Wag the Dog

Wag the Dog

The film is about a President (Michael Benson) who is involved in an alleged sex scandal two weeks prior to re-election. Tactics were used to divert the media and people away from the issue. Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) and political consultant Mr. Brean (Robert De Niro) hire a Hollywood producer, Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman), to create an in studio setting of a war between the U.S. and Albania. At the end of the story, after the President is re-elected, Hollywood producer Stanley Motss finds out in the news that the media gives more credit to the Presidential ad campaign “Don’t change horses in mid stream” slogan than his plans. He then decided to gather the media and get everything straight but Mr. Brean warned and threatens him. Motss refuses and Brean had him killed but was able to make it look like he had a heart attack.

The film Wag the Dog is a story of how the media can be manipulated. There are different types of media that I found in this film such as press, radio, film, and television. The public relations committee thinks of ways to divert people’s attention away from the alleged scandal. Like for example, the fake war, the existence of B-3 bomber, and the made up story of the President’s delay on going back to the United States. In short, media is used big time in this film to protect something or someone by diverting people away from the scandal.

The title Wag the Dog for me, means diverting people by distracting them from reality. It is the intention of covering up one’s mistake by making up stories to divert attention using the media. In today’s society, I see a lot of controversies in politics or in show business in the news but also hear different speculations about the story, simply because the media is protecting its reputation regarding the subject. Truth is never revealed or confirmed.

Art imitates life when artists base their creations on either personal experiences or events witnessed in the society...