Whitlock, W.

I believe that the scene that reveals George W. Bush's character the most is the one right before his inauguration for governor where he is in the hotel room with his father.

The father-son dynamic presented in this movie really shows why George W. Bush is that way that he is. He is constantly trying to please his father and be as perfect as his brother, Jeb. In doing so, he is constantly making rash decisions that put the country at risk because he is competing with his father and prove to him that he is just as good. For example, he went ahead with the war and invaded all of those countries in the Middle East when nothing was proven yet about whether they had WMDs. I'm sure this wasn't just just because he was trying to prove something to his father, but the movie definitely made it seem that it was a factor in his decision. Even after he does get elected governor, his father is more concerned that Jeb lost than that George won, he constantly feels that he is in the shadow of his brother.

Going back to the scene, it is clear to see how strained their relationship by using the Mise en Scene. There are never "intimate shots" of the father and the camera only shows a "public distance" which shows formality and detachment. In fact, the only "intimate scene" in this part of the movie is when Laura and George are together and she is speaking to him. It allows us to feel like we are in an intimate relationship with them, something we don't get with the father. To further the detachment theory, when the father gives George the cufflinks and the letter at different times, we never see his face while he is handing it to him. We only see his hands or his back. His back being turned to the camera shows concealment and mystery. This basically shows their lack of relationship.

I think that this scene made Bush seem very vulnerable and showed his true core. All he has ever done is try to please his father so he moved to D.C. and worked on his campaign, then he ran for governor, and finally for president and it seemed that he could never do anything to make his father happy. The disappointment that he felt from his father was a driving force that he carried throughout his life and it showed on some level, why he has done the things he has done.