J Edgar Hoover Analysis

1440 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of fbi

J. Edgar
Clint Eastwood’s 2011 film, J. Edgar staring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, depicts the personal accounts and reflections of Hoover’s life and professional journey (J. Edgar Hoover). Responsible for the advancements of modern day crime investigation, and the initial establishment of the Federal Beau Of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover successfully directed the FBI for 50 years. Narrated in retrospect, the film portrays significant events throughout his career. In the film J. Edgar Hoover was accurately portrayed as rabidly anti-communist and his manipulation tactics were true to life as well. However, Hoovers flashback in the movie of arresting high profile criminals and solving key cases is dramatized emphasizing he did it all. In the end of the film Hoover’s partner Tolson accurately reveals Hoovers historic false claim to fame of arresting high profile criminals.
J. Edgar Hoover began the establishment of the FBI alongside his partner Clyde Tolson and secretary, Helen Gandy. Hoover directed the FBI during eight presidential terms ranging from Coolidge, until his death during Nixon’s presidency. He began his career at the U.S Department of Justice in 1917, quickly rising from attorney General A. Mitchell Palmers’ assistant, to the head of the General Intelligence Division, and eventually reaching the position of director of the FBI (“J. Edgar Hoover”). Next, as the director of the Bureau of Investigation Hoover increasingly became fearful and anti-communist, focusing on the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King and many other political groups he saw as threatening to society. Though various methods of manipulation including blackmail, wiretaps, raids and unnecessary arrests, Hoover did everything in his power to disp...

... middle of paper ...

...t. The actual arrest was made by agents Clarence Hurt and Dwight Brantley” (Bardsley, Marylin). Further proving that Hoovers false glorification of himself was true, and depicted correctly though Tolson’s clarification.
Following the correct sequence of events, setting and people, this movie consistently portrays the Hoovers role in the establishment of the FBI correctly. Overall the movie J. Edgar remains historically accurate. The representation of issues faced by Hoover corresponds consistently with the time periods and the people involved. The establishment of the FBI is explained by Hoover, retrospectively and correctly displaying his use of blackmail and manipulation, fear of communism and glorified fame of arresting criminals. Conveying Hoover’s ambition and motives, the movie accurately represents his true role in the establishment of the FBI.

Show More
Related

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    The mission and values of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is up held with strong Constitutional values. Over the years since the FBI was created in 1908 by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte during the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. As a progressive during this time period Bonaparte applied his philosophy to forming the FBI with several corps of agents. His thought was that these men should have expertise and not political connections. With the U.S. Constitution based on “federalism” a national government with jurisdiction over matters that cross boundaries, such as interstate and foreign affairs.

    Read More

  • The Wickersham Commission

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hoover form this commission and what was it to achieve. What was happening to cause

    Read More

  • The 1920's and 1950's Red Scare

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Mitchell Palmer started the General Intelligence” (http://law2.umkc.edu) or the anti-radical Division of Bureau Investigation on August 1, 1919, with Edgar Hoover another Justice Department employee. The mission o...

    Read More

  • August Vollmer's Career in Law Enforcement

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    Along the way, Vollmer was asked to conduct reviews of various police departments for which he tool leave. In 1923 he was asked to lead the Los Angeles Police Department for one year. Then in 1929, the University of Chicago hired him to be a professor of police administration in their public administra...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Oj Simpson

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    A great deal of people viewed Simpson as a role model and someone they desired to be. Not for one second did any of those people even think about the thought of a man that “has it all” being on trial for murder. When most people view celebrities like Simpson, they imagine them with no flaws, but they only observe a glimpse of the person’s life. Some would say a majority of Americans prefer watching someone else’s life than pursuing their own, some Americans would even say that they have an infatuation with celebrities.

