Mr Smith Goes To Washington Essay

Movie Paper
77 years ago in 1939, a movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was released. This movie still remains to be a very relevant film, because it depicts the corruption within the political system that still exists today.
One of the main character in this movie is a naive gentleman by the name of Jefferson Smith, who was appointed to become a United States Senator. When Smith first arrives to the gates of Washington D.C., he travels from his supervisors and takes a trip around the city. Jim Taylor, who is a lobbyist in the state hand selected Smith, due to the fact that Taylor knew that Smith could be easily manipulated. This would benefit Taylor truely since Taylor had his own agenda and needed someone who would not get in his way of

his plans. Little did Taylor know, Smith would come to have plans of his own; to build a summer camp for underprivileged boys for the country at a particular location that happens to be the same location in which Taylor has already planned a project that would bring him great profits. Once Taylor realizes that his plan could be jeopardized, he plans to take Smith down by pinning him on charges of corruption with the hopes of ultimately getting Smith removed from the Senate. In the end, Smith who Taylor believed was easily manipulated, and who wouldn’t interfere with his interests, puts up the strongest fight against Taylor’s corruption.
“Mr.

Smith Goes to Washington” is relevant to today because it shows the prevalence of political corruption within the Unites States government that is run by many powerful people with their own agendas ,and will not hesitate to knock down anyone who stands in their way. People would do anything within their power to get what they want, bullying and blackmail are some of the most common tactics used within our government both in 1939 and 2016. In the film, it showed us the government uses of media to influence the public to rally against Smith by reporting “news” that was taken out of context. Much like in the film, we can see the same type of media influence today. In the recent election for the United States President, many mainstream media would edit clips of interviews to make it seem like the opposing candidate are very negative, while for the other candidate, they would edit clips to make them appear more positive. Once these main stream broadcast start to air these clips and playing them repeatedly, it starts to affect the minds of the people viewing them,is is very much like propaganda. I feel like especially now that we are in a generation where social media and alternative media is the new standard, it goes to show that people are more easily manipulated through social media and advertising. People believe everything they hear and see on television, the don’t really look into their resources to see if the information is

true.
In the movie, “Mr.

Smith Goes to Washington” it shows the political process of a filibuster and how it is used to influence the Senate. A filibuster occurs when a senator attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a bill by extending the debate for an extended period of time. Filibusters are still used today in our political process. For example, according to The Weekly Magazine, they had predict that the Democratic Party will try to filibuster President-elect Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee since they didn’t approve of his nominee. The individuals behind the filibuster are driven by their own special

interests.
This movie also shows how the special interests groups and lobbyists try to run the government. In the movie, Taylor could be compared to as the special interest group who was trying to use his money and status to gain more profits. This type of corruption is still being used today. During the election, Wikileaks and Guccifer helped expose the Clinton Foundation’s plan of “pay to play.” In this case, special interest groups have been donating millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation in order to get special access for their personal benefit.
This film also portrayed a place where the individual had no power and had been replaced by the system itself, for example when the Obamacare passed, the individual had no choice but to get health care. If the individual don’t have any type of health care, they will be penalized with a heavy tax. In the state of California, a law was past for mandatory vaccinations for children. By forcing vaccinations, it destroys the individual rights and essentially puts the government in the place of the parent. The government existed for itself and the people who supported it not for the individual person. In effect, when Smith wins his case it proves that the system in the film was flawed and corrupt.
In conclusion, it remains evident that politics over the last 77 years has not changed very much. In the film they do not mention our two most popular political parties, Democrats or Republicans. When politicians stand up against the corruption that has become inherent in the system, often members of their own party who have been in bed with the lobbyists for decades oppose them. There has been proven evidence that few individuals in power drive the political process. The general public’s opinion of government is that corporations and government have more power over the individual.