The Political Process in The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
This essay examines the political process as depicted in the 1992 American political comedy film The Distinguished Gentleman, starring Eddie Murphy as con man Thomas Jefferson Johnson. Drawing on the film's plot — in which a fraudulent candidate exploits voter naiveté to win a congressional seat — the paper critiques the dysfunctional model of politics on screen and contrasts it with a normative vision of an inclusive political process. That vision, informed by UNDP principles, emphasizes candidate vetting, substantive campaigning, civic engagement, and ongoing electoral accountability. The essay argues that the film's portrayal, while comedic, reflects genuine failures in political awareness that persist in many societies today.
- Introduction: Political Process and Film: Political process defined; film introduced as case study
- The Distinguished Gentleman: Plot and Political Portrayal: Eddie Murphy's con man character and corrupt Congress depicted
- Flaws in the Campaign and Election: Campaign deception and voter naiveté analyzed from film
- A Normative View of the Political Process: Author's contrasting ideal of inclusive democratic process
- Civic Duty Beyond the Ballot: Post-election monitoring and ongoing civic engagement emphasized
- Comparing the Film to Democratic Ideals: Film's portrayal measured against real democratic shortcomings
- Conclusion: Both leaders and citizens must reform political culture
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses a popular film as a concrete entry point into an abstract political science discussion, making the analysis accessible without sacrificing analytical depth.
- It clearly structures its argument in two movements: first describing what the film depicts, then articulating a contrasting normative ideal — a classic compare-and-critique framework.
- The inclusion of the UNDP definition of inclusive political processes grounds the personal argument in an authoritative external source, lending academic credibility.
- The closing reference to Charles de Gaulle's quotation effectively reinforces the argument that political responsibility extends beyond Election Day.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the technique of using a cultural artifact — in this case a film — as a lens for exploring a political concept. Rather than simply summarizing the movie, the student extracts specific plot elements (the name-only slogan, the victory speech full of clichés, the corrupt committee dealings) and maps them onto political science concepts such as voter information deficits, candidate vetting failures, and elite capture of public institutions.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a theoretical framing of political process, then introduces the film and its protagonist. Two body paragraphs analyze specific failures depicted in the film (campaign quality, voter behavior). Three subsequent paragraphs present the author's normative counterargument, covering candidate profiling, substantive campaigning, and post-election monitoring. A penultimate paragraph reconnects the normative framework back to the film, and a conclusion synthesizes both threads.
Introduction: Political Process and Film
In a political setting, people transfer their individual political power to their representatives to form sovereignty. The representatives then constitute a government at the helm of affairs, using state instruments to control the political system in society. There are procedures involved in this transfer of power, and each stage is known as a political process. However, different schools of thought exist on what constitutes a proper political process. Individual electors, politicians, and sometimes entire political parties form their political ideologies based on the perspective that best suits their narrative of the right political process.
From different countries, political parties, and leaders, we have witnessed many different political processes, and one film that perfectly depicts the public's perception of a political process is the 1992 American political comedy The Distinguished Gentleman. The film offers a satirical but revealing window into how campaigns, elections, and legislative behavior can go wrong — and what a healthier democratic process should look like.
The Distinguished Gentleman: Plot and Political Portrayal
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, The Distinguished Gentleman starred, among others, the famous American comedian Eddie Murphy, who played the character Thomas Jefferson Johnson — a con man from Florida who entered the political scene with a criminal mindset. Johnson rode on the popularity of a deceased former congressman who shared the same name, Jeff Johnson, capitalizing on voters' naiveté to secure votes. His campaign lacked substance; the core of his entire movement was the slogan "The name you know." Nevertheless, he received massive support, won the election, and made his way to Washington, D.C.
With his criminal mindset intact, Johnson — a member of the most powerful committee in Congress, the Committee on Power — quickly realized he could sell his votes as a congressman. He continued his con-man behavior in a chamber filled with many other corrupt congressmen and engaged in several shady deals. Although Johnson eventually had a change of heart, the film's view of the political process can be clearly drawn from its plot and storyline.
References
"Critical Analysis: The Distinguished Gentleman." Politics and Films Database, Honors 495: American Politics, American Cinema. https://blogs.longwood.edu/politicsandfilm/legislative/the-distinguished-gentleman/
"Inclusive Political Processes: Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding." United Nations Development Programme. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/democratic-governance-and-peacebuilding/inclusive-political-processes.html
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