Democracy wins, although the world isn't a better place

Emilio 2022-03-21 09:02:00

It's actually a somewhat peculiar movie, a feature film wrapped in a documentary coat. A series of interviews followed by a historical edit in the opening credits brings a heavy sense of realism seamlessly into the film, and Nixon's phone monologue the night before the final interview culminates in the drama.

It has to be said, at least from director Ron Howard's perspective, that Frost and Nixon's on-camera confrontation has little to do with the demands of democracy or justice. The two stand on their own positions, fight openly and secretly for their own interests, and face each other tit for tat. On one side is a talk show host who is betting on his fortune and future and yearns for honor, status and applause; on the other side is a former US president who has just stepped down from the high position full of resentment and despair and still refuses golf life. On the one hand, we are eagerly chasing the glory of tomorrow; on the other hand, we are still immersed in the glory of the past. In the first seconds after powering on, Frost and Nixon rushed towards each other like two fighters hearing a bell, one trying to challenge and one to defend. It is such a game of winners and losers. The only condition for the winner is to step on the loser's forehead.

When the spotlight went out and the door opened, Frost and Nixon showed their truest side after unloading their burdens: the former watched Nixon hobble away through the glass with a complex expression after the victory, and he made the Nixon said what he had never said and that countless people expected to hear, by destroying an old man's last line of defense; and Nixon no longer had the slogan of letting you fly, I waved and smiled. of politicians. From that moment on, former President Nixon finally retired, leaving only a lonely old man petting a dachshund after being exonerated from justice.

Whether it's Nixon's recollection of meeting with Brezhnev, the monologue on the phone after drinking, or the emotional dislocation of the characters when Frost leaves for a visit, it seems to prove that this is always in the competition, Amazing consistency in a cruel world that is incompatible with each other.

However, no matter what, don't worry about the motives and original intentions of the parties, the important thing is that a person who used to be known as the most powerful person on the planet, even if he holds the amnesty guarantee of the current president, he still cannot avoid all ordinary people. The people's torture, whether they voted for him or not. Although the world didn't get better because of it, democracy finally won a small victory.

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Extended Reading

Frost/Nixon quotes

  • David Frost: [Picking up the phone, thinking it's room service] I'll have a cheeseburger.

    Richard Nixon: [drunk] Mmm. That sounds good. I used to love cheeseburgers, but Dr. Lundgren made me give them up. He switched me to cottage cheese and pineapple instead. He calls them my Hawaiian burgers, but they don't taste like burgers at all. They taste like Styrofoam.

  • Richard Nixon: David, did I really call you that night?

    David Frost: Yes.

    Richard Nixon: Did we discuss anything important?

    David Frost: Cheeseburgers.

    Richard Nixon: Cheeseburgers?

    David Frost: Goodbye, sir.