One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Wag the Dog and Canadian Bacon and Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
- How and why the news agenda can be manipulated by political actors?
- According to lecture material, why do the media allow its agenda to be manipulated by political actors?
- Why don’t the media comment on or criticize the misleading statements of political actors?
- How are the president’s actions in the films similar to actual historical examples?
- How is fear used to manipulate a population to go to war?
Canadian Bacon
- How is this film’s message about the power of the military-industrial-complex relevant to the concerns raised by Eisenhower, Aichinger, or Newton in Ch. 6 of the reader? Be specific and use examples from the film and the readings when possible.
Network
- What are the problems with using marketing to decide what to present as news? How is this relevant to the Braunwarth reading in chapter 9 of your reader?
- What is the trajectory of Howard Beale’s rants?
- What is his ultimate conclusion about the ability of the public to engage in democratic action against corporate entities?
- How are Beale’s actions relevant to that of McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Thoreau (reader), or Plato in the “Allegory of the Cave” (lecture)
Bob Roberts, The Candidate, Bulworth
- The ability to express substantive political rhetoric in modern political campaigns
- How candidates must appeal to both the masses and the elites
- The role of scandal and character attacks in political campaigns
- Media coverage of political campaigns
- Role of money in political campaigns
- The dominance of the two major parties and how this influences the type of political rhetoric presented in contemporary politics and what views are excluded
- The degree to which interest groups and interest group resources drive contemporary politics
- Role of reporters/documentary filmmakers in political films
The following selections from the reader are all fair game for this exam:
Chapter One: United States Government and Politics
Chapter Six: Interest Groups
Chapter Seven: Political Parties
Chapter Eight: Elections and Campaigns
Chapter Nine: The Media
Chapter Thirteen: Foreign Policy
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” (lecture)
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