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an American president

Worksheet for the movie lab

 

MOVIE LABS          comtrag.gif (3095 bytes)


Created at the Red Feather Institute for Advanced Studies in Sociology

ANDY SHEPARD,  THE PRESIDENT;  
SIDNEY ALLEN WADE, LOBBYIST FOR GDC; 
LUCY, DAUGHTER TO ANDY;
Senator RUMSON: not a nice guy
A.J. McINERNY, CHIEF OF STAFF; nice guy
LEWIS ROTHSCHILD, ADVISER TO PRESIDENT; worry wart
LEON KODAK, POLLSTER clumsy guy
ROBIN McCall,PRESS OFFICER FOR THE PRESIDENT; Too tall McCall
SUSAN, LOBBYIST (displaced by Sidney); 
OFFICER AT GATE; 
Leo Solomon, Boss at GDC: 
Janet, intern at the Whitehouse.
DIRECTIONS:  Fill in the correct answer on the Scantron:  1 point each.
1.  A Symbolic Interactionist would say that the opening shots in the movie:    
      * a. Defined the Situation as a Movie about Political Sociology and political conflict.
        b. Was part of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy about Andy Shepard becoming a President
        c. Was a looking-glass process by which President Shepard could get public opinion about his personal life

2.  A Dramaturgical Analyst would say that the items in the opening shots of the movie were used as:
    a.  Rehearsal of things to come             *b.  props to help create the drama which was to unfold
    c.  A Frontstage Region for the play        d.  a Performance for an Audience

3.  Which person was most concerned with his/her impression management early on in the movie:
    a.    Robin McCall, who called the President a 'Lonely Widower'
    b.    Susan, from GDC who looked bad in front of A.J. McInerny
  * c.    Sidney who called the President 'a mockery of a president.'

4.  Who treated the Officer at the Gate as a Non-Person:
      a.  Robin McCall who ignored him      b.  Sidney, who talked down to him    * c.  Susan, who hurried Sidney on

5.  When Andy Shepard promised Sidney that he would guarantee her the last 10 votes for the Clean Air Bill, he was
       engaged in which self-fulfilling prophecy
        a.  actual President       *b. potential friend     c.  neither of these two, he was trying to bribe her for sexual favors.

6.   When Sidney refused to respond to Andy's invitation to coffee and doughnut, she was:
        a.  refusing to have a role-relationship with the President   * b. She was in her role as a Lobbyist for GDC
                          c.   she was saying, 'No,' when she really meant, 'Yes.'

7.  A Sociologist would tell her/his students that the metaphors used by A.J., Leo, and Andy came from which field of
        Sociology:                           (the metaphors included, 'kick ass', Pit Bull, two T.D.s)
a.  The Sociology of Religion        *b. The Sociology of Sport        c.  Political Sociology       d. Social Problems

8.  A.J. and Andy had been close friends at University of Wisconsin.  Now, A.J. no long called him, 'Andy.'  One with
        a Sociological Imagination would explain that refusal as due to:
        a. A.J. was jealous of Andy      *b.  A.J. was responding to the Status of the Office    c.  Andy sanctioned it.

9.  Lucy conveyed her role-conflict as 'student' and 'daughter-of-the-president by:
    a.  wanting a dirt bike      *b. not saying much in social studies         c. being unkind to Sidney when she met her.

10. Lucy embodied role-reversal with her father when she:
    a. made fun of a book he stole from junior high school   b. told the truth to Sidney about what her father was doing
                        *c. when she advised her father on how to behave on a date with Sidney

11.  When did Andy Shepard embody moral power most clearly:
        a.  when he promised Sidney help on the Clean Air Bill
        b.  when he decided to push for both clean air and gun control
       *c.  When he demonstrated concern for the workers who would die in the bombing he ordered

12. When did  Republicans begin to attack the President about  moral character:
    a.  when he failed as father-to-Lucy    
    b.  when the bombing he ordered killed innocent people
  * c.  when he began to date Sidney

13.  Andy and A.J. were out of their role as President and Chief of Staff:
        a.  when they were meeting with Leon Kodak about using polls to help sway public opinion about gun control.
        b. when they were at the party upstairs before the State Dinner for the French President
      * c. when they were playing pool and talking about Andy dating Sidney

14.  Which character 'flooded-out' when the Whitehouse. Staff discovered Sidney had slept over with Andy:
               * a.   Lewis            b. Robin             c. A.J.             d. Janet

15.  Which social process marked the relationship between Andy and Sidney until she spoke French at the Dinner:
   *a.  the Self-fulfilling Prophecy...they both saw themselves in a courtship.
    b.  Mystification: Andy was using symbol interaction to create false consciousness with Sabrina.
    c.  Sanctification: Lewis, Robin, A.J. and Leo Solomon were validating the relationship as a holy thing.

16.  Which symbol set did Andy use in the 'Dish Room' to communicate his deep interest in Sidney as a woman:
      *a. body talk: he touched her neck and hair        b.  clothing: he always wore nice clothes when with her
                                   c.   words: he told her that he loved her

17. Symbolic Interaction theory states that mind, self and society are twinborn.  What is the truth value of that principle for most of the interaction between Andy and Sidney the first time he called her in her sister's apartment:
    a.  It is true: Sidney understood and believed Andy       *b.  it is false: Sidney misunderstood what the date was about

18.  For which character was MIND, SELF AND SOCIETY most fully united:
      * a.  Lewis, who pushed the President on Gun Control and on fighting back against character assassination
        b.  Sidney, who wouldn't allow Andy to forget his promise when they were in the Oval Office
        c.  A.J., who was concerned that Andy would lose points in public opinion polls.

19.  At what point in the movie did the Status of Sidney change the most in terms of her capacity to be a 'First Lady.'
    a.  When she told Andy he had a nice ass.
    b.  When she went to bed with Andy even though it was not in his 'go-slow.' plan.
  * c.  When she conversed with Madame et Monsieur le President en Francaise at the State Dinner.

20.  In which system of inequality interfered most with the development of a relationship between Sidney and Andy
        a.  Class: Andy was very wealthy         b.  Power: Andy was the most powerful man in the world
                  *c.  Status: Andy carried with him everywhere, the status-honor of the Presidency
        Note: Sidney had her own power base in public opinion...she could help nominate/elect another candidate

BONUS QUESTIONS:

21.  When the President referred to Janet as 'Janey,' he:
        a. degraded her as an adult         b. used sexist language    c. reified her as a child         *d. all of these

22.  The division of labor in the Whitehouse. was best seen as organized along lines found in:
       * a. Gesellschaft social life worlds         b. Gemeinschaft social life worlds.

23. What Master Status dominated the self system most fully in the movie:
        a. That of the Chief of Staff, McInerny          *b.  That of   President Shepard           c.  That of  Senator Rumson

24. Which theory best explains most of the events in the movie:    
        a.  Structural-Functionalism:  all of the characters shared values and worked together for the good of the whole.
     * b.  Conflict theory:  many of the events involved different values and purposes.
        c.  Freudian:  Lewis was anal retentive; Andy had Oedipal problems and Lucy hated her father.
        d.  Symbolic Interaction:  Mind, Self and Society were twinborn and symbols meant the same for all persons
                    in the movie.