The Film of Nixon In an adventure though time, one of the great moments to look at is, the Nixon era in American history. He was the president of the United States of America (U.S.A). He led the U.S.A in cover ups, war, lies, and so much more. One of the best ways to see what he was like is the movie of Nixon. It accurately covers most of the events in Nixon's life as president. This will explain the movie, eight points from the movie that are unlawful and/or unconstitutional, how this movie affected me, and what I think of the movie. Now without further due, Turn off your cell phone, quite down, the movies about to begin. To start off the summary of the movie Nixon, does not apologize for Nixon, and holds him accountable for the disgrace he brought to the presidency. The actor who plays Nixon, Anthony Hopkins, looks and sounds only generally Nixon in real life. This is not an impersonation; Hopkins gives us a deep, resonant performance that creates a man instead of coping an image. The movie also talks about the infamous 18 1/2-minute gap on the White House tapes symbolizes a dark hole inside the soul, a secret that he hints at but never reveals. What is implied is that somehow a secret central intelligence agency (C.I.A) operation against Cuba, started with Nixon's knowledge during the last years of the Eisenhower administration, and turned on itself and somehow led to the assassination of Kennedy. It doesn't suggest that Nixon ordered or desired Kennedy's death, but that he half-understood the process by which the Beast, as he called the secret government apparatus, led to the assassination. Learning that former CIA Cuba conspirator Howard Hunt was involved in the Watergate caper, he murmurs, “He's the darkness reaching out... ... middle of paper ... ... Work Cited Eady, Pier. Britain's youngest parents: 12-year-old girl and boy aged 13 have baby daughter together http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-youngest-parents-12-year-old-girland boy aged 13 have baby daugh. N.p., 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. (Side note, Apr. 16, when this published is also my birthday) . Idiocracy. Dir. Mike Judge. 2006. DVD-ROM. Nixon. Dir. Oliver Stone. Cinergi Pictures, 1995. DVD-ROM O'Connor, Karen, Alixandra B. Yanus, and Larry j. Sabato. American Government Roots and Reform. 2011th ed. N.p.: Pearson, n.d. Print. Winston, History is repeating itself: Nixon and McCain. Ed. Winston. N.p., 17 Feb. 2008. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
Rick Perlstein argues over whether "Nixonland", a country at war with itself, still resides in the heart of America. The book took a in depth look at Nixon’s political career from the beginning up to the outcome of the 1972 election, as well as how America’s political scene went from perceived consensus in the LBJ era to the bitterly divided right versus left, also known as the red state/blue state split. Perlstein’s argument is that we are still living in Nixonland. “Nixonland” is a study of the consensus, it isn’t just about Nixon, he isn’t the protagonist of Nixonland although it does include his rise and fall; instead, the protagonist of Nixonland is the American voter who found themselves voting Democrat in 1964 and then Republican in 1972 for the same reasons. This book covers the American political and cultural terrain from LBJ’s liberal landslide in 1964, through Nixon’s comeback in 1968, and land...
In conclusion President Nixon had some ups and downs like most Presidents. He was the first modern President that brought out globalized criticism, and where the White House conflicts became the household problems. If anyone wonders where America stands, or even how we got here, Nixonland will be a good place to start.
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.
One reason for this is that “...the CIA felt that Kennedy was going to disband them.” The reason for this is because the CIA wanted the Cuban leader dead, but JFK disagreed (“The one JFK conspiracy”). The CIA planned to invade Cuba, but Kennedy had assured the Cuban leader that he would not invade his country, ruining the CIA’s plan. Another reason the CIA might have wanted JFK dead was because “President Kennedy told Senator Mike Mansfield of his plans to tear the CIA “into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind” (Hager). The CIA had a reason to be worried about Kennedy’s plans to shut down their agency. The CIA looks very suspicious including the circumstances of their problem.
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
Pious, Richard M. Richard Nixon: A Political Life. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Julian Messner, 1991.
Some historians believe that this changed the course of history, and that we can never truly trust the government again. While others believe that Nixon didn’t make the right decisions, this should not change the way the people look at our government. The government and the people need to maintain strong trust. The opposing argument believes that Richard Nixon made a turning point in history that allowed the people to turn against the government. Nobody can trust a government where the president himself does something against the law.
Rutland, Robert A. The Republicans: From Lincoln to Bush. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, 1996.
Nixon although considered one of the most controversial politicians used his political experience, his background and the communist scare of the late forties and early fifties to become President. It took Nixon about four years but eventually he put an end to the Vietnam War. He promised the American people that when he took office his highest priority would be putting an end to the horrible war. He did what he promised and deserves credit for that. Although things did not always work out for him he came back from the events a smarter man. He used his knowledge to win the election. It takes a smart man to learn from his mistakes and Nixon did that. That is why he deserved to be President of the United States.
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.
Kennedy took full public responsibility for the Bay of Pigs disaster though secretly he blamed the CIA. Kennedy fired three of the CIA?s top men whom were responsible for the operation: Director Allen Dulles, who was later a member of the Warren Commission (Lifton 176), General Cabell, and Richard Bissel. (Morrissey) After the CIA lost time, effort, and people in the attempt to secure Cuba, the CIA became hostile and wanted to get rid of Kennedy to prevent him from losing more ground, especially in Vietnam.Adding to the fire were Kennedy?s secret commitments to pulling out of Vietnam and his threat to?Smash the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter them in the wind? (Belzer 79)
Bibliography:.. The "Sources Cited" The First Kennedy-Nixon Debate. Information Press.
The American President is a romantic comedy that takes place in the White House during primary season. The president is hoping to be reelected and to pass two bills, one on gun control and one on fuel restrictions. During this movie, the president meets Sydney, a lobbyist, and goes out with her, and because of this he takes a hit on his ratings. The American President shows many different themes covered in politics and government 101, these themes are the rolls of the media, polls, primaries and elections, and the process of introducing a bill to congress. This movie also shows the relationship between the executive branch and the legislative branch while detailing the relationship the president has with interest groups, and his White House staff. While covering all this the movie The American President shines a positive light on politicians, this movie showed politicians having a genuine concern in human life and truly wanting to improve life. This movie wasn't all optimism though, it also criticized some politicians for muckraking and it criticized the media and the American public for thinking that the private lives of politicians is their business.
[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.
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.