Multimedia

Pennebaker, D. A. (Director). (1994). The war room [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Studios.

The War Room shows the behind-the scenes activity in Bil Clinton's 1992 campaign for the White House. The directors were granted unprecedented access to the campaign at its highest levels featuring chief strategists George Stephanopoulos and James Carville. This inside look into the daily operations of a presidential campaign provides viewers a complete upstanding of the complexities in running a camping of this magnitude. Considered one of the best political documentaries, this film is great for anyone seeking a first-person perspective of the daily workings of a political campaign.

Rosenbaum, S. (Director). (2004). Staffers [Motion Picture]. United States: Starz/Anchor Bay

Featuring a variety of commentary, viewers gain a staffer's perspective of the campaign trail. Director Steve Rosenbaum blends together an array of staffers from several campaigns in the 2004 Democratic Primaries in this six-episode mini-series. For these young campaign workers, life becomes a daily whirlwind of town meetings and celebrity rallies, handshakes and shouting matches, surprising victories and crushing defeats. This film provides a glimpse at the public and private moments that defined one of the most decisive and unforgettable political elections in our nation's history.

Van Taylor, D., Cutler, R. J. (Directors). (1996). A perfect candidate [Motion Picture]. United States: First Run Features.

Directors Cutler and Van Taylor guide viewers through Oliver north's whirlwind bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Virginia in 1994. This truly cynical documentary provides political newcomers with a gritty portrait of the sometimes dirty tactics utilized by campaigns staffers to gain an edge on their opponent. Viewers will find comfort in the honesty of this film yet may be appalled by the dark reality of political campaigning. In one part of the film, North tells an audience of highh schoolers he did not lie to congress about Iran-Contra when minutes earlier in the film he admits to having done so. Few other films provide as gritty, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable approach to covering behind-the-scenes action of a political campaign.