AT THE MOVIES (Language and Politics in Film)

Watch one of the following movies:
Bob Roberts: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103850/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Die Welle (The Wave): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063669/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Wag the Dog: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120885/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

For this essay you will be analyzing one of the above-mentioned movies for ways in which language and imagery are used to accomplish the (political) goals of the protago- nist(s).
In your analysis and discussion, you will need to consider the following questions:
• How is imagery used to generate emotional responses in the public? (Applicable to all three movies).
• What kind of “spin” is put on an event or scandal in the film? How are language and imagery used to accomplish this? (Especially relevant to Wag the Dog)
• How is language used by the protagonist to distort, manipulate, or obscure facts? What kind of slogans and empty rhetoric does he use? (Especially relevant to Bob Roberts)
• How does a propaganda campaign start and how is it disseminated in this film? What kinds of fallacious arguments or appeals are used? (Especially relevant in Die Welle)