Swing Vote Movie Analysis
In today’s current film industry, many different companies are producing a variety of movies for everyone. There are many genres to choose from such as comedy, thriller, and drama. There are also documentaries and films which are based on real life situations. Some of the world’s most renowned films are more extravagant, film-worthy stories which are based on real events such as Titanic (1998). The movie Swing Vote (2008) is a worthy example of just that.
Swing Vote exaggerates the truth behind voting season when U.S. political parties, mainly Democrats (Liberals) and Republicans (Conservatives), start campaigning in each state and spending billions of dollars on the election for things like advertisements. In reality, there are swing voters and swing states, just not as dramatized as in the movie. Swing voters are a collective group of people who do not strongly stand by a specific party and are more open to deciding which party platform is better. Each party is trying to win over as many of these swing voters as possible because these people are the easiest to persuade. A swing state is where no single candidate or party has an overwhelming amount of support and the state could go either way (usually Democrats or Republicans). Swing states are usually targeted by parties because winning these states is the best way of getting more votes. Instead of campaigning for the votes of a state or a large group of people, both parties campaign to win the vote of Ernest “Bud” Johnson, the man with the power to pick the President after his daughter Molly tries to illegally vote for him while he gets drunk as usual.
The two main parties are led by Andrew “Andy” Boone who is a Republican, or Donald “Don” Greenleaf who is a Democrat. Boone’s campaign manager is Martin “Marty” Fox who has won every election he helped campaign for many years and Greenleaf’s manager is Arthur “Art” Crumb. The movie portrays the candidates as sort of okay with their managers’ ideas at first but are then reluctant to the idea of changing their entire platform and sacrificing their moral values just for one vote. The managers however are highly competitive and will do anything to win. At first, both candidates strongly believe in what they stand for until Bud is revealed as the swing voter. From that point on, everything that Bud said was analyzed and interpreted even though Bud himself has no idea what his views on political issues are. For example, Boone changed his views into saving the environment and accepting gay marriage only because he thought that was what Bud wanted to hear. After seeing a few interviews with Bud, Greenleaf changed his views to pro-life (no abortion) and no illegal immigration. It took a while before the candidates started to regret what they were doing (like when Greenleaf got slapped by his wife) but in the end, they were both respected by Bud.
The media and the campaign managers play a huge role in politics, especially during election time. Campaign managers do all the advertising and come up with the ideas for their campaign. They are advisors to their presidential candidates and elections probably couldn’t run smoothly and efficiently without their work. In the movie, their decisions are trusted by the candidates and are essentially the leaders of the election until the candidates disagree with the way that the managers are handling things with Bud. The media can influence the public’s views on each of the parties and must stay unbiased in order to provide information and not an opinion to their viewers. In the movie, the media is shown as a sneaky, manipulative group of people who will do just about anything to get their hands on an interview with Bud and also help the parties get valuable information on him.
I would personally vote for Greenleaf because he’s a democrat and I’m usually for democrats and because I agree with the views he has on the society. He originally takes a pro-environmental stand and being a “rainbow” country referring to multiculturalism and no tolerance for racism.
Swing Vote exaggerates the truth behind voting season when U.S. political parties, mainly Democrats (Liberals) and Republicans (Conservatives), start campaigning in each state and spending billions of dollars on the election for things like advertisements. In reality, there are swing voters and swing states, just not as dramatized as in the movie. Swing voters are a collective group of people who do not strongly stand by a specific party and are more open to deciding which party platform is better. Each party is trying to win over as many of these swing voters as possible because these people are the easiest to persuade. A swing state is where no single candidate or party has an overwhelming amount of support and the state could go either way (usually Democrats or Republicans). Swing states are usually targeted by parties because winning these states is the best way of getting more votes. Instead of campaigning for the votes of a state or a large group of people, both parties campaign to win the vote of Ernest “Bud” Johnson, the man with the power to pick the President after his daughter Molly tries to illegally vote for him while he gets drunk as usual.
The two main parties are led by Andrew “Andy” Boone who is a Republican, or Donald “Don” Greenleaf who is a Democrat. Boone’s campaign manager is Martin “Marty” Fox who has won every election he helped campaign for many years and Greenleaf’s manager is Arthur “Art” Crumb. The movie portrays the candidates as sort of okay with their managers’ ideas at first but are then reluctant to the idea of changing their entire platform and sacrificing their moral values just for one vote. The managers however are highly competitive and will do anything to win. At first, both candidates strongly believe in what they stand for until Bud is revealed as the swing voter. From that point on, everything that Bud said was analyzed and interpreted even though Bud himself has no idea what his views on political issues are. For example, Boone changed his views into saving the environment and accepting gay marriage only because he thought that was what Bud wanted to hear. After seeing a few interviews with Bud, Greenleaf changed his views to pro-life (no abortion) and no illegal immigration. It took a while before the candidates started to regret what they were doing (like when Greenleaf got slapped by his wife) but in the end, they were both respected by Bud.
The media and the campaign managers play a huge role in politics, especially during election time. Campaign managers do all the advertising and come up with the ideas for their campaign. They are advisors to their presidential candidates and elections probably couldn’t run smoothly and efficiently without their work. In the movie, their decisions are trusted by the candidates and are essentially the leaders of the election until the candidates disagree with the way that the managers are handling things with Bud. The media can influence the public’s views on each of the parties and must stay unbiased in order to provide information and not an opinion to their viewers. In the movie, the media is shown as a sneaky, manipulative group of people who will do just about anything to get their hands on an interview with Bud and also help the parties get valuable information on him.
I would personally vote for Greenleaf because he’s a democrat and I’m usually for democrats and because I agree with the views he has on the society. He originally takes a pro-environmental stand and being a “rainbow” country referring to multiculturalism and no tolerance for racism.
Editorial: Discrimination On The Rise?
After centuries of discrimination for religion, gender, skin colour, marriage equality, and much more, we seem to never learn our lesson. The most prominent issue in Canada today is a nationwide overall dislike for the Islam religion.
A recent poll shows that a majority of Canadians (54%) had an unfavourable view of Muslims which has risen sharply from last years’ results (46%). A staggering 32 per cent of Canadian parents forbid their child of marrying a Muslim. Something is clearly wrong here.
Only a few weeks ago, a teenage Muslim girl was walking towards the plaza across from her Mosque when 3 unfamiliar girls approached her and started to harass her just for being a Muslim. Soon, insults became more physical before witnesses broke it up. The girl was later admitted into a hospital in case she had minor injuries. She was not hurt but events like these could leave emotional scars.
Muslims across Canada have strong reason to be concerned about how they are perceived in public. Young girls are now questioning if they should wear a hijab because they are afraid they might get bullied for following their religion. This is unacceptable.
The proposed Quebec Charter of Values provides us with a snapshot of the public opinion. If this legislation passes, it would prevent public-sector workers from wearing religious accessories such as the hijab or jewelry. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Quebec agree with this charter since a whopping 69 per cent of the province’s population didn’t generally like Muslims.
Overall, our society needs to change our views on Muslims as a whole and we need to do whatever it takes to reduce the negative attitude towards them so we can become a healthier society. We shouldn’t leave Muslims to fight against the anti-Islam view alone, instead Canadians should be discussing how we manage our diverse country.
A recent poll shows that a majority of Canadians (54%) had an unfavourable view of Muslims which has risen sharply from last years’ results (46%). A staggering 32 per cent of Canadian parents forbid their child of marrying a Muslim. Something is clearly wrong here.
Only a few weeks ago, a teenage Muslim girl was walking towards the plaza across from her Mosque when 3 unfamiliar girls approached her and started to harass her just for being a Muslim. Soon, insults became more physical before witnesses broke it up. The girl was later admitted into a hospital in case she had minor injuries. She was not hurt but events like these could leave emotional scars.
