The 2007 movie, featuring award-winning actors Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, portrays the involvement of the US in the Soviet-Afghan conflict. “Charlie Wilson’s War” is based on a true story and presents the impact of the Texas congressman on ending not only the Soviet-Afghan war but also the long-lasting Cold War. Although the film is delivered in a comedy genre, which helps the audience get a more relatable perspective on this issue, there are many other aspects of politics covered. This paper will reflect on “Charlie Wilson’s War,” provide a plot summary and describe several political features such as democracy, party structure, electoral system, and authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.
Charlie Wilson was the US Texas congressman and a member of several foreign affairs committees. Being reelected several times for his position, he received trust and support from the people of Texas and the whole country in general. In his first appearance in the movie, he receives the highest recognition award from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for his input into the “defeat and the breakup of the Soviet empire” (Charlie Wilson’s War 00:02:00). As the film progresses, Wilson shows his hedonistic and self-indulgent personality spotted in a questionable company in Las Vegas. However, the congressman’s excellent education and professionalism cannot be denied as he begins his journey in resolving the Guerrilla war. He learns that in order to put an end to the ongoing devastating conflict and help defeat the Soviet Union, more sophisticated weaponry in greater amounts is needed by the Afghan forces. Wilson’s initial increase of the US assistance fund in the region brought almost no satisfactory results but received backing from one of the wealthiest women in Texas, Joanne Herring.
Joanne Herring played a key role in the movie, helping Charlie Wilson receive support from local and international authorities. Throughout some time, he convinces several governments around Afghanistan to cooperate and reaches agreements on the supply of military machinery. With the help of Joanne Herring, Wilson manages to increase the US funding in the region from only $5 million up to about $500 million as covert support, totaling $1 billion with the Middle East countries’ financing. Together with Gust Avrakotos from CIA and Joanne Herring, the Texas congressman helped to put an end to the Soviet-Afghan war in the late 1980s. However, their consequent attempt to rebuild Afghanistan and provide the country with a better quality of life was dismissed by the American government.
This work, directed by Mike Nichols, depicts some of the most fundamental aspects of politics from defining different types of governance to showing the way they operate. First is the notion of democracy and a democratic country. “Charlie Wison’s War” did a great job representing both advantages and disadvantages of this governmental system. Inclusiveness, diversity, freedom, and power that is in the hands of people – these are the mottos of a democratic state, which are also shown in the movie. However, the movie hints on difficulties of a democratic government to reach an agreement, when Joanne Herring says: “Why is saying one thing and doing nothing?” (Charlie Wilson’s War 00:25:24). The answer to this issue lies in the bureaucratic structure of decision-making. Having many different representatives, all of whom have distinct worldview points and perspectives, makes it impossible to react to a particular problem quickly and effectively. For instance, many of the laws, regulations, and bills concerning major international and local issues are being created in several months or more. They also require approval from another body to proceed further, which delays the process for up to several years.
Another aspect covered is the existence of various political parties and political views. As Wilson arrived at the Herring’s mansion, his assistant noted: “this is an ultra-right-wing group of anti-Communist fanatics” (Charlie Wilson’s War 00:22:22). The democratic system described earlier allows people to form political groups and be affiliated with them. In this case, Joanne Herring is on the right side of the political spectrum, which usually indicates strong traditional values and national security. The arguments between left and right are considered a basis of contemporary politics, ranging on topics from abortion and taxes to military and gun control.
On top of the previously mentioned democracy and political parties, the third aspect is the right to vote and the electoral system. When Congressman Wilson flew on a plane back to the US from Pakistan, he told a youth story to his assistant, mentioning that “about 400 ballots were cast in that election … Hazard lost by 16 votes” (Charlie Wilson’s War 00:43:00). He emphasizes that this is the beauty of democracy and the US. As the democracy is based on transparent and equal-right elections, it is the power of people to appoint authorities they believe are best qualified for a particular position. Besides the electoral structure, this system is also used in the decision-making bodies and usually are based on a simple majority, three-quarter majority, and unanimous vote.
In addition to the three fundamentals above, the film also touches on topics of other types of governance – authoritarian and totalitarian. The “evil” in the “Charlie Wilson’s War” is shown in the picture of the Soviet Union, which was a totalitarian state. However, interestingly enough, the US approached several Middle Eastern countries for assistance that are authoritarian themselves or are not transparent democracies. The main difference between authoritarian regimes is the invasion of privacy and the level of public life control. While all the power is handled by one authority in both regimes, totalitarian seeks to cover more areas, including people’s private lives.
“Charlie Wilson’s War” is a well-delivered representation of the fundamentals of democracy and other types of governance. The movie displays many aspects of politics and international relations. Since Congressman Wilson faced and learned from electoral, political group, democratic, and authoritarian systems throughout his life, this biographical comedy serves not only entertaining but also educational functions. The movie describes the difficulties of democratic governments in acting quickly, provides examples of the benefits of voting rights, and gives an overview of different political viewpoints. Despite his hedonistic lifestyle, the US Texas congressman was a significant contributor to ending the Guerilla war. Charlie Wilson showed the importance of negotiations and proper governance in practice and rightfully deserved to be highly recognized by the US CIA and American people.
Work Cited
Charlie Wilson’s War. Directed by Mike Nichols, Universal Studios, 2007.