Wag the Dog (1997)

"Wag the Dog" is a comedy movie showing relationship between politics and entertainment business.

Before 12 days of election, the United States President's sex scandal occurred with a Fine fly Girl. This affair will have a had influence upon the approval rating of the President The White House calls a spic doctor, Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) to fix it. Brean decides making war with Albania and then he makes a deal with Hollywood’s producer, Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman).

Motss and his staffs produce the war from using computer graphics and making songs. The public start to believe the Albanian war. However, CIA interferes their project. Another candidate of election also demands an explanation from the sex scandal. Brean and Motss decide making a war hero, Sgt. William Schumann (Woody Harrelson) who survived in Albania and they make a song called "Old shoes". The hero and song create a sensation to the public, Finally, the President’s rating increases up to 87%.

This movie was one of the funniest movies in 1999. The director, Barry Levinson also got that his humour was still alive. This movie satirised both of two, politics and Hollywood. The Motss' house is bigger than the White House. Motss also enjoyed making them like playing game. Motss is much influenced producer who has never got any award but the White House recognised his skill to make the war.

This movie is funny. However, we are unable to laugh at ease because even though there are some funny conversations in the movie, these happenings, such as TV news, are too familiar to the real. Motss said in the movie "If it’s on television, it must be real".

They made lot of true but they just made one shoot scene (Albanian girl with a white cat), songs, and a hero. However, the public believed, and broadcasts also believed. This means politics is above the public but under the real.

Even Motss wanted to get true (truly wanted to recognise his work), he also became a part of this project. However, he can get his reputation and his works after his death. He can be both, victim and celebrity in the media.

Who is the dog? And who wag the dog? Mr Fix-it, Brean is doing well his job and Mr President does not show his face. By the way, for whom the election doing. Even though Brean's job is fixing problems in the White House, his job is faking to the public, and then the people do that re-elect the Mr President.

Actually, after showing this movie in the U.S., some events occurred, Clinton’s sex scandal called Zipper Gate and attacked a country, so this movie was like the trailer of real.

We believe that we can see truth but sometimes, it is just image that we want to believe the truth. Moreover, this is the fact everybody wants and demands that come together.

Have a look the Albania in the movie again. Everybody believed that everybody knew what happen there. However, nobody knew that.