Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Essay -- film analysis, reassuring image

Mr. Smith is portrayed as an honest man with strong opinions. He is the ideal politician in an ideal society. The film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington depicts a "reassuring image" that happens to be "an image of the past" (Wheeler). However, in today's legislature, people like Mr. Smith are rare due to the fact that a politician's primary goal is re-election. The good of the people may come as another intention of a politician, but it is always secondary to "bringing home the pork." There should be more people like Mr. Smith because the legislature would be able to make decisions more effectively and efficiently, rather than how slowly they currently operate. This is an unfortunate truth, yet it is how our society has been shaped to operate. This becomes apparent after close examination of the United States legislature today and viewing of the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr. Smith was appointed to be a Senator on a whim. He was the leader of the Boy Rangers with no political experience. He was principled with a clear view on right and wrong. Mr. Smith took his ideals as far as risking his career when he did not compromise in order to maintain his beliefs. In addition, special interest groups did not impact Mr. Smith's decisions. He was untouched by the corruption that he learned existed in the legislature. Yet upon discovering it, he did not change himself. Mr. Smith did not place any emphasis on re-election and did not care if people thought negatively about him as long as he remained with his values. Mr. Smith's values make him unique and give him the ability to be noticed within the legislature. The manner in which the United States legislature is currently set up allows someone similar to Mr. Smith to thrive in society... ... 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. 11/mr-smith-goes-to-washington-discussion.html>. Hudak, John. "Lessons from the Shutdown: Pork and Earmarks Help Break Gridlock." Brookings. Brookings, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. 10/29-shutdown-lessons-the-benefits-of-pork-hudak>. Johnson, Eliana. "Shutdown Deal Includes Pork-Barrel Spending." National Review Online. NRO, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. shutdown-deal-includes-pork-barrel-spending-eliana-johnson>. Panahi, Heather. "Common Criticisms of Legislatures." Feb. 2013. File last modified on Feb. 2013. PDF file. "radical." Def. 1-10. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .