Lighter - Bush's Desire

The movie W. by Oliver Stone, about George W. Bush, has one main re-occurring them throughout the movie. This re-occurring them is Bush’s desire to be loved and accepted. We see his need to be accepted in the beginning of the movie where he and some other pledges are getting hazed for the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon. In this scene, they are forced to drink mass amounts of liquor while in a tub of ice-cold water. The atmosphere of the scene is very dark and dramatic with the majority of light on the pledges, and the brothers are above the pledges in the frame to establish authority and power. This dramatic scene is represented, as the wrong doing that Bush was once a part of. The dialogue in this scene shows Bush’s need for acceptance when one older fraternity leader asks a “no name” pledge how many brothers he can name. The pledge fails to name a large number of brothers, then Bush is asked if he thinks he can do any better and he responds, “Yes.” He then proceeds to name almost all the brothers and is invited to drink a beer. His desire for this acceptance is one of the most vital parts of this movie, he also looks for acceptance and love from his father but never seems to get it. The hazing scene is probably the most monumental displays of Bush’s character because in life the wrong things you have done are the things that are your most vivid memories.