Film Analysis: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

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The initial perception of ideals of American democracy in the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is one that is negative. The majority of the movie is surrounded by Senator Paine and Mr. Taylor trying to find a way to cover up their involvement in a bill that they are trying to have passed in regards to land that was purchased they were wanting to have damned with government funds. The passing of the current senator begins the corruptness of their scandal. They try and bully the Governor into replacing him with someone they know will hide their scandal. However, the people want change in the senate and are demanding change. The Governor is bombarded at the dinner table by his children to elect Mr. Smith, a naive gentleman with no political background but has ties to the state with his well-known boy’s ranch.…show more content…
Smith is compelled to not just sit there and become the norm or the Senate, agreeing with the consensus on the bills that are being passed. He wrote up a bill to create a boys camp with the land that Senator Paine and Mr. Taylor have involved in their scandal. Of course, this is unbeknown to Mr. Smith, until towards the end of the movie! To cover up the scandal, Senator Paine and Mr. Taylor forge documents to show Mr. Smith has a personal stake in the land and is trying to “double dip” on the money that would be generated by the boys for the land. During the controversy back and forth, Mr. Smith does not back down from his truth and stands up for himself and the boys and ends up having a filibuster on the senate floor to prove his point. Up until this point, political figures as the majority are being portrayed as corrupt and unjust; hence the initial

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