    Read More

  • Unsung Heroes: Apprehending the Ghost Gang

    1662 Words  | 4 Pages

    After several seconds of a show of adoration from the audience, the applauding subsided and they sat back down. Director Johnson then continued. “These three showed special courage and selflessness in the performance of their task. I take great personal pride in telling you that my goal, my passion, is to make this country safe for it 's citizens. I want everyone in the FBI to have the same desire and respect for the laws of this country along with compassion for the victims of criminal acts. During the crime spree of the so-called Ghost Gang, many innocent victims were killed or injured and several millions of dollars were taken due to the selfish acts of criminals. Instrumental in the apprehension of the Ghost Gang bank

    Read More

  • President Nixon Case Study

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Felt had expected to be named to succeed J. Edgar Hoover, who had run the bureau for 48 years and died in May 1972. The president instead chose a politically loyal Justice Department official, L. Patrick Gray III, who later followed orders from the White House to destroy documents in the case. In a criminal trial, Mr. Felt was convicted in November 1980 of conspiring to violate the constitutional rights of Americans. Nixon, who had denounced him in private for leaking Watergate secrets, testified on his behalf. Called by the prosecution, he told the jury that presidents and by extension their officers had an inherent right to conduct illegal searches in the name of national security. (New York Times, 2008)

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon´s Involvement in the Watergate Scandal

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    With this in mind, people can understand why such a fuss was caused when Nixon, involved for so long in government, was discovered to be part of the cover up. John Dean, a former counsel of Nixon, said Nixon had paid the burglars a lot of money to not say the White House was involved. D...

    Read More

  • Behind the Watergate Scandal

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    At 3:30 P.M. on June 17, 1972, the five suspects were led into the courtroom to begin their case. The burglars were Bernald L. Baker, Virgilio R. Gonzales, Eugenio R. Martinez, James W. McCord, Jr., and Frank A. Sturgis. “The tallest of the suspects, who had given his name as James W. McCord, Jr. was asked to step forward”(Bernstein 18). The judge asked him what his occupation was. McCord said that he was a security consultant that had recently retired from the CIA; however, he was actually the security coordinator of the Committee to Reelect the President (CRP). John Mitchell, director of the Committee to Reelect the President, provided a statement saying that McCord and the other suspects were not operating on either the CPR’s behalf or with their consent.

    Read More

  • History Of The FBI

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the FBI was established, there weren't an abundance of federal crimes, so it investigated criminal acts that dealt with national banking, bankruptcy, naturalization, antitrust, peonage, and land fraud. In June of 1910, the FBI grew larger because the "Mann Act" (Made it a crime to transport women to other states for immoral reasons). The FBI could now prosecute people whom tried to flee over states lines. Because of its continued worth and effectiveness, the FBI's number grew to over 300 special agents and 300 support employees over the next few years. When the U.S. entered World War I, the FBI was given responsibility of Selective Service, Espionage, Draft violations, and Sabotage Acts. . The passage of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act in 1919 made it even easier for the FBI to prosecute criminals.

    Read More

  • The History of the FBI

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    The FBI is an organization that takes pride in how they conduct their mission. John E. Ott, editor for the FBI says, “Our goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the threats and pe...

    Read More

  • The 30s

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...hom would have convicted Hoover of the crime. He could not prove that the Soviets planned to over throw the American government. It was not until Melvin Purvis managed to convict 205 members of the Soviet spy ring. Hoover still had a lot to do before he was able to rid America of Stalin's spies (Marc Aronson 84).

    Read More

  • The Godfather: An American Dream Story

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.

    Read More

  • The Watergate Scandal

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    President Nixon had created a special investigation unit to prevent the leaking of confidential documents to the public. He did this after a number of Defense Department papers were released to the public concerning President Nixon’s paranoia over the public’s criticism of his Vietnam War policies (Owens 1).

    Read More

  • The Mississippi Burnings: The Life Of The Mississippi Burnings

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...vists all over began to fight . Martin Luther King Jr. praised the FBI for its work for arresting the men who were in connection with the murders but he was still not happy with how the case turned out.

    Read More

More about J Edgar Hoover Analysis

Open Document