Muslims across Canada have strong reason to be concerned about how they are perceived in public. Young girls are now questioning if they should wear a hijab because they are afraid they might get bullied for following their religion. This is unacceptable.
The proposed Quebec Charter of Values provides us with a snapshot of the public opinion. If this legislation passes, it would prevent public-sector workers from wearing religious accessories such as the hijab or jewelry. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Quebec agree with this charter since a whopping 69 per cent of the province’s population didn’t generally like Muslims.
Overall, our society needs to change our views on Muslims as a whole and we need to do whatever it takes to reduce the negative attitude towards them so we can become a healthier society. We shouldn’t leave Muslims to fight against the anti-Islam view alone, instead Canadians should be discussing how we manage our diverse country.
Predictions for tonight's throne speech:
- Target the consumer price gap between Canadian and U.S. retailers.
- Discuss oil pipeline projects to the U.S. and across the Pacific Ocean
- Promote international trading and gaining more free-trade agreements
- Target large telecommunication and wireless companies such as Rogers, Bell, and Telus and fight for Canadians instead of big businesses.
- Creating more jobs, economic growth plans
2013 Throne Speech Continued
The 2013 Speech from the Throne to open the second half of the 41st Parliament occurred on October 16th, given by the Governor General, David Johnston. The other day, I made 5 predictions on the topics that might be talked about in the speech and 4 out of 5 of my predictions were correct.
First of all, the conservatives talked about the consumer price gap between Canada and the U.S. which I predicted. It is unfair that our neighbours to the south have cheaper prices on everyday items because of the higher value of our loonie. I like that they touched on this topic because as a teenager, we are the nation’s leading consumer age group and the price difference adds up over time, which is hard for families who are struggling. The Conservatives stuck with their consumer friendly theme adding that they will try to make pick-and-pay TV plans happen and being tougher on large wireless and telecommunication companies.
The speech didn’t include one of my predictions, which was the Keystone XL oil pipeline. It didn’t surprise me that this subject was not mentioned because it is very controversial especially with environmentalists and it is also up to the U.S. entirely to confirm the project. The proposed pipeline, if it is built, will have a significant impact on the economy and the environment. However, they did mention economic growth and that creating more jobs was on their agenda.
The highlight of the speech personally was the international free trade agreement happening between Canada and the countries of the European Union. This means that almost all tariffs will be dropped on all goods, whether coming in or going out of Canada. It was a very smart agreement for Canada, the kind that will help create up to 80,000 more jobs and boost the economy. Canada is also discussing trade agreements between emerging new pacific markets such as Korea, Japan, and India.
A few things stood out in the speech that I did not talk about in my predictions. Although I enjoy having the government on the consumers’ side because it really means that we get things we want at cheaper rates, the priority of the government should instead be trying to build our economy since the world is coming out of a recession. I don’t like how they are giving little bits of what consumers want just so that the Conservatives can win more votes. I also disagree with their plan for achieving a balanced budget. The government wants to cut spending to many public services which in my opinion, will hurt this society more than the deficit.
Overall, as an average Canadian citizen, I was fairly pleased with the topics covered by the Conservative government.
First of all, the conservatives talked about the consumer price gap between Canada and the U.S. which I predicted. It is unfair that our neighbours to the south have cheaper prices on everyday items because of the higher value of our loonie. I like that they touched on this topic because as a teenager, we are the nation’s leading consumer age group and the price difference adds up over time, which is hard for families who are struggling. The Conservatives stuck with their consumer friendly theme adding that they will try to make pick-and-pay TV plans happen and being tougher on large wireless and telecommunication companies.
