In All the President’s Men, 1970’s are portrayed as boisterous times. The 70’s could be described as a continuation of the 1960’s, women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality, and the behavior of president Nixon threaten many people’s trust in the good circumstances of the federal government, which can be argued continues to be present till this decade. The country was embroiled in the Vietnam war, which clearly divided the U.S.A. This movie main focus is not just the Watergate scandal but it centers more on the reporters who are trying to get information from the administration. This movie shows scenes such as the working space that really helps you understand these times work environment, with the great sense of urgency, typewriters, and the young secretaries. …show more content…
For example, in the movie, the impression given was that their reporting and investigation was essential to urge the federal and congressional investigations that at the end produced tape-recorded evidence that showed Nixon conspired to cover up the crime of Watergate, while a variety of historians have demonstrated federal investigators were far ahead of Woodward and Bernstein. “Federal prosecutors and agents never truly learned anything germane from The Washington Post’s [Watergate] stories — although they were certainly mortified to see the fruits of their investigation appear in print. … The government was always ahead of the press in its investigation of Watergate; it just wasn’t publishing its findings.” (Max Holland, Leak). One of the major flaws in All the President's man is the minimization or the lack of given importance to the contribution of the federals and
The documentary entitled, Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History, documents the political decisions and environment within the Nixon Administration from 1969-1974. The documentary specifically details and describes the environment and culture in which the Watergate scandal could occur and the events and abuses of power that lead to its occurrence. Setting the tone and the political climate of the Nixon Administration was the Vietnam War; making him a wartime President, a war that he inherited from his predecessor. The Vietnam War faced a lot of opposition from the general public, with massive protests and political demonstrations by the younger generations and overall general public. Nixon’s presidency was surrounded by this climate amidst the
The two journalists that investigated and unearthed the wrongdoing were accurately represented in the film. These two reporters were named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Together, they formed an investigative duo that changed history. Woodward was an inexperienced reporter at the time. "Woodward had worked for the Post for only nine months," states the book All the President's Men (Bernstein and Woodward 13). Bernstein was the reporter who had more experience. "Bernstein was a college dropout. He had started as a copy boy at the Washington Post when he was 16, become a full-time reporter at 19, and had worked at the Post since 1966" (Bernstein and Woodward 15). The head reporter of The Washington Post notes in the movie on Woodward's lack of experience and asks that a more experienced reporter get the case. However, if another reporter had taken the case, it is possible that he/she would have viewed the case as meaningless and not have investigated it further. Woodward and Bernstein's determination and perserverance were what
The recent scandal in the White House has brought my attention to the American Presidents as people and Presidents. Looking into the American history and her presidents I have found out that presidents are not just political figures but that they are also people. In my research I will compare and contrast two of the American presidents - Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon.
It is clear that while political scandal, primarily the 1974 Watergate scandal, played a large role in the rapidly declining confidence in government between 1968 and 1980, it is not the sole or even the dominant factor. The Watergate scandal only impacted on the Nixon era, and subsequently lead to measures that should have prevented further distrust in the government. Instead, the role played by the four presidents who held office in those years was the main reason behind the decline in confidence. The role of the presidents and their White House administrations encompassed political scandals, and also clearly influenced other factors such as the role
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the United States was experiencing disorder and hysteria as domestic and foreign issues; created stress and tension within the nation. In the late 1960s, when Richard Nixon was running for president, the nation saw the death of two influential people, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy. Following the death of King, race riots broke out across the country. To add to the anger and tension, many students and young Americans began to protest the war in Vietnam. Nixon promised to restore order to the country if he were to be elected. Unfortunately for Nixon, the Democrats, who had control of both sides of Congress, were prepared to block many of Nixon’s initiatives. Thus, CREEP (the committee to re-elect the president) began its corrupt path towards getting Nixon into office, even going as far as to break into the Democratic Party's National Committee headquarters located in the Watergate office in the nation’s capital ("Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon"). The Watergate scandal, which led to the first resignation of a United States President, changed the political landscape of the nation through its impact on Americans' trust in the government and its employees, its effect on government ethics, and its influence on journalism and the rise in investigative reporting.
President Richard M. Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal were broadcast nightly on the 6 o’clock news in the early 1970’s. Americans were engrossed with the scandal and each person held his or her own view of situation. Each broadcast or newspaper article created a mistrust of political and governmental leaders. In response to this mistrust, the Freedom to Information Act was strengthened by the United States Congress in 1973 (Chamberlain). Although this act was first placed into law in the late 1960’s, the Watergate scandal provided the incentive make this law stronger.
