Bill McKay (Robert Redford), having just won election to the United States Senate, asks his political consultant Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) the question too many winning candidates ask their consultants: "What do we do now?"
Now he has no idea what to do because he himself didn't believe half of what he said. He was reading from a script and he wanted to lose but the voters believed in him. Now he has to do a job he hates.
It can also be viewed as what really happens for many politicians who initially want to do what they think is best but gradually sell themselves and their values for their own gain, resulting in this great bit of film. Where the politician who no longer knows what he was originally fighting for and is on the beck and call of someone else, be that a person, institution, organisation and so on.
When I went to college for speech communication and theater and graduated in 1984 this was required viewing in one of my classes. This speaks scripture to today.
beautiful: the lingering ending, the pacing, the demonic look on douglas's face. this was the great american era of filmmaking. contemporary filmmakers take note: some audiences still like to think. they still like to reflect on an image rather than be bombarded by a music video writ large. the same story would have been made very differently 10 years earlier. and guess what: you have more in common with that era than the era in which this WAS made. your audiences want a living, breathing narrative, not a reel of photo ops. give them the patience they deserve.
0:11 - 0:21 - Melvyn Douglas: such a brilliant actor. His sinister laugh at the end says so much about the general attitude toward politicians at the time. Contemporary audiences would do well to learn from it.
I've now watched this rare gem of a movie so many times that I wish Redford ran for senator for real back then and showed everyone how political campaigns should be run--with integrity, without any kind of spin and without spending so much.
I suppose in actual fact it's just the music for the closing credits (it's been so long since I've seen the whole movie) but when I heard that marching band at the end I just imagined that maybe he walks straight into the middle of The Parallax View and gets assassinated so it's OK - in my alternative ending he doesn't get to have to compromise his ideals...
I think this is the beauty of a real democracy, when even an underdog can win. Democrat or Republican doesn't much matter, as long as a common love of country and peace is there. Americans are so lucky to have had this from the beginning. This movie is a great reminder not to toy with it.
If you're not a Democrat or a Republican, it's almost impossible to win. For example, if you are a Libertarian Party candidate, you get almost no news coverage, virtually no donations from wealthy corporations, industries, or individuals. The system is corrupt to the core.
You do realise this film is trying to expose what really happens in a democracy. Initially the politician wants to do what they think is best but gradually sell themselves and their values for their own gain. Resulting in this scene where the politician no longer knows what he was originally fighting for and is on the beck and call of someone else, a person, an institution, organisation and so on. Democracy is a lie. Only who the elites allow will be chosen for a position and then it will be those same elites advising what they should and should not do through again, organisations, institutions, the media. Read about Elite Theory.
Who would want to be constantly surrounded by hordes of human locusts who each want a piece of you? This was before candidates surrounded themselves with an army of handlers and bodyguards.
The Best Political film ever. Essential , today. "The Contender " with Joan Allen a close 2nd. " What Do we Do Now " an iconic line. What Trump said ! What he did was F up the 🇺🇸 ! Go Beto 2020 !
Perhaps if elected Donald Trump may well face this reality scene? I sent Mr. Trump an e-mail some time ago suggesting that he have a reality TV show entitled, "So you want to be President?" I suggested that it be produced somewhat like "American Idol". A staff of Political Scientist, Successful Politicians, and Political Strategist would form a panel and travel the U.S. looking for Candidate for the Contest. Contestants would answer questions posed to them by the panel for a competency base appraisal of their performance. Also coupled with this panel interview would be a 1-800 number where the TV audience could vote on their favorite candidate. The ultimate winner of this contest would then be given a prize amount of money in the millions of dollars to be used for running for Office of President. My thought in doing this was so that we could get more qualified citizens to run for this office, since the field of contenders is always so few. And I am sure there are more people out of the millions in our population who might be interested in running, but they just "perish the thought" because there is no real financial or otherwise opportunity for them to run. Anyway thought it was a great idea and an opportunity for Trump to produce another reality TV show and also provide a public service. I HAD NO IDEA THAT HE WOULD TAKE IT UPON HIMSELF TO RUN !!!! Honestly, this is a true story, although I never received a reply back from The Donald, evidently he had other plans?? Anyway confession is good for the soul and perhaps I might be responsible for this whole mess. Glad to get this off of my shoulder and conscience.
I was almost tempted to be the first to down vote this video but I copped out. Oh well, another day to fight the "establishment" or "the man". RESIST!!!
Obama actually said something like this. After all the Ignagural Hoop-La of the '08 election, after all the balls and par-tays,when he finally got back to the white house, the new POTUS was known to have said "NOW,WHERE DO I GO???"
