Take a peek behind the ballot box with these movies

By Max Scholl     10/22/24 11:23pm

In the United States, every four years marks the resurgence of a red-white-and-blue-splattered, uniquely-‘American’ electoral aesthetic, from the Odyssean mythology of the campaign trail to the iconography of the ideal, dutiful citizen submitting their ballot card. With the election season approaching, it’s the perfect time to see how filmmakers have — perhaps playfully — handled these political aesthetics. 

“Bulworth” (1998)

Kicking off the list is a biting, hilarious and seriously ridiculous political satire following a jaded and suicidal politician. After a series of vulgar, televised meltdowns, Democratic Senator Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) begins rapping in public — denouncing everything from the American healthcare system to educational inequality — and consequently becomes a media star. Yet, prior to all of this, Bulworth has taken out a life insurance policy on himself to support his family and, accordingly, has arranged for his own assassination. Set on the campaign trail, “Bulworth” offers a scathing satirization of the American political system through the lens of public spectacle and racial inequality, especially targeting the tension between a politician’s ‘media-perfect’ persona and their capacity to enact actual change. 

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“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999)

Let’s face it – the Star Wars prequels, in all of their space-opera melodramaticism, are deeply political. The first of them, “The Phantom Menace,” sets the stage for what’s to follow in the franchise: a sinister mega-corporation, the Trade Federation, conspiring towards domination with the assistance of an ancient, occult group of elders – the Sith. “The Phantom Menace” traces the machinery of this massive political dilemma, from the superstructural bureaucratic processes of the galactic senate to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s personal encounters with political turmoil during their investigation of the Sith conspiracy. While all of the political components “The Phantom Menace” has to offer are heavily metaphorized by director George Lucas, this, and the rest of the prequel films, stand deeply relevant during the election season. 

“Nashville” (1975)

Directed by the great Robert Altman, “Nashville” is an epic vision following 24 different characters across the country and gospel music scenes in Nashville, Tennessee as their stories, hopes and dreams intersect with one another. All the while, the presence of a never-shown politician, a populist, independent presidential candidate, hangs in the background through campaign posters and a van driving around town blasting speeches, and the film culminates in a gala concert for the politician. “Nashville” places extreme importance on the dynamic fabric of an ‘American’ culture and the ways in which such images of Americana interact with the (equally-‘American’) political scene – between policy and propaganda, culture and political action. 

“Election” (1999)

“Election” is an unusual election film because it doesn’t involve somebody with widespread political influence per se; instead, the stakes have never been lower. Reese Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick, an overachieving high school student whose campaign for student body president is complicated by Jim McAllister, a bitter social studies teacher played by Matthew Broderick. This film is a perfect counterexample to ‘protagonist’ meaning only ‘good guy’ and ‘antagonist’ meaning only ‘bad guy’ – what if both the central character and their opponent are equally annoying for different reasons? The farce of this whole scenario – how seriously everybody takes this ‘election’ – makes Election all the more sardonic in its mockery of American electoral politics. 

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