Post by klep on Mar 28, 2016 6:45:04 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 3/28: Election
It may seem incongruous to set a satire of American politics in a high school, but those of us who still remember our high school days can attest that high school politics are at least as nasty and brutal as any found in the adult political world. And Carver High School is no exception. In Alexander Payne's Election, we see a student council election through the eyes of both candidates and their supervising teacher.
The primary instigating figure is Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), who is written like a caricature of Hillary Clinton. She's a highly qualified (for SCA President) and highly ambitious young woman struggling with the fact that her many activities and aggressive Type-A personality have won her few friends. She's worked hard to prepare for the campaign and feels like she deserves to win.
Her primary antagonist is Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a civics teacher who proclaims contentment with his life but is actually dissatisfied with his marriage and looking for an escape hatch. He resents Flick for sleeping with a friend of his and ruining said friend's life, but his primary conflict with her is that she is ambitious and he has forsaken ambition. McAllister's resentment of Tracy causes him to interfere with the electoral process, but ends up not accomplishing much beyond blowing up his own life.
McAllister recruits a popular football player named Paul to run against Tracy, and this is where the political and class satire comes into sharp relief. Paul has no qualifications, but he's a good-looking and affable white male from a rich family, so he coasts through life and into serious competition with Tracy despite his lack of experience. He's even a genuinely nice guy, but it's the highly qualified Tracy who's left to fight and work so hard - coming from not much money and being a woman.
Ultimately McAllister's machinations prove unsuccessful, but it's remarkable how well Election predicts not only the following year's Presidential election, but Hillary Clinton's primary effort in 2008. The campaign is close-fought, with a narrow margin of victory and chicanery in the counting. Paul echoes George Bush, running almost entirely on the back of his affability and propped up by others (his girlfriend Lisa to Bush's Karl Rove). And Tracy Flick's increasing frustration mirrors what we saw in Hillary Clinton's losing 2008 campaign, which became nastier and more unhinged the more likely Obama's victory seemed.
But I'm a political junkie and I'm sure there's plenty else to talk about; I know I took a full page of notes while watching the film. What is it about Election that you find particularly compelling?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/4: Do The Right Thing
Spike Lee's breakout film will be our next Movie of the Week. It is available on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members. It does seem to be free for Prime members who have a Starz subscription? I'm not sure how that works.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 3/29: Psycho
This Wednesday we'll take some time to discuss Psycho along with the Next Picture Show podcast. Psycho is available on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
It may seem incongruous to set a satire of American politics in a high school, but those of us who still remember our high school days can attest that high school politics are at least as nasty and brutal as any found in the adult political world. And Carver High School is no exception. In Alexander Payne's Election, we see a student council election through the eyes of both candidates and their supervising teacher.
The primary instigating figure is Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), who is written like a caricature of Hillary Clinton. She's a highly qualified (for SCA President) and highly ambitious young woman struggling with the fact that her many activities and aggressive Type-A personality have won her few friends. She's worked hard to prepare for the campaign and feels like she deserves to win.
Her primary antagonist is Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a civics teacher who proclaims contentment with his life but is actually dissatisfied with his marriage and looking for an escape hatch. He resents Flick for sleeping with a friend of his and ruining said friend's life, but his primary conflict with her is that she is ambitious and he has forsaken ambition. McAllister's resentment of Tracy causes him to interfere with the electoral process, but ends up not accomplishing much beyond blowing up his own life.
McAllister recruits a popular football player named Paul to run against Tracy, and this is where the political and class satire comes into sharp relief. Paul has no qualifications, but he's a good-looking and affable white male from a rich family, so he coasts through life and into serious competition with Tracy despite his lack of experience. He's even a genuinely nice guy, but it's the highly qualified Tracy who's left to fight and work so hard - coming from not much money and being a woman.
Ultimately McAllister's machinations prove unsuccessful, but it's remarkable how well Election predicts not only the following year's Presidential election, but Hillary Clinton's primary effort in 2008. The campaign is close-fought, with a narrow margin of victory and chicanery in the counting. Paul echoes George Bush, running almost entirely on the back of his affability and propped up by others (his girlfriend Lisa to Bush's Karl Rove). And Tracy Flick's increasing frustration mirrors what we saw in Hillary Clinton's losing 2008 campaign, which became nastier and more unhinged the more likely Obama's victory seemed.
But I'm a political junkie and I'm sure there's plenty else to talk about; I know I took a full page of notes while watching the film. What is it about Election that you find particularly compelling?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/4: Do The Right Thing
Spike Lee's breakout film will be our next Movie of the Week. It is available on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members. It does seem to be free for Prime members who have a Starz subscription? I'm not sure how that works.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 3/29: Psycho
This Wednesday we'll take some time to discuss Psycho along with the Next Picture Show podcast. Psycho is available on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.