Should a full-length movie about a candidate for office be regulated as if it were a campaign advertisement?

No

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by Ronnie Dauber

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No, I do not think that a full-length movie about a candidate for office should be regulated as if it were a campaign advertisement. But I do think that what we should regulate is the control that the movie industry has over our perception of the real political world.

The confusion that instigates a question like this is caused from the misconception of life priorities. The media world has been given the right to influence our thoughts, our opinions and even decisions on our life situations.

We allow the movie industry far too much liberty at the expense of those who they feel will bring in the biggest box office dollars. This influence on our part allows them to select whatever target they want to fill this purpose. And because we like to be entertained, we accept it.

The objective of the movie industry is like any other business: to make money. They want to produce movies that will draw in the viewers, ergo bring in the money. Sometimes they use facts in their creations, producing documentaries that enlighten us with interesting truths. Sometimes the movie is totally fiction and captivates our interest through suspense or thrill, comedy or romance.

When a politician is chosen as the focal image of a movie, the genre falls into one of two categories: fact or fiction. There have been innumerable movies made on the life and death of the late President Kennedy. They are all seen from a different point of view and are all very interesting and challenging. Which one is true? Likely, we'll never know the absolute truth, but what we do know is that they are entertaining. And we have subconsciously selected the one we prefer that helps to establish our opinion of him.

What movies have the power to do is persuade the viewers into their selective opinions about any one or group of ideals that they have chosen to amplify. If the movie producer likes Kennedy he'll create a positive attitude and if he doesn't like him, then he'll leave a distasteful attitude. It's not so much how the viewer sees it, but rather how the producers want the viewer to see it.

When a candidate for office becomes the main core for a movie, he or she could be jeopardizing his or her own integrity without realizing it. Will it be a documentary or fiction? The movie industry wants to make the movie appealing, but perhaps not everything about their star's life is dynamic. There may have to be some changes, additions or deletions to make the person more interesting.

If the candidate allows himself or herself to be portrayed as someone other than who they are, they will be misleading the viewers into believing something that is not true. And the candidate will be forced to live a lie. Is this really a bad thing?

Yes, it is, because the viewers, the people - have the right to see their candidate's true colours. They should be protected from being misinformed about someone who they are choosing to represent them in government.

The concern isn't that the movie is being treated as a campaign advertisement, but that it is portraying an untruth to the people. If the movie is a true factual depiction of the candidate, then the facts will speak for themselves, good or bad, and there is no bias. But if even one fact is distorted, then the production is guilty of changing the facts to suit some of the viewers.

So, the onus is not on the government to regulate the production of a full-length movie about a candidate as if it was a campaign advertisement. The onus is on the candidate to show himself or herself in truth. Even if the movie producers want to change a single aspect of this truth, the candidate should demand that only the truth be portrayed. If they accept changes that are not true, then the candidate should prepare to resign because the people won't accept the deception.

Campaign persuasions are based on promises and wishful thinking, where the movie would promise to deliver facts. The movie viewer will be able to make their own opinions and decisions about that person from what they see, and that may be a better portrayal of the truth than a campaign promise.

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