2. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Still from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Claude Raines watches an incredulous James Stewart pulling letters from baskets on the Senate floor.

If I hadn’t seen this many, many times as a child, I never would’ve tuned in for The West Wing.

It presents an ideal instead of reality: Even in the best of conditions, corruption will take root, but honesty will triumph.

Imagining this story now, I can see the competing clickbait headlines: “Senator Smith OBLITERATES Taylor Machine on the Senate Floor” vs. “UNHINGED Smith Dams up Senate with Filibuster”

But Jimmy Stewart can almost make you believe. A powerful performance.

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Published by Chris Csont

Becoming a better writer. Becoming a better Homo sapien.