"The American President"

Paper Summary:

Analysis of Rob Reiner's 1995 film as an idealized presentation of the office of the presidency. Issue of real problems reduced to policy based on opinion polls. Plot of film a blend of politics and a romance. Conflictof president deciding whether to acknowledge real problems. Oversimplification of film's view of politics.

From the Paper:

"In the film The American President the very idealized presentation of the office of the presidency, the politics of national elections, and the role of the media seems to reflect the wishful thinking of director Rob Reiner, producer Robert Redford, writer Aaron Sorkin, and the film's principal actors. The filmmakers unambiguously identify the central character President Andrew Shepard (Michael Douglas) as a very liberal Democrat and his probable opponent in the upcoming election, Senator Rumsford (Richard Dreyfuss), embodies all the most cynical aspects of Republican exhortations about "family values" and "character" as election tools. In the idealized world of the film the answer to many of the problems confronting those who wish to govern humanely is for a political leader to have the courage to openly state that the "family values" and "character" ..."

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