US Government in “Primary Colors” Film by Nichols Research Paper

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Updated: Feb 7th, 2024

The title of the film

The title of the film that I chose to watch is “Primary Colors”. It was written and directed by Mike Nichols and it was released during a turning point in our political history, March 20, 1998. The year when the American ideals and Kennedy optimism had once again taken over our country as Bill Clinton led the country out of recession and life began to boom once again.

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The theme of the movie

The movie takes place during the Democratic Primary race for president. It mirrors the characters of then-president Bill Clinton (Gov. Stanton) and his wife, now Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (Susan Stanton), and their quest for the presidency in 1992. The movie borrowed some actual events and scandals from the Clinton campaign, though in a fictionalized manner. It discusses the political climate of that time, the problems the candidates were forced to address (which are still the same problems our politics faces today), and how politics is always a game of manipulation and deceit.

The manipulation, deceit, political posturing, and personal attacks that the candidates go through is so life-altering that it takes away the innocence and “True Believer” attitude of Henry, Burton, the campaign manager of Gov. Stanton. The movie shows us the true drama behind each political campaign and how lives are directly and indirectly affected by the quest for the White House.

Political game on the congressional and senate levels

One of the events show in the film that struck me as a realistic discussion of how the game of politics is played on the congressional and senate levels. I wondered how many in the government service were like Henry Burton, who was so jaded by the political game on the congressional, senate, and executive levels that he would push hard for his programs, knowing very well that it would end up in the dustbin either by lost votes or a presidential veto, just so he and the others who supported the program could celebrate a moral victory in the end. Forcing a veto does not help anybody except the politician who supported the bill and will surely use it as a future campaign platform for himself. There must be many like him in the offices of these senators and congressmen, the believers who keep trying to reach that political nirvana that we all know will never happen.

Gov. Stanton’s speech on the government’s reality

I also particularly liked the speech that Gov. Stanton gave during the Democratic primary debate. In response to his opponent’s question of what it was that he did not like since he seemed to like everything, his response was truly a well thought out and written piece of reality in a government where all the political players seem t always be fighting for the spotlight and their five minutes of fame. He said something to the effect of political posturing, or preventing solutions from becoming a reality just because you were not the one who thought of it was what he disliked the most. And that is a reality in our current political system. We cannot even get the yearly budget passed because of constant filibustering between the Democrats and the Republicans.

Gov. Stanton on healthcare issues

And lastly, we have the healthcare and insurance problems of the country. Gov. Stanton voiced out his frustration about how healthcare should be affordable to everyone and yet everyone could not afford it. It frustrated him so that the government seemed to value the profits made by the insurance companies instead which got funneled into private accounts.

All the situations that were discussed and portrayed in the movie were realistic, but, being a parody of actual events and people, tended to be a bit on the exaggerated side, perhaps that was the producer’s way of driving home a point to the viewers.

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The point of view of the movie about government

The movie, although it was not mentioned, was set in a fictional version of 1992. When the government was suffering under the Republican hand, having come from Reagan-economics and then the George Bush War in Kuwait. The makers of the film portrayed America as needing a savior. Somebody who had a feeling for and desire to help the country without thought of political backlash.

A Kennedy-esque type of man who could bring hope back to the downtrodden Americans. According to the film, we had a government that was more concerned with protecting big business interests than anything else. The belief that the government was ripe and in dire need of a change ineffective leadership, even if that leader is a somewhat flawed leader on the personal side, was truly evident as the main sentiment or point of view of the film.

Justification of the political views in the film

The political points depicted in the film were perhaps hot fodder of the time back in 1992. Which made most of the film’s content highly controversial. If there is a point I agree with in terms of political views portrayed in the film, it would have to be how politicians love to be the devil’s advocate of their causes.

They are the only people I know of who can support a cause, and be against the same cause at the same time. Why not? According to the film, and I strongly agree with this political view, American pop culture and the media insist on portraying them that way. the film depicts politicians as their makers and breakers, depending upon what political sentiment is popular among the voters at the time because for politicians that is what politics is all about. Staying in power by deceiving people into believing that they support this and that. It’s just a game to them, but it is a living reality for us.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 7). US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-government-in-primary-colors-film-by-nichols/

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"US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols." IvyPanda, 7 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/us-government-in-primary-colors-film-by-nichols/.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols'. 7 February.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols." February 7, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-government-in-primary-colors-film-by-nichols/.

1. IvyPanda. "US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols." February 7, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-government-in-primary-colors-film-by-nichols/.


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IvyPanda. "US Government in "Primary Colors" Film by Nichols." February 7, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-government-in-primary-colors-film-by-nichols/.

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