Why Political Films Forget About the House of Representatives

As a former political consultant and someone who follows the movie industry, I have always had to laugh at the fact that characters from the House of Representatives are rarely in political films. Political films will usually focus on the president, the governor, a senator, or maybe even a mayor. Members of the House are usually exempt from the fray. There are interesting reasons for this.

By the Numbers

The House of Representatives currently has 435 voting members and six non-voting members. Compare this to the fact that there are only 100 senators, 50 governors, and one president. Due to the fact that there are so many members of the House, a particular representative does not have as much direct power as one of the other types of offices.

The lack of power is interpreted often by the media, and constituency, that the members of the House of Representatives are less interesting. Note the fact that you can probably name your senators, governor, and president but would be hard-pressed to name three of your state's representatives in Congress.

Corruption

Most political films usually focus on the corruption of or in office, or the corruption involved in gaining an office. When the average person thinks about political corruption, those with the most perceived power come to mind. In the state, we are looking at the governor. On the national scale, we think about senators and the president. Once again, the members of the House are forgotten.

Until recently, with cases like that of Anthony Weiner, most people did not think of representatives when they thought about corruption.

Localized Corruption

If a political film were to look at localized corruption, the mayor is sure to be involved somehow. The governor might have some link as well. Even though many representatives have a direct impact on local government, they are once again forgotten. As someone who has worked in politics, I can tell you that most representatives have more power in metro areas than the larger city mayors.

This influence is not usually apparent, so it is not often covered by the local media. Again, the perception comes out that the members of the House do not have much pull. Those who have less pull do not have as much of a chance for corruption.

The Final Result

Due to the political films that have come out over the years, many politicians have a bad rep due to the perception that many (if not all) are corrupt in some way. Members of the opposite sex around them are watched. Business relations they have are scrutinized. Some of their political moves are subject to scrutiny for the opportunity to show corruption. Members of the House of Representatives, due to the lack of characterization in political films (and thus the media), are forgotten about.

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