In-Class Write

Frost/Nixon Essay

Adam Tyler

 For someone wishing to learn about the tv news industry in a fun and exciting way, I would definitely choose Frost/Nixon. In this movie, you can learn various things about the conflict as David Frost interviews Richard Nixon. David Frost interviewing Richard Nixon was one of the most surprising events in the late 70s. From the movie directed by Ron Howard, people can see the explosive interview, but can also see more clearly what led to the interview and what happened after it. In the movie, David Frost starts out as a television show host, but he wants to be more than just being remembered as a tv host and wants some actual recognition, so he attempts to interview Richard Nixon with help from BBC's director general John Birt, reporter Bob Zelnick, and news writer James Reston Jr. However, Nixon wants to re-ignite his reputation after he was confirmed to be in the Watergate Scandal, so he accepts the interview, especially since he'll be receiving a lot of money from it. From this direction, the audience can see that both are after the same thing, fame and fortune, which is what Frost and Nixon wanted in real life.

From this movie, the audience can see Frost and Nixon then preparing for their big interview. They can realize how hard both have been studying to take each other down and feel somewhat sympathetic for them. Soon enough when the final confrontation comes, the audience can see that there was a whole lot of tension on the set of the interview, including Nixon even shouting this when Frost tries to tell him no one is above the law, “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal!”, which is not really true at all. Then, Frank Langello does a stunning job acting as Richard Nixon when he finally admits to the Watergate Scandal, “I let the American people down.” Right there, people can learn that even the president can do wrong and bad things. Both in the film and in real life, Nixon admitted this and he remained low in his San Clemente house for the rest of his life while Frost finally got the fame he wanted and became a well-respected celebrity. For anyone who was thinking that the president always knows best, you were wrong. This movie shows the real-life events that an underdog reporter brought the president down, and it was a pivotal moment in history.

Although you can learn a lot fromFrost/Nixon, like the riveting interview and its prologue and aftermath, one thing you may not learn about is the whole Watergate Scandal. The film only briefly circles around why Nixon was in the scandal, not what it actually was, so the audience may not get a full explanation of what he did, which is very important for a movie like this. The Watergate Scandal happened on June 17, 1972 when some men were caught breaking in. It was later found out that they had ties to the presidential administration of Nixon. Although Nixon denied any involvement in the trial, he was soon found out to be a big fat liar when it was discovered that he had recorded an important conversation he had with HR Haldeman, the chief of staff at the White House. The tape called “The Smoking Peanut” proved Nixon was guilty, yet people weren’t sure how to convict a president, so Nixon voluntarily left the presidency while his Vice President Gerald Force pardoned him for the crime. Yet, a whole lot of people were infuriated.

Another aspect that the audience won’t learn all the pressure Frost was under from other people besides his interviewing team. The audience doesn’t even hear or see anyone criticizing Frost about interviewing Nixon. A lot of people thought he couldn’t do it, even Frost himself thought he couldn’t, but in the movie it seems as if no one even bothers. In real life, this made the stakes even higher as he would be remembered as a failure and an embarrassment to tv news and he would probably never hear the end of it. In the movie Frost is afraid of losing everything to this interview, but the movie forgets how other people will see him if he loses and that he is now not on tv.

If someone should add in an extra 20 minutes to the movie without worrying about losing the audience’s attention, I recommend adding 20 minutes about the side characters’ lives. Even though the movie is titled Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard spends very little time on the more amusing and interesting John Birt, Bob Zelnick, and James Reston Jr. In the movie, they are shown as somewhat of a comic relief, while they definitely worked hard in real life. The stakes are very high for David Frost and Richard Nixon since they could lose their reputation, their job, or even their wealth. However, the movie doesn’t focus very closely on what was at stake for these three. Only John Birt had a family and he could’ve lost his job if the interview went badly, but we don’t get the same type of drama we see with Frost and Nixon. If 20 minutes were devoted to these side characters in the middle of the movie when they were working on the actual interview and discussing how they could tear down Nixon, it could help the audience care for the characters more since they were important too.