HOLLYWOOD’S VISION OF DEMOCRACY:
POLITICIANS, CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS ON FILM

Burton Atkins

DESCRIPTION: During this presidential election year, countless people, both in the US and abroad, will be following the campaign that will produce the next occupant of the White House. This series will include examples of politicians, campaigns and elections, told through the medium of film, as our visual texts for examining how ideas about ambition, corruption, power, political personalities and ideology are conveyed on film.

[Please note: The film selection and order of presentation are subject to change.]

EIGHT LECTURES:

1. State of the Union; The Best Man
   
2. Primary Colors; The War Room
   
3. The Seduction of Joe Tynan; Bob Roberts
   
4. Citizen Kane; All the King’s Men
   
5. The Candidate; The Ides of March
   
6. Wag the Dog; Being There
   
7. The Iron Lady; The Contender
   
8. Nixon; All the President’s Men

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Burton Atkins is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Florida State University (FSU) and currently teaches Political Science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He also serves on the faculties at Virginia Tech and Penn State Universities. In his 35-year career at FSU, Dr. Atkins taught a variety of courses on, and wrote extensively about, constitutional law and US politics; served as chair of the Political Science department; lived in London from 1992 to 1997 while serving as the Director of FSU’s London Study Center; and, from 1997 until his retirement in 2006, served as Director of the FSU International Affairs Program. An avid supporter of international education, Dr. Atkins has organized and led study semesters abroad to London, Brussels and Paris for FSU and FAU.