Mr. Smith Gets to Filibuster

While I thought I would dislike "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," merely because I historically am not inclined toward black and white pictures, I absolutely adored it. Sure, the portrayal of a single, freshman Senator making an incredible difference is a bit far-fetched, but we have encroached on utter cynicism and over-seriousness if we cannot aspire to such a positive, populist depiction.

The film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," is the sort of wholesome, excessively patriotic and forthright portrayal of a single individual, well ahead of his time trying to make a difference. At the time the film was released, racial inequity and Hollywood's obsession with either excluding minorities or portraying them in menial roles, like "Mr. Smith," where the lone African-American is a shoe shiner, were prevalent. Mr. Smith, by all accounts, is a politically unidentified Senator but espouses rather progressive ideologies on themes of philanthropy and equity.

Rather than marginalizing the female character to the confines of "listening," to his policy ideas, the senator engages the women and seeks her consultation on how best to develop said polices. The women is, however, in an archetypal secretarial role but nonetheless by chronological standards is depicted rather favorably.

Certain pragmatic political theories can be derived from "Mr Smith." The idea of employing the filibuster, something that can be regarded as a necessary evil to 'check,' majority political power, is a mechanism unique to the United States Congress. Obviously, the conclusion of the film is predictable and in alignment with the expectation of a "feel good," film.

To those who question the validity of "Mr. Smith," and cast it as "unrealistic," I ask "Why can't we espouse the sort of equitable and wholesome political fight that Mr. Smith entails?"

Corey Scott-Vincent-William Dutra

If only it were as it used to be...

When we talk about Mr. Smith goes to Washington, I don’t know if much is outdated. I found it an amazing movie in its simplicity and candid nature about how politics is played in this country. It is a shame that this problem has been seen for so long and nobody has done anything about it. I loved the fact it was a simple American man who loved his country and tried to make it better and found it a different animal. The way it views the free press is right on and that is a shame because they are right they don’t get re-elected and so why print the facts or what really happens. With the discussion of the political machine that is what scares me the most because they are still around and cane be found in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and other cities. We do not have to look far for corruption just last year Jefferson City officials were being looked at. I believe the only thing truly out dated would be the cars and train. This movie was great it should what be idealize and what is written on marble but those in congress take it all for granted and believe it is for them to play around with. I found it perfect because you have a loving American going to Washington and what happened he sees what a mess it is and how the dreams of founding fathers have been left to die under the marble and poetic words. The ideas that the movie presents are all still relevant in today’s political theatre and we need to move as Americans to make sure our democracy is for us not subjugated to one person’s interests.

Robert Foster

Mr. Smith Goes to "Wewishthiswerethewayitwasville"

Jack Gustafson

There is a reason that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is still shown in classrooms today. This reason is because of the undeniable optimism that is voiced through the character of Mr. Smith. Even as ridiculous and over-the-top as the acting in the film was, the audience still understood the basic premise of the story: Why can’t we elect people who are more like us?

Now, when the term “people like us” gets thrown around in United States politics, it tends to translate as “white and Christian (preferably protestant)”, but as much as Mr. Smith really was just like the rest of America, he at least made attempts to mention people of other races and creeds. There were at least two incidents where Mr. Smith directly referred to people of other races, and spoke on how they should receive the same rights; this was in direct opposition to what most people thought in 1939 (particularly in Montana).

From this, it seems as thought Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was years ahead of its’ time, even if the lone African-America in the film was portrayed as a soft-shoeing Sambo. Hollywood was definitely wrapped up in the racism of its’ time, but the character of Mr. Smith seems to make up for it.

I would have to say that the only thing that is outdated within Mr. Smith would be the technical aspects, and the race relations. Mr. Smith, as a politician, was not revelatory enough of what his political issues were, in fact nobody in the film was; there was never a mention of Democratic or Republican party anywhere in the film. I think that the story still holds relevant because the idea is that the little guy is fighting the big guys to do the right thing. Of course, the film is representational, not realistic, and from this we are able to seek the politics of the film unfold.