AMH 2020 FIU The Watergate Fiasco Discussion

This week’s discussion is different from the others. You will have the option of responding to one of two prompts. Depending on the prompt you choose, you will also need to watch a corresponding film and read an additional related article to inform your response. Read the prompts below to decide which one you want to reply to. Then watch the film and read the corresponding sources to reply to your selected prompt. Reply to another student’s post that addresses the same prompt you selected.

1. Alan J. Pakula’s film All the Presiden’ts Men (1976) depicts the groundbreaking investigative journalism of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward during the Watergate fiasco. In the film, Nixon is the corrupt power that needs to be removed while the press or the “fourth estate” emerges as a check on Washington corruption. One scene shows Nixon’s unwilling cameo as he accepts renomination at the Republican convention while Woodward works away at his downfall. The irony conveys the message that ultimately, the American system works. Do you agree that overall, Watergate revealed a system that works? What is your assessment of this event? Consider the immediate and long-term impact of the scandal on American politics, reform legislation, and culture in the post-Watergate period. Use the film, chapter 30 of your textbook, and Kutler’s article (Links to an external site.)to support your answer.

1. Read D. Desser’s and G. Studlar’s article “Never Having to Say You’re Sorry: Rambo’s Rewriting of the Vietnam War” (Links to an external site.)and watch one of the Vietnam films discussed on page 11. Do you agree with the authors’ assessment about the “memory” of Vietnam in American films of the 1980s? Does the war constitute a cultural trauma and suppressed collective guilt that has been rewritten as victimization? Explain why or why not. In your answer, discuss the impact of Vietnam on American politics, society, and culture using the article, your selected film, and chapters 29 and 30 of your textbook as sources.

Additional Guidelines

1. In approximately 150-250 words, post your response to the question(s) above. Your post should use evidence from the provided sources. You may also use the textbook, but only as additional support. Your focus should be the above sources. Use a concise, professional and academic style of writing, free of grammatical errors and colloquialisms.