Machiavelli and Bad Characters in Screenplays and Movies Essay

Machiavelli is well known for the proposals he made to be used in politics. He stated that immoral behaviors such as the murder of the innocent and the use of deceit were appropriate and effective in politics. Moreover, he would encourage the leaders to engage in evil when necessary for them to extend and maintain their tenure in power. Through Machiavelli’s suggestions, characteristics such as being selfish, cunning, deception, and expediency can be used to define him. This essay focuses on themes and characters in the film and screenplays that resemble Machiavelli’s The Prince themes and character traits.

Allen, Woody, and Douglas McGrath. Bullets-Over-Broadway. Miramax Publishing, 1994.

“Let’s avoid confusion. / She’ll get some lines, / or I’ll nail your knee caps to the floor” (“Let’s avoid confusion. She’ll get some lines, or I’ll nail your knee caps to the floor”) (Valenti). David calls his friend to tell him of his answer to nicks proposal saying “The answer is yea. // When offered the opportunity to have my play backed by this hoodlum, / I said yes. / It’s a pact with the devil, / and the penalty is his girlfriend plays a part.” (David). In the play, David is struggling with a financial crisis, he is desperate, and therefore, he arrives on Broadway with hope of finding someone to finance his play. He is in a position to find that person to provide the funding by the name Nick. However, the only condition was that Nick’s girlfriend takes the leading role in the play, yet she has no acting experience. David rejects the proposal, but Nick threatens him because he has power and influence to make his play a big success. Nick is cunning, selfish, and ruthless leading him to take advantage of David’s desperate state.

The scriptwriter shows the influence of power in achieving the desired outcomes of the leader. Machiavelli’s view of leadership involves being cunning and charismatic to obtain one’s goals. According to Machiavelli, possessing Virtu is more important since it gives an individual the power to shape their destiny in their specifications. Since David is desperate and Nick has the power, the powerful must use the vulnerable to get what they want. This show of power proves Machiavelli’s idea of true power where he states that “The nature of men is such that they find themselves obligated as much for the benefits they confer as for those they receive” (Machiavelli, 33).

This article is relevant to the research in demonstrating power and influence in obtaining an individual’s desires. The article defines morality and ethical issues that influential individuals overlook when making decisions. This article is qualitative in demonstrating the play’s ideas and credibility for the research since the source is written from the author’s experience. The script is relevant to this research because it demonstrates the benefits of influencing society by stepping on vulnerable and less fortunate people.

Ayer, David. Training Day. Warner Bros. Publishing, 2001.

“Get over it. / You wanna go runnin’ and gunnin’, / stay in patrol. // Leave the garbage for the garbage men. / We’re professional anglers. // You’d have a big ‘ol smile on your face” (Alonzo). Jake responds “I get my shits and grins booking bad guys, / not beating them” (Jake). This conversation occurs during Alonzo and Jake’s daily routine in rounding up criminals where Alonzo beats two men trying to abuse an underage schoolgirl. The play is set in the American streets with most criminal activities where Denzel Washington as Alonzo plays the black cop where he has to teach Ethan Hake, acting as Jake to be the best cop in fighting against narcotics in the American Streets. Jake is chasing promotion in his career as a detective therefore which leads to his association with Alonzo who evaluates his skills. Jake is a straight police officer who believes in being morally upright in handling criminals whereas Alonzo believes in brutality and being part of the crimes in investigating narcotics cases.

This quote is relevant in showing Machiavelli’s idea of a prince where leadership does not consider morality to get what is desired to possess true power. Machiavellis also states that “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps and a lion to frighten wolves.” Therefore, unethical leadership is justified if the results achieve what the rulers desire. This play is relevant to Machaivellies, the prince’s research because it discusses essential matters of leadership in society today. The author shows different communities in demonstrating power where African Americans believe in brutality whereas White Americans believe in empathy and ruling with compassion to gain the people’s trust. This source is credible as it comes directly from a known writer in the film industry. The research method used is qualitative as physical characters are used in demonstrating the actions of the play.

Nattiv, Guy. Skin. Revised Final Script. 2018. Scripts.com.

“Snakes have colorful bodies, / and they use that to warn predators that they’re venomous. / But in some places, / they have bright colors, / but they are not venomous. / So that is to scare predators. // The brighter the color, / the more venomous, maybe” (Troy). This is a monologue by Jeffrey’s son, Troy when he discusses his favorite animal, a snake. In his script, the snake also describes the difference in colors and how Jeffrey’s tattoos depict him in society. Jeffrey is a member of the white supremacist who adorns tattoos from head to toe representing his Neo-Nazism ideology in society. The script generally demonstrates racism, white supremacy, and traditional family ties. By adorning the tattoos, Jeffrey portrays his superiority and stands among his community identifying him as the true leader. The tattoos also make Jeffery’s appearance show intimidation, creating fear among other people in the community.

Machiavelli believes in using fear to control and lead minority groups as the ideal of a good leader. In the prince, Machiavelli insists that “he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against” ( Machiavelli 101); therefore, a leader should also have the upper hand in dealing with their subjects. Since whites are the majority group, they are more favored by the law than their minority counterparts. This script is an original work, therefore credible in use for this research. The script uses qualitative methods by using real characters to demonstrate the events of the play. This play is important in emphasizing that the skin is just an outer layer of an individual, which does not represent their inner beings in society. The relevance of this script is demonstrating the power of empathy in living peacefully among clashing communities.

In conclusion, all three plays have tried to show how Machiavelli’s proposals are used in politics and daily activities. The screenplays have also demonstrated how the characters, in some instances, share character traits with Machiavelli. We have seen how the innocent are being killed out of people’s selfish motives and how deceit has been used to comply with their actions. Individual personalities such as selfishness, cunning, and expediency are also well advanced in the films. Hence, Machiavelli’s proposals were suggestions, but these are what people feel is right to do.