William Domhoff’s investigation into America’s ruling class is an eye-opening and poignant reading experience, even for enlightened individuals regarding the US social class system. His book, Who Rules America, exploits the fundamental failures in America’s governing bodies to provide adequate resources for class mobility and shared power. He identifies history, corporate and social hierarchy, money-driven politics, a two-party system, and a policy-making process orchestrated by American elites amongst a vast array of causes leading to an ultimate effect of class-domination theory pervading American society. In articulating his thesis and supporting assertions, Domhoff appeals rhetorically toward an audience with prior knowledge of America’s
[1] Watching Oliver Stone’s Nixon (1995) and the director’s earlier film JFK (1991), it is difficult to have kind thoughts about Richard Nixon. Stone’s investment in the figure of the president manifests itself in two ways: first, in the director’s fixation on Nixon as a symbol of the corrupt political landscape after President John Kennedy’s assassination, and, second, his fixation on Nixon as a symbol of a failed patriarch or an ineffective father figure who led the country into further turmoil. Stone has argued that he hoped to elicit sympathy for Nixon, but I will show that the director’s emphasis on Nixon as an epic tragedy, especially in conjunction with the Beast thesis, does not allow for sympathy or understanding of the man or his politics.
The film “The Birth of a Nation” presents the perspective of the civil war, slavery, and reconstruction from the two different viewpoints of the Stoneman and the Cameron families. The Northern Stoneman family consists of two sons, Ted and Phil Stoneman, alongside their sister Elsie Stoneman, and their abolitionist father Austin Stoneman. The Camerons which are a southern slave holding family is made up of two sisters, Flora and Margaret Cameron, two sons, Wade Cameron and Colonel Ben Cameron, and their mother and father, Mrs. Cameron and Dr. Cameron (IMDb). As tensions between the north and south turns into full on war the Cameron and Stoneman boys prepare for the gruesome war to come ultimately leading to all of their deaths with the exception
Stayin ' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class goes into detail about the transformation period America was going through in the 1970s. The book talks about the ways America was changing economically — the effects of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and, specifically, the new deal were now truly being felt. Stayin ' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class talks about the impact of Robert F. Kennedy, and the way his politics uniquely influenced people at the time. Vietnam is talked about and it’s ‘ability’ to divide America. The controversial nature of the war is examined, and how in a way un-like with any other American war prior before, the Vietnam War was not a war that a majority of the country could get behind. The fall of Richard Nixon in watergate is discussed, specifically the polarizing nature of the allegations brought against him. The awesome changes/movement taking place on Civil Rights are discussed and the impact they had on society. Stayin ' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class succeeds in talking about a wide array of issues at the time relating to the perceived fall of the American white working
Firstly, the journalists are reporting from two vastly different locations. One is reporting from the comfort of an office and familiar surroundings, while the other is reporting from a war stricken foreign land. Although, there is a common tie, they both involved and had the ability to effect the government and they were all in danger. All of the journalists had the opportunity to report on the truth, even if it were to have political and even personal repercussions. Thus, due to the political nature, all of the journalists were putting their lives at risk and were aware of this. They also had the ability of putting other lives in danger. Woodward and Bernstein discovered how the information they were gathering had to be used strategically in order to not harm their sources, and Flynn and Henderson had the ability to create further conflict and terror for the country they were reporting about. Thus, all of the journalists had to learn how to use precautions while investigating, writing, and reporting on their given
Despite the national attention the Watergate scandal had gained President Nixon, he won the second term presidency. The major problem for Nixon would come later. The investigations of the Watergate scandal lead to the discovery of other criminal acts by officials including Nixon. During the investigation many things begin to surface. It was discovered that documents had been destroyed that may have made a link between Nixon and the Watergate scandal. These documents may have shown that he had some acknowledgement in what had happened. There was evidence that people involved in the Nixon campaign had been wire tapping phones illegally for a long time according to “dummies.com”. The greatest issue would come to light during the 1973 Watergate hearings. During testimonies it came to light that every conversation was recorded in the Oval office according to “study.com”. It was demanded that these tapes be reviewed to learn how much involvement President Nixon had in the Watergate burglary. The President felt that he had the right to withhold these tapes through what he referred to as executive privilege. This means that if it is the best interest of the public the president has the right to keep information from the
The chosen sequence I will analyze is the Production/Editing of the film No Country for Old Men. This film which came out in 2007 was based on the novel written by Cormac MaCarthy of the same name. The movie was written/adapted, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (a.k.a. the Coen brothers). The film is often referred to as a neo-western thriller due to its degree of genre mixing as it tells the story of an ordinary man whom by chance stumbles on a fortune that is not his, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama as the paths of three men are brought together into the desert landscape of 1980s Texas.
Woodward and Bernstein's undertaking constructed the cornerstone for the modern role of the media. The making of the movie about the Watergate Scandal and the ventures of the two journalists signify the importance of the media. The media’s role as intermediary is exemplified throughout the plot of the movie. The movie is the embodiment of journalism that guides future journalists to progress towards the truth, no matter what they are going up against. It was the endeavor of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that led them to the truth behind the president’s men. They showed that not even the president is able to deter the sanctity of journalism in its search of truth. The freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and people’s right to know account for the same truth that journalists pursue; the truth that democracy is alive and will persist to live on.
As television exposed the truth of government, so did Journalists. Daniel leaking of the Pentagon Papers that explained in detail the Vietnam War, and the leaking of the information to the New York Times in 1971. Scandals like this played an active role throughout the late 1960’s and into the early 1970’s. This eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. The critical stand point of the journalists led to the marked contradictory of American politics that grew into turbulent during the 1960s.