The speech didn’t include one of my predictions, which was the Keystone XL oil pipeline. It didn’t surprise me that this subject was not mentioned because it is very controversial especially with environmentalists and it is also up to the U.S. entirely to confirm the project. The proposed pipeline, if it is built, will have a significant impact on the economy and the environment. However, they did mention economic growth and that creating more jobs was on their agenda.
The highlight of the speech personally was the international free trade agreement happening between Canada and the countries of the European Union. This means that almost all tariffs will be dropped on all goods, whether coming in or going out of Canada. It was a very smart agreement for Canada, the kind that will help create up to 80,000 more jobs and boost the economy. Canada is also discussing trade agreements between emerging new pacific markets such as Korea, Japan, and India.
A few things stood out in the speech that I did not talk about in my predictions. Although I enjoy having the government on the consumers’ side because it really means that we get things we want at cheaper rates, the priority of the government should instead be trying to build our economy since the world is coming out of a recession. I don’t like how they are giving little bits of what consumers want just so that the Conservatives can win more votes. I also disagree with their plan for achieving a balanced budget. The government wants to cut spending to many public services which in my opinion, will hurt this society more than the deficit.
Overall, as an average Canadian citizen, I was fairly pleased with the topics covered by the Conservative government.
Waterloo Region Services
The region operates our waste management services for the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge and the townships of Wilmot, Woolwich, Wellesley, and North Dumfries. Our region only has one operating landfill (Waterloo Waste Management site on Erb St.) but there are transfer stations in all of the other municipalities. It provides residential garbage, blue box, green box, yard waste, and large item collection. At the landfill, residents can pick up compost and wood chips (mulch) for free which is a great program in my opinion. The region also provides many types of recycling programs such as a bicycle reuse program, cooking oil recycling, drywall, electronic waste, household hazardous waste program, and lumber recycling. Our landfill is also used as a source of gas energy because as material decomposes, it produces methane gas which is harmful to our environment. This gas is collected and used to make electricity directly on the landfill site to power somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 homes.
Since the Waterloo landfill has residential and commercial areas close to its border, the city has set initiatives in order to make sure that the odour produced by the landfill is eliminated. There is an odour control program which consists of spray misting systems along the fence lines, gas wells, and clay clapping the borders. I never knew that the city took action to contain the odour before going to their website and I thought that their actions helped a lot because I can notice the difference over the years.
The Waterloo Region Museum is the largest and newest museum in the region and was built in 2010 and is also the gateway to the Doon Heritage Village. The museum’s only permanent gallery is called “What Makes Us Who We Are?” and it tells the story of Waterloo Region and the 12,000 years humans have lived in our region. Temporary exhibits change every few months and it’s currently “Exploring Trees Inside and Out”. The Doon Heritage Village was built in 1957 and has 20 buildings and two farms which bring back the culture of Waterloo Region in 1914. Located on the museum’s second level is the regional Hall of Fame which recognizes the achievements from individuals or groups from our area. The Joseph Schneider Haus is also owned and operated by the Region of Waterloo and is located in downtown Kitchener. This is a local landmark and Kitchener’s oldest dwelling and was built by Joseph Schneider, a Pennsylvania-German Mennonite in 1816. It was restored and opened as a living history museum in 1981.
Something I found interesting about the Waterloo Regional Museum is that it’s designed to be environmentally friendly. It’s a certified LEED Silver facility, which means that the building is past the standard of international excellence in green building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system for the sustainability of a building. The museum has a silver rating which is the third best from a list of four possible certifications. (Certified, Silver, Gold, or the highest level; Platinum)
The Waterloo Regional Police Service (formally named the Waterloo Regional Police Force) was established in 1973. Before this, the cities had separate police forces and merged together to be more efficient and it also saved money. The service currently serves the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge and the townships of Wilmot, Woolwich, Wellesley, and North Dumfries. It currently employs 739 police officers and 271 civilians across six locations. They police a region with a population of 510,000. The police headquarters is located in Cambridge. There are many different branches in the service such as the Homicide Branch, the Child Exploitation Investigative Unit, the Domestic Violence Branch which contains the Domestic Violence Unit, the Elder Abuse Response Team, and the Victim Services Unit. There’s also the Technological Crime Unit and Traffic Services Branch. One of the more prestigious services is the Strategic & Tactical Service which has two branches; the Drug Branch and the Special Response Branch. This branch has five units: Canine, Emergency Response, Crisis Negotiations, Explosive Disposal, and Public Safety.
