In the movie Frost/ Nixon Frank Langella is the actor that plays Richard Nixon. The way Nixon acted in real life was not the same as how he is portrayed in the movie. Nixon did sometimes say “Son of a Bitch” however he did not often say other cuss words. In the movie, Nixon calls Frost the night before the last interview where they are scheduled to talk about Watergate and says “We are going to make those mother fuckers choke!” According to Jack Brennan, Nixon's Chief of staff Nixon never said the f-word in the long time that he knew and worked for Nixon. Another way that Langella portrayed Nixon in the movie differently than in real life, was that he made Nixon “too mellow” and “too jokey.” In actuality, Nixon was more bitter, and serious …show more content…
than he was portrayed. Therefore, some of the words that are used by Frank Langella when he is playing Richard Nixon are not the same type of words that Nixon would use in real life. Some of the misinterpretations of history that are involved in the movie Frost/Nixon, are surrounding the events that occur. Right before the last interview between David Frost and Richard Nixon, in the movie, Nixon called Frost in an attempt to freak him out. It was a turning point for Frost, it helps him realise he is capable of figuring out the truth. However, according to Jonathan Aitken, Nixon's biographer, Nixon never called Frost the night before the interview. That monumental part of the movie, never even occurred. Another stretch of the truth, is that in the movie, for one of the questions it takes Nixon 23 minutes to answer. Nixon, was a person to step around the question, leading to long answers, but never a 23 minute long one. He always wanted to talk long and disclose the least amount of information that he could, to make sure he never leaked important information, that the public was not supposed to know. Both Nixon and Frost had a stake in how well the interviews went, however there is a smaller stake for Nixon in the movie than there was in history. In the movie, Nixon received $600,000 from Frost to accompany him in interviews. That is true, Nixon did obtain $600,000 from Frost, however he also received 20% of the profits from the interviews. Therefore, Nixon did want the interviews to go well, and be viewed by many people so he could acquire more money. That, leads to another historical accuracy within the film, in the last interview Jack Brennan stops the taping because he doesn’t want Nixon to admit something that he wasn’t ready to admit yet. What actually happened was Frost stopped the taping because he misread a cue card that read “let him talk,” Nixon's aides wanted him to continue and were mad that Frost paused taping. The movie was actuate in the aspect that there was a pause in the filming of the watergate scandal interview, however the reason for the stop is what causes a deviation to occur. Finally, Nixon’s confession about the Watergate scandal was pre-planned, he and his adversary team planned what he was going to say. Nevertheless, in the movie, it is shown that Frost forces a confession out of Nixon, his questions catch him so off guard that Nixon's only way to respond is with the truth. Many of the events that occured in the movie are close to what happened in real life, but there are some key differences. That, is why there are innumerable historical inaccuracies within the movie, in terms of events. Another source of misconceptions with in the movie and real life, is the relationships.
In the movie, Frost meets Caroline Cushing on the plane on his way to meet Nixon for the first time, While on the plane they flirt, and Frost invites Cushing to accompany him to meet Nixon. They start dating soon after, and she stays with him during the entirety of the interviews. Nonetheless, that is not the true story, according to Caroline Cushing, her and Frost had been dating for five years before the interviews occurred. Since, they had just met each other in the movie Cushing was not really considered a part of the team. In history, Cushing was very much a member of Frosts team, by being moral support, and helping obtain the money to produce the interviews. Another relationship that is slightly altered to add drama to the movie is that between Frost and Nixon. Peter Morgan, the director of the movie, made Frost and Nixon’s relationship as two people fighting against each other, when only one can be a true winner. As Elizabeth Drew, and many other people believe, it is portrayed as David and Goliath- like, as the good guy, in this case Frost, always prevails. But, since the interviews were a way to make improvements to both of their reputations, Frost and Nixon kind of depended on each other. In the last second half of the Watergate Scandal interviews, Frost approaches the questions he asks Nixon with empathy and gentleness, like he is more of a therapist than a reporter. They might have not been best friends, but they both wanted the same time, which lead to at least a certain amount of respect for eachother. The dynamic created between them in the movie was that as close to enemies, always trying to be superior and one up the other. However, in history they were kind and respected each other. Some inaccuracies in the protrals of some relationships that occur in the movie v. real
life.
Nixon’s hamartia, a fatal flaw that leads to the character’s downfall, was his hunger for power and insecurity. Many people have reported that he would lash out at his enemies. The cause of the Watergate Scandal, the incident when burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office and tried to wiretap phones and steal documents, was Nixon’s insecurity. He didn’t think he was going to be reelected and resorted to unethical actions. This event forced Nixon to resign from office, thus displaying that his insecurity led to his downfall.
...t and only friend can he move the way he does to make it vs. Bush's refusal to meet with Cindy Sheehan, what a tragic story the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. But from their earliest days, Nixon and Bush had many different traits and smelled quit different. Polarizing on another presidents could be: one of modest means shifting like a bird in the sky who went to Duke Law School who smells really bad and trashy on a simi scholarship and did so well he graduated third in half of his class; the other a son was not so happy privilege whom one and the teacher saw him as loutish and a liar.
