I. Summary
Opening in theaters around the United States in April of 1976, All the President’s
Men paints quite an accurate account of American journalism yet at the same time is a suspenseful adventure that manages to entertain and inform its viewers. Vincent Canby, a reviewer for the New York Times called the movie, “an unequivocal smash-hit—the thinking man’s Jaws.” Because the film is written from the perspective of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the movie works as a blockbuster, and not just a documentary. The script was written in such a way that the historical information (dates, names, and events) is recorded, but does not confuse and interfere with the message the director is trying to portray.
The film opens with actual footage of Nixon’s helicopter landing and then him addressing Congress. In the next clip, it is the evening of June 17, 1972 and we see flashlights and hear radio conversations of the burglars at the Watergate, which leads into the next morning and Woodward’s assignment of a minor break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters. A few minutes later, Woodward is surprised to find that top defense lawyers are ready to defend the burglars, yet the burglars have not been able to make any phone calls and the list of the accused includes top Republican fund raisers. Woodward begins to sense that this is going to be quite the story on this first day of uncovering the details of the occurrence.
The story grows and Bernstein and Woodward discover that the trail is much greater than they ever thought. The accused happen to have the addresses and phone numbers of top CIA and White House authorities in their address books, yet everyone they speak with is unwilling to talk. Ben Bradlee, Editor-in-Chief of the Post is ready to go with the story, but Woodward and Bernstein can’t get two corroborating sources. Throughout the film, they receive guidance and leads from “Deep Throat,” a high level insider, who provides insight on where they should look next for information. Because “Deep Throat” remains anonymous, he does not count as a source, and they can’t run the story that will eventually bring down an Administration just yet.
They begin to trace money originating from the Committee to Re-Elect the President and uncover a f...
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...sp; Conclusions:
The most interesting thing about this movie is that it depicts how the investigative work of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward changed history. They didn’t just shape the way a historical event was portrayed, they were the historical event. Had they not been as dedicated and intent on discovering the truth, the real scandal in the Nixon Presidency may have never been uncovered.
Investigative journalism (which doesn’t happen too much in today’s world) should be what journalists aim to do. Uncovering the truths of society and discovering the flaws and lies in the government; these are some of the powers that the news media have. More and more is the news media becoming bias, plagiarizing stories, and not being well informed enough to make the accusations that they sometimes make. Not only this movie, but this event in history is important to the journalistic world. With careful research and extensive interviewing, the news media have the authority to discover and break great happenings in today’s world.
Bibliography
Canby, V. (1976). All the President's Men. The New York Times. New York.
Some people that not account the story through the aspects of war and history may see this movie as a fiction movie due to its beliefs of people getting brainwashed or maybe a drama due to the ending. Others may see this movie as a threat to the president at that time, because one of the murder tentative was at one of the presidential candidates in the movie, which ended up to be a murder to the mother that was hypnotized her son and her elected husband. In details, Raymond (the son) was brainwashed by the Soviet Union and surprisingly his mother was also working with the Soviet Union. Indeed, the outcome finished with her assassination giving that it was an anti-communist movie from the
The two journalists that investigated and unearthed the wrongdoing were accurately represented in the film. These two reporters were named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Together, they formed an investigative duo that changed history. Woodward was an inexperienced reporter at the time. "Woodward had worked for the Post for only nine months," states the book All the President's Men (Bernstein and Woodward 13). Bernstein was the reporter who had more experience. "Bernstein was a college dropout. He had started as a copy boy at the Washington Post when he was 16, become a full-time reporter at 19, and had worked at the Post since 1966" (Bernstein and Woodward 15). The head reporter of The Washington Post notes in the movie on Woodward's lack of experience and asks that a more experienced reporter get the case. However, if another reporter had taken the case, it is possible that he/she would have viewed the case as meaningless and not have investigated it further. Woodward and Bernstein's determination and perserverance were what
The documentary entitled, Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History, documents the political decisions and environment within the Nixon Administration from 1969-1974. The documentary specifically details and describes the environment and culture in which the Watergate scandal could occur and the events and abuses of power that lead to its occurrence. Setting the tone and the political climate of the Nixon Administration was the Vietnam War; making him a wartime President, a war that he inherited from his predecessor. The Vietnam War faced a lot of opposition from the general public, with massive protests and political demonstrations by the younger generations and overall general public. Nixon’s presidency was surrounded by this climate amidst the
Central idea: The assassination of our 35th president was an inside job that needs to be exposed.
They eventually learn that the funds of the CREEP committee had been used the year before to create a “ratfucking” campaign in order to sabotage Democratic candidates. Through their long term investigation, it is finally confirmed by multiple sources that H.R. Haldeman, the second most powerful man in the nation, right under President Nixon, was in charge of the Watergate break-in and cover-up. The movie concluded with the two journalists writing the full story with the inauguration of President Nixon for his second term playing in the background.