I found their Mobile Command Unit pretty cool since I’ve seen mobile command units on T.V. It’s equipped with state-of-the-art technology for investigations that require many levels of police. The Children’s Safety Village located at headquarters was one of my favourite field trips in elementary school because it was an interactive way to learn about fire, road, and internet safety. This partnership between the police and fire services is the first of its kind in Canada. The village has 26 buildings, some of which are interactive and they also resemble our community which teaches children about road safety. The street scape also has a roundabout as our city adds more roundabouts to our communities. Sparky’s Fire Apartment includes a simulated smoke machine and teaches children about fire hazards and home fire escape plan.
Job Description of an MP
MP For the Riding of Kitchener-Waterloo
Title: Member of Parliament Location: ON - Kitchener - Waterloo
Job Type: Full Time Company: The Government of Canada
Pay: Basic: $160,200.00
Description:
It seems as though everyone has a different opinion of what MPs actually do for our country. Even MPs themselves all describe their job in a variety of ways. Basically, in my opinion an MP is an elected individual who represents his/her riding but works to improve Canada as a whole. She/he is also a representative of him/herself and of his/her party. MPs divide their work between Parliament in Ottawa, their party, and their own constituency. Also, some MPs from the governing party become ministers in different departments (environment, defense, etc.) or they can be members of committees in Parliament. In the House of Commons, they can introduce bills, vote and debate about issues, and be a spokesperson for their constituents. In their ridings, they help their constituents with anything that involves the government (visas, passports, taxes, etc.) and participate in their community which means they must attend various activities (meetings, openings, celebrations, etc.) and have little personal time. They also do this because it helps them get to know and meet more people, which increases the likelihood that they will be elected next term. An MP must have the correct skills in order to do their job effectively. One of the most important skills are the ability to communicate and work with people. As a constituent, you would expect your MP to be able to communicate your opinions to Parliament clearly and you would also expect your MP to be able to negotiate, solve problems, and be organized. No description of an MP is completely accurate however this is just a rough idea of what MPs do for a living.
Title: Member of Parliament Location: ON - Kitchener - Waterloo
Job Type: Full Time Company: The Government of Canada
Pay: Basic: $160,200.00
Description:
It seems as though everyone has a different opinion of what MPs actually do for our country. Even MPs themselves all describe their job in a variety of ways. Basically, in my opinion an MP is an elected individual who represents his/her riding but works to improve Canada as a whole. She/he is also a representative of him/herself and of his/her party. MPs divide their work between Parliament in Ottawa, their party, and their own constituency. Also, some MPs from the governing party become ministers in different departments (environment, defense, etc.) or they can be members of committees in Parliament. In the House of Commons, they can introduce bills, vote and debate about issues, and be a spokesperson for their constituents. In their ridings, they help their constituents with anything that involves the government (visas, passports, taxes, etc.) and participate in their community which means they must attend various activities (meetings, openings, celebrations, etc.) and have little personal time. They also do this because it helps them get to know and meet more people, which increases the likelihood that they will be elected next term. An MP must have the correct skills in order to do their job effectively. One of the most important skills are the ability to communicate and work with people. As a constituent, you would expect your MP to be able to communicate your opinions to Parliament clearly and you would also expect your MP to be able to negotiate, solve problems, and be organized. No description of an MP is completely accurate however this is just a rough idea of what MPs do for a living.
