A Face in the Crowd

Sometimes I just like to watch a movie because I like an actor who is in it. That was the case with this one. I have always liked Andy Griffith. I also like films directed by Elia Kazan. Well, I perused Netflix the other day and found A Face in the Crowd, relatively recently converted to DVD, and ordered it. Tonight I finally got to sit down and watch it.
The first thing I noticed is that this is not Andy Taylor. This is a professional method actor, who, for us young folks, we only know as a genteel and smooth southern father figure. He is neither of those in this movie. Yet, it was not his character nor his characterization that caught my attention in this film. It was it's themes; power and influence and the error of populism.
To be sure, there are some wickedly awesome quotes in this movie, and support work by Walter Mathau that was par excellance. These quotes, which undoubtedly must have been true when the movie was made in 1957, ring even more true in 2007. Here are a few:

"Politics have entered a brand new stage, the television stage. Instead of a long-winded public debated, the people want capsule slogans; "Time for a change.", "The mess in Washington." More bang for a buck. Punch lines and glamour. Yes, Mr. Purvis, even glamour." (Gen. Haynesworth)
"General, my papers have supported [Senator] Fuller from the first day he ran for public office. He is not a grandstander, a backslapper, or a baby kisser." (Purvis- newspaper man)
"That's exactly what he's got to become." (Gen. Haynesworth)

and

"My study of history has convinced me that every strong, healthy society, from the Egyptians on, the mass had to be guided with a strong hand by a responsible elite." (Gen. Haynesworth)

and

"You know what the public's like? A cage of full of guinea pigs. Good night, you stupid idiots! Good night, you miserable slobs! They're a lot of trained seals. I toss 'em a dead fish, and they'll flap their flippers." (Lonesome Rhodes- Andy Griffith)

Griffith rises to popularity from abject nothingness. A bum, albeit one who can play the guitar, is discovered in the county lock-up. His brief exposure- one where his opinion carries more weight than his singing- propels him to local celebrity and from there to regional fame and from there to the national stage. He is given money, fame, and influence. We know that these things combine to build the facade of power. His word is gold. Sponsors cash in on his blessing of their products, but also a presidential candidate as well. Rhodes advises Sen. Fuller on his image, all the while working on his own. Fuller pulls up in his ratings. Rhodes gets promised a cabinet post. The question for examination is is Rhodes a tool of the establishment and how do we define his power and influence?
Kazan presents Populism for what it really is; a political system based on the lowest common denominator. Rhodes, as he stated in the third quote, knows that his "constituency" is largely an ignorant and lazy group- one that seeks for entitlement in any way it can and specifically on the coat-tails of pandering politicians. If they can just reach this core group of "[r]ednecks, hillbillies, hausfraus, shut-ins, [and] pea-pickers" the election will belong to the corrupting and kniving Sen. Fuller. The people need an elitist thinker who can call the shots for them because they are too stupid to think for themselves. Sound familiar...
There is much more to say about this film, but I shall not do that at this point.
What do you need to do?
I'm glad you asked. Go find this movie. Buy it, rent it, borrow it, just watch it. While I would not classify it as noir, it does contain noir characteristics. Method actors rock. Elia Kazan rocks hard.