Hollywood and Presidential Power in Wag the Dog

    The  presidential sex scandal at the core of the film, appeared to be just as a real sex scandal and it was becoming major news. This gave the plot added appeal for the audience and made the plot of the film seem even more real, a plot which suggested a blurring of the division between illusion and reality in the media. It is interesting to note that after the video was shown, many newspapers didn't even have mention of the Firefly girl that accused the President of sexual misconduct. The President himself is presented as a trivial and vague figure, a product' that is sold' to the general population. The slyest comical element of the film is the fact that the president is entirely irrelevant, aside from jeopardizing the reelection aspirations of his party. He is only shown from the back, and only ever appears to deliver a speech previously prepared by a Hollywood producer or making useless suggestions, such as a white cat for a war commercial, instead of calico. His structured absence avoids naming the president. His name actually is not presented to us. The film criticizes our modern politicians rather than praising them.

 Another thing to take into account is the stage with the spokesman which represents another postmodern image which is the real-fake. In fact the spokesman is real in the eyes of the audience but not for the president’s spin doctor who can manipulate everything he says. He is simultaneously real and fake.

  What about the title of the movie which is taken from a joke: “Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail was smarter, the tail would wag the dog.” As usual, there are various interpretations as to what it means. Some people suggest that the dog symbolizes public opinion, and that the tail represents the media; others suggest that the dog is the people and that the tail is the government.. But the most likely opinion is that the dog is the media, and the tail is the government. 

   The power of the media is such that even though we think we can trust everything we hear or read, we have to view it objectively and not absorb the opinions professed as our own. These opinions are often subtlety mentioned to influence us and our opinions. However, one positive message does emerge from the skepticism of  this story. The film is at least a demonstration of the increasing number of people who cease to fall for the selfish manipulations of the politicians, their consultants and the media, and increases the audience's awareness of the propaganda in the future.

   The media already influence us and our opinions too much already. For instance, our opinions on what the ideal is for beauty. The media constantly portray the beauty of women being in their non existent weight. If you actually look at most of the models on the runway, you'd be thinking “What is that”!! But because they wear a size -3, they are considered beautiful. It's the same with men. The bigger the muscles, the better looking they are supposed to be. It's ridiculous, but, again, it's the subtle influence of the media on our opinions. Many people look through magazines and say to themselves, I can't look like that! I can't lose that much weight or gain that much muscle.
   Political and media manipulation is central to the theme of “Wag the Dog”. While the media serves a social function by presenting news, information and entertainment to the public, it also has the power to persuade.” Wag the Dog” shows that news stories are a construction of reality, not reality itself. It shows that we can't take what the media tells us for granted.