Argo (2013): True or False
- There was no life or death interrogation at the departure gate
- A CIA Agent didn't go rogue by himself and be anti-authority
- Canadian wannabe heroes didn't try to grab a spotlight that belonged to the CIA
The movie, "Argo" portrays a reality based theme about 6 American people who were captives in Iran during the Iranian Revolution. In the movie, the events were kept similar to real-life situations however it was much more dramatic to make the movie more interesting. I think most of the movie was well depicted enough so that we could get a rough idea of what actually happened in Iran and it also combined enough fiction to make the story interesting and theatrical.
The Charity of My Choice
The charity I chose to research is the SickKids Foundation which is one of the largest charities in Canada and is located in Toronto. They were established in 1972 as a charity to raise funds for The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids Hospital). They are the largest charity that funds child healthcare, education and research in Canada and is one of the most well-known charities in Canada. Here are some stats about the foundation:
Their mission is to “…inspire our communities to invest in health and scientific advances to improve the lives of children and their families in Canada and around the world.” And their vision is that healthier children equals a better world. They raise money mainly for the SickKids Hospital in Toronto but also contribute a couple million dollars to national and international causes. Their funds go towards children’s health (under 18). The SickKids Foundation currently doesn’t have any challenges, especially since it regularly gets funds from the community and people who have been treated by the hospital.
During the holidays, the foundation has put a gift catalogue in its website so that donations directly benefit the hospital and the children that can’t go home for the holidays. During this time, there are many Christmas activities held for the children (Santa, meet & greet with Hockey players, arts & crafts, etc.). The SickKids Foundation continuously runs fundraising initiatives all year round. During the warm months, they allow people to sign up for run/walk-a-thons to raise money for SickKids and they allow for anyone to hold events to raise money for them in their name (The De Sario Festival of Lights Christmas Display). The foundation relays its donations directly to the hospital, which means that it can only accept new items to avoid spreading illnesses. It will also accept things that can be auctioned off to raise money such as sporting/concert tickets, toys, or electronics. Volunteers are greatly appreciated to run events for the children, especially during the holidays. Musicians can also come and perform and provide entertainment.
I chose SickKids Foundation because they contribute to making a healthier society in our community and in the future as these children grow up. It’s a great cause and is a charity that I plan to donate to in the future.
- 58.7% of their spending is going towards programs
- It costs them $49.05 to raise $100
- They have invested $92.6 million in children’s health in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, $88.7 million going directly towards causes at the SickKids Hospital
- Launched a $200-million fundraising campaign for the new Research & Learning Tower
Their mission is to “…inspire our communities to invest in health and scientific advances to improve the lives of children and their families in Canada and around the world.” And their vision is that healthier children equals a better world. They raise money mainly for the SickKids Hospital in Toronto but also contribute a couple million dollars to national and international causes. Their funds go towards children’s health (under 18). The SickKids Foundation currently doesn’t have any challenges, especially since it regularly gets funds from the community and people who have been treated by the hospital.
During the holidays, the foundation has put a gift catalogue in its website so that donations directly benefit the hospital and the children that can’t go home for the holidays. During this time, there are many Christmas activities held for the children (Santa, meet & greet with Hockey players, arts & crafts, etc.). The SickKids Foundation continuously runs fundraising initiatives all year round. During the warm months, they allow people to sign up for run/walk-a-thons to raise money for SickKids and they allow for anyone to hold events to raise money for them in their name (The De Sario Festival of Lights Christmas Display). The foundation relays its donations directly to the hospital, which means that it can only accept new items to avoid spreading illnesses. It will also accept things that can be auctioned off to raise money such as sporting/concert tickets, toys, or electronics. Volunteers are greatly appreciated to run events for the children, especially during the holidays. Musicians can also come and perform and provide entertainment.
I chose SickKids Foundation because they contribute to making a healthier society in our community and in the future as these children grow up. It’s a great cause and is a charity that I plan to donate to in the future.