features a faux-idealist and a true idealist, who fill dynamic roles in each plotline. For example, Governor Jack Stanton and Libby Holden in Primary Colors, Tracy Flick and Paul Metzler in Election, and Mike Morris and Stephen Meyers in The Ides of March, respectively. To the public it seems that Stanton, Tracy, and Morris advocate great change and strong platforms that are critical to their constituents. However, while watching these movies, the viewer’s insider perspective displays that these candidates do not live up to their own standards. All of these candidates previously have some type of moral shortcoming, but attempt to conceal them to protect their own brand. On the other hand, the legitimate idealists in these films (Henry, Paul, and Stephen) truly believe in what they stand for and feel what they are doing is the right thing. However, in the case of some of these characters, their convictions are subject to change and their circumstances alter their …show more content…
In Primary Colors, Libby Holden kills herself because she has finally lost hope in the man she had trusted to be a clean and good politician her whole life – Jack Stanton. In The Ides of March, Molly Stearns commits suicide out of fear that Meyers will stop at nothing and spare no one for political gain. Both movies feature the suicide of women at the hands of political corruption, as well as sexual indiscretion. Additionally, t is still interesting to note that both movies had instances in which women became so overcome with fear and emotion concerning the moral fall of the male leads that they kill themselves, becoming a tragic victim that serves solely as a marker of how evil the powerful men have
Each film features a faux-idealist and a true idealist, who fill dynamic roles in each plotline. For example, Governor Jack Stanton and Libby Holden in Primary Colors, Tracy Flick and Paul Metzler in Election, and Mike Morris and Stephen Meyers in The Ides of March, respectively. To the public it seems that Stanton, Tracy, and Morris advocate great change and strong platforms that are critical to their constituents. However, while watching these movies, the viewer’s insider perspective displays that these candidates do not live up to their own standards. All of these candidates previously have some type of moral shortcoming, but attempt to conceal them to protect their own brand. On the other hand, the legitimate idealists in these films (Henry, Paul, and Stephen) truly believe in what they stand for and feel what they are doing is the right thing. However, in the case of some of these characters, their convictions are subject to change and their circumstances alter their …show more content…
In Primary Colors, Libby Holden kills herself because she has finally lost hope in the man she had trusted to be a clean and good politician her whole life – Jack Stanton. In The Ides of March, Molly Stearns commits suicide out of fear that Meyers will stop at nothing and spare no one for political gain. Both movies feature the suicide of women at the hands of political corruption, as well as sexual indiscretion. Additionally, t is still interesting to note that both movies had instances in which women became so overcome with fear and emotion concerning the moral fall of the male leads that they kill themselves, becoming a tragic victim that serves solely as a marker of how evil the powerful men have