The story begins on "June 17, 1972. Nine o'clock Saturday morning. Early for the telephone (13)." The telephone rings to awaken Bob Woodward. His editor wakes Woodward to inform him about a break-in at the Democratic headquarters that occurred late the previous night. The authorities arrested five men, one White House employee and four Cuban-American Miami citizens. They were found to be in the possession of high-tech surveillance and communication devices, along with hundreds of dollars, mostly in $100 bills in sequential order. In addition, the authorities also discovered two address books, a telephone number for Howard E. Hunt, consultant to the White House. The listing had small notations “W. House” and “W.H. (22).” This was the first indication that the President and his cabinet might be involved in this burglary. Woodward and Bernstein investigated this White House connection. As they delve deeper into this lead, they continuously discover larger crimes where more of the prominent White House staff was involved.
There are certain groups of people that cause these events to happen. Because of them, there are people living in denial and people that are being ostracized every day. They do this because they are afraid that if they do not go along with what the majority does, their will be reprisal. Everyone wants to believe that people are basically good at nature. But with the events that occurred in the film, it is easy to see that people are easily influenced and would rather go along with the group than stand out and make a difference.
Firstly, the journalists are reporting from two vastly different locations. One is reporting from the comfort of an office and familiar surroundings, while the other is reporting from a war stricken foreign land. Although, there is a common tie, they both involved and had the ability to effect the government and they were all in danger. All of the journalists had the opportunity to report on the truth, even if it were to have political and even personal repercussions. Thus, due to the political nature, all of the journalists were putting their lives at risk and were aware of this. They also had the ability of putting other lives in danger. Woodward and Bernstein discovered how the information they were gathering had to be used strategically in order to not harm their sources, and Flynn and Henderson had the ability to create further conflict and terror for the country they were reporting about. Thus, all of the journalists had to learn how to use precautions while investigating, writing, and reporting on their given
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
Watergate was an integral part of a bigger scheme that gathered information from multiple parties, and the operation began long before the burglars were caught. After the arrests, Nixon was not a suspect until the Federal Bureau of Investigation linked the “hush-money” (money given to keep a criminal quiet about a certain action) the burglars received to his campaign fund (64). The burglars were caught breaking into the Watergate Complex to fix the “bugs” they planted in a previous break in (Holland 43). Immediately after the break in, Nixon began to cover up Watergate and his involvement. He gave a speech stating that himself, along with his committee, was not involved in the break in (4...
The media plays a key role in The American President. Throughout the movie the president struggles to keep high approval ratings during primary season. The media has tremendous control of this because they are a major source of information for voters, and they can choose what kind of light to shine on a situation. Although, in this situation it was not exactly the media that attacked the president, it actually was the person running against the president, Donald Rumsfeld. Donald Rumsfeld denounced the president, and Sydney ...
Woodward and Bernstein's undertaking constructed the cornerstone for the modern role of the media. The making of the movie about the Watergate Scandal and the ventures of the two journalists signify the importance of the media. The media’s role as intermediary is exemplified throughout the plot of the movie. The movie is the embodiment of journalism that guides future journalists to progress towards the truth, no matter what they are going up against. It was the endeavor of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that led them to the truth behind the president’s men. They showed that not even the president is able to deter the sanctity of journalism in its search of truth. The freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and people’s right to know account for the same truth that journalists pursue; the truth that democracy is alive and will persist to live on.
Nixon was long associated with American politics before his fall from grace. He was along time senator before finally being elected president in 1968. During his first term, his United States went through the Vietnam War and a period of economic inflation. In 1972 he was easily re-elected over Democrat nominee George McGovern. Almost unnoticed during his campaign was the arrest of five men connected with Nixon’s re-election committee. They had broken into the Democrats national head quarters in the Watergate apartment complex, in Washington D.C. They attempted to steal documents and place wire taps on the telephones. By March of 1973, through a federal inquiry, it had been brought to light that the burglars had connections with high government officials and Nixon’s closest aids. Despite Nixon and his lawyers best efforts, it was shown that the president had participated in the Watergate cover-up. On August 8, 1974 Nixon announced, without admitting guilt, that he would resign. He left the Oval Office the next day: an obvious fall from grace.
Nerve cells generate electrical signals to transmit information. Neurons are not necessarily intrinsically great electrical conductors, however, they have evolved specialized mechanisms for propagating signals based on the flow of ions across their membranes.
Synaptic transmission is the process of the communication of neurons. Communication between neurons and communication between neuron and muscle occurs at specialized junction called synapses. The most common type of synapse is the chemical synapse. Synaptic transmission begins when the nerve impulse or action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal. The action potential causes depolarization of the presynaptic membrane and it will initiates the sequence of events leading to release the neurotransmitter and then, the neurotransmitter attach to the receptor at the postsynaptic membrane and it will lead to the activate of the postsynaptic membrane and continue to send the impulse to other neuron or sending the signal to the muscle for contraction (Breedlove, Watson, & Rosenzweig, 2012; Barnes, 2013). Synaptic vesicles exist in different type, either tethered to the cytoskeleton in a reserve pool, or free in the cytoplasm (Purves, et al., 2001). Some of the free vesicles make their way to the plasma membrane and dock, as a series of priming reactions prepares the vesicular ...