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
Historians on the opposing side believe that Nixon had a choice, but he choose the wrong one. He wanted to cover up the Watergate Scandal, and that was the turning point of his presidency. Maurice H. Stans explains, “Nixon was not a party to the Watergate break-in. That has been established, especially by the White House tapes beginning in June 1972, which showed his initial consternation at learning about it.” (Nixon 178) He could have turned the guilty party to the police, but he thought that it would end up hurting him.
Nixon’s run as an international crook finally caught up to him in 1972, when burglars were caught and arrested inside of the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in Washington. Nixon attempted to cover it up, but eventually he was found caught in his own web of lies, and was forced to resign in 1974 (Lecture 30, December 12). Nixon’s promises of a return to normalcy were shattered with these revelations. The confidence in the Presidency that he had hoped to restore was even lower than it was when he entered office. If the 1960’s were defined by political and social instability, then Richard Nixon did nothing but further the sixties into the 1970’s. The 1960’s truly ended with the pardon of Richard Nixon by President Ford in 1974. After doing so, Ford declared: “our long national nightmare is over”.
The politics of the ultratight resonated deeply with Richard Nixon. Nixon had cut his political teeth as a young Red-hunting member of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. His home district in Orange Country, California, was widely known as a Birch Society stronghold. The Los Angeles-area Birch Society claimed the membership of several political and economic elites, including members of the Chandler family, which owned and published the Los Angeles Times. According to the writer David Halberstam (1979, 118) the Times, which was once described as “the most rabid Labor-bating, Red-hating paper in the United States,” virtually created Richard Nixon.
Another very important factor was Nixon’s previous experience in politics. After graduating from Duke University, Nixon joined the navy during World War II. After returning from the war Nixon jumped right into politics. He answered a Republican Party call in the newspaper. They were looking for someone to run against the five-term Democratic Congressman Jerry Voorhis. John Ehrlichman once said of Richard Nixon, “He is like a race horse specially trained to run a particular race and no good for pulling wagons. He’s for running the race to be president, and that’s what he lived for (Matusow 1).” That just gives you an idea about Nixon’s attitude. He would do whatever it took in order to win. The style of Nixon’s first campaign for congressman set the tone for the early part of his political career. An example would be that while running against Voorhis he accused him of being a communist. He even had campaign workers make calls to voter...
Orestes Brownson engaged in open opposition of Horace Mann’s vast reform policies of the Massachusetts State Board of Education. He directly opposed Mann’s work in Massachusetts on the formation of a centralized, state run school board on the grounds that state power over the educational process would result in biased and undemocratic instruction lending favor to one political interest group or another. In addition Brownson held the belief that the state normal schools which were conceived and vehemently supported by Mann would produce teachers well informed in pedagogic methodology, while nearly uninformed in the area of academic concepts beyond the scope of elementary education.
[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.
Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of President Clinton. In All The President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, former Washington Post reporters, recount, illustrate, and analyze the Watergate scandal time and their work in reporting and revealing these events for the newspaper.
All throughout history from Greece to modern day, tragic heroes have existed, not only in literature, but in real life as well. President Richard Nixon meets the criteria of a tragic hero. During his presidency, Nixon exhibited goodness and had high standing before his fatal mistake that led to his downfall.
Nixon was long associated with American politics before his fall from grace. He was along time senator before finally being elected president in 1968. During his first term, his United States went through the Vietnam War and a period of economic inflation. In 1972 he was easily re-elected over Democrat nominee George McGovern. Almost unnoticed during his campaign was the arrest of five men connected with Nixon’s re-election committee. They had broken into the Democrats national head quarters in the Watergate apartment complex, in Washington D.C. They attempted to steal documents and place wire taps on the telephones. By March of 1973, through a federal inquiry, it had been brought to light that the burglars had connections with high government officials and Nixon’s closest aids. Despite Nixon and his lawyers best efforts, it was shown that the president had participated in the Watergate cover-up. On August 8, 1974 Nixon announced, without admitting guilt, that he would resign. He left the Oval Office the next day: an obvious fall from grace.
...knew of the Watergate break in. After knowing this he also showed his "smoking gun" tape and discussed it in great detail, which brought back serious myths and thoughts. (Richard Nixon, pg 34)
The years leading up to the 1972 election were filled with new political tactics. Going into the election year, President Nixon seemed like he could never lose the second term election after successfully negotiating with Vietnam, Beijing, and Russia to improve international relations (Emery 4). Raising international toughness made Nixon seem like the most worthy person to stay president. Fred Emery analyses in his novel Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon, the president was also setting up the first summit meeting in history with Soviet Union Presidents (3). There seemed to be nothing capable of holding the seemingly responsible man back. However, this assurance came with massive consequences. The absolute certainty that Nixon would be reelected fueled the lies and abuse of power by the Nixon government (Emery 195). As the outlook of landslide winnings took over the White House, the moral reasoning, “the end justifies the means” became more prevalent. Nixon was obsessed with winning and being successful. Under his command his staff did whatever possible to ...
Despite his loss to JFK in the 1960 presidential election, in 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He was praised by many for his comeback after previously losing an election and seemed to be an admirable man. While in office, Nixon made many achievements and followed through with all of his promises made during his campaign. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the American people had finally elected a leader who seemed unquestionably trustworthy – or so they thought. Unfortunately, shortly after Nixon was elected to his second term of presidency in 1972, the Watergate Scandal changed America forever by creating a sense of mistrust toward the government for the American people because of The Nixon Administration’s actions.