1999 "Election" Film

Solution Preview

Welcome to BrainMass! Please rate 5/5 for my sample ideas. My response is comprised solely of brainstorming to give you some food for thought to launch your own research, essay, or further work.

In the first place, when briefly brainstorming Alexander Payne's 1999 zany "Election" film, many critics discuss his unique genre and signature style, as one article reveals:

"Home Movies." New Yorker 89.34 (2013): 50-1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2016.

For example, critics often praise his film strongly for bearing "the fingerprints of an auteur" (50). The article further asserts how Payne's cinematic style seems to "shuttle nimbly between humor and sadness" (50), as noted by the characters. As a film regionalist, Payne often employs everyday elements from America's Midwest experience to explore such universal themes. Some critics even label this movie as a black comedy.

The film also feels very much like an allegory to me, particularly with its use of the high school setting and drama; but on a larger scale, it see it as a definite piece of political satire. Many experts also contend that it is a straight comedy.

As far as the film's main characters, Jim McAllister, exemplifies a delusional, envious civics teacher, who tries to impregnate his wife and seems obsessed with his students and their lives as his own is faltering. The character of Tracy Flicks seems to portray his foil as she is highly energetic, compared to Jim's gloomy, pessimistic demeanor. Tracy's creation of campaign cupcakes seems to also offer deeper social and gender implications about female career and political aspirations in America during the late 1990s.

In sum, a common yet distinctive feature about this movie's characters for me is their ...