In a time of extreme polarization, how does Hollywood portray a POTUS with broad audience appeal?
That question is at the heart of our multi-part series on Hollywood Presidents, starting with special guest Rod Lurie, the first to create an independent President in a major TV series, Commander in Chief (starring Geena Davis as President Mackenzie Allen in 2005).
“I definitely made her an independent, then tried to keep the topics we were dealing with something that both sides could relate to,” says Lurie.
Lurie himself has a plotline worth tracing. A West Point-educated military veteran, his 1999 film Deterrence featured the first Jewish American President negotiating a nuclear conflict with Iraq.
“I always figured that you shouldn't go to school to study film,” Lurie confides. “ You should go and study what you want to make movies about. I was always fascinated by leadership and character. And there's no better school for leadership than West Point.”
Lurie also weighs in on the many high-level military appointees who didn’t last long in the Trump White House, the sadly performative nature of our current Congress, and the even greater difficulties of creating a mainstream show or movie today with political content.
Entertaining and insightful, profane yet profound, Lurie provides a memorable half-hour on the cultural dimensions of hyperpartisanship and polarization. How does Hollywood choose its Presidents? Let’s hear from one who’s created a few: Rod Lurie, a product of West Point and a Hollywood original.
Original Music by Ryan Adair Rooney
Our Guest
Rod Lurie
Twitter: @RodLurie
Instagram: @RodLurie
Commander in Chief (TV Series 2005–2006)
Deterrence (1999)
The Contender (2000)
The Outpost (2020)
Additional Resources
Jeffrey Resner (4/6/08). “Guns and Moses.” Politico
Hollywood’s Fictional Presidents & the Challenges of a Polarized Audience. The Purple Principle in Print
Find us online!
Twitter: @purpleprincipl
Facebook: @thepurpleprinciplepodcast
Instagram: @thepurpleprinciplepodcast
Our website: https://fluentknowledge.com/shows/the-purple-principle/
Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2UfFSja
United States of Gerrymandering? Ripple Effects from State House to White House
Dissenting Voices on Today’s GOP: Interviews from The 2024 Principles First Summit
Former RNC Chair Michael Steele: An Alarmed Critique of a GOP Transformed
Asa Hutchinson on 2024 GOP Primaries: Hard to Get Any Other Message Out!
Grand Old Party or Brand New MAGA? Contrarian Conservative Charlie Sykes
A Primary Solution to Unite America? New Book From Election Reformer, Nick Troiano
Systems Level Failure? Veterans for All Voters Takes on Polarizing Elections
Breaking Bread, Sharing Salad & Final Four Voting: Alaska Representative Mary Peltola
Election Lessons Unheeded? A Cautionary View of the New U.S. House
Is the Fever Breaking? Two Centrist Senators on the 2022 Elections
Repodcast: Deflating Political Football with Tania Israel
As 2022 Election Results Roll In: Concern, Context, & Perspective
Test Driving Ranked Choice Voting: These Not So United States (AK Part 2 & NV)
No Such Thing as The Latino Vote? Hispanic American Swing Voters (Finale)
Will Latinization Bring Moderation? Hispanic American Swing Voters (Part 2)
Repodcast: Politically Persuadable But Focused on Jobs? Hispanic American Swing Voters (Part 1)
End of Bay State Bipartisanship?: These Not So United States (MA Part Two)
Deval Patrick Talks Governing: These Not So United States (MA Part One)
INTRODUCING My Body Odyssey, a Fluent Knowledge Podcast
Less Partisan Elections in Alaska 2022? These Not So United States (AK Part One)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free