Mr Smith Goes To Washington Movie Analysis

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A man walks into a bar. Ouch. A man walks into a rusty old bar. The second does not just include humor, but description as well. Although both Preston Sturges and Frank Capra use imagery and comedy to deliver messages in their respective movies, Capra’s ability to express his ideas in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington regarding perseverance conveys a much more poignant message, despite Sturges’ more recognizable views about smiling through the pain in his movie, Sullivan’s Travels. The comedic elements of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Sullivan’s Travels add to the theme of each movie, subtly giving away major plot points. Both movies draw the audience in with the use of farce, such as when Sturges has Sullivan and his companion pushing each…show more content…
In Sullivan’s Travels, the montage of the casualties of the Depression that Sullivan witnesses underscores everything that the movie had previously eluded too. Like Sullivan, the audience does not appreciate how horribly that time affected people and those few seconds articulated the sentiment like no words could. The movie itself, made during the Depression, does what Sullivan realizes he needs to do—make a movie that gets people to laugh through the hard times. As Sullivan says, “There's a lot to be said for making people laugh… It isn't much, but it's better than nothing.” While in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, there is not one line that sums up the entire movie’s premise, there is a lot more than one montage to show us. The audience sees Mr. Smith fighting for something he believes in, despite everything that suddenly hits him. Despite his mentor turning on him, despite his town getting biased news and believing that he is corrupt, despite the distrust he receives form the page boys and from the reporters, despite the disdain directed at him by his fellow senators, despite having to talk for more than twenty-three hours he stands and he fights for what he believes him, waiting for anybody to trust him. And his fighting works. His mentor barges in, yelling that he, Senator Paine, lied and that Mr. Smith told the truth the entire time. The joy and elation the audience

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