Politics on Screen
As Łukasz Pawłowski and Piotr Tarczyński, the creators of Podkast amerykański and curators of the Politics on Screen section, remind us: American politics is inescapable—especially now, when the U.S. is delivering a constant stream of news that often sounds stranger than fiction.
The most outlandish plot twists in film or TV seem tame compared to what’s unfolding in Washington, which might explain why many American filmmakers now steer clear of political themes.
That’s why we’re reaching into the past—sometimes the distant past—to spotlight how cinema has grappled with politics over the decades: presidential power, Congressional intrigue, corruption, abuses of power by intelligence services, and the challenges of foreign policy.
Just like last year, we’ve put together a wide-ranging selection. There’s a dive into the 1930s, when political cinema was taking its first, often idealistic steps (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington by Frank Capra), though that idealism can now read as eerily dystopian (Gabriel Over the White House by Gregory La Cava).
From the 1960s, we’ll revisit a somewhat forgotten classic (Advise & Consent by Otto Preminger), the lesser-known cousin of Dr. Strangelove (Fail Safe by Sidney Lumet), and one of the finest paranoid thrillers of the Nixon era (The Parallax View by Alan J. Pakula).
And for balance—so we don’t spiral into total cynicism—we’ll screen a 1990s romantic comedy (The American President by Rob Reiner), which may feel hopelessly naive today, but offers a nostalgic glimpse at a time when politics could evoke positive emotions.
