How did this come to be? And: How did the media uncover political wrongdoing in the past? In this film screening of Frost/Nixon, we look back at one of the most infamous political outrages of the 20th century, Watergate, and see how one interviewer made President Nixon say: “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal”.
The Oscar-Nominated film Frost/Nixon is a 2008 movie directed by Ron Howard. It focusses on the aftermath of the famous Watergate scandal of 1972, in which then Republican President Nixon (played by Frank Langella) was found to have wiretapped his Democratic colleagues. After the revelation of this fact, he resigned but was subsequently exonerated by the new president. Nixon was then interviewed by talk-show host David Frost (played by Michael Sheen). This series of interviews is widely regarded as one of the most revealing political interviews of the 20th century. Frost/Nixon is a dramatic retelling of how it came to be.
The movie will be introduced by dr. Delia Dumitrica, Associate Professor at the Erasmus School of History, Culture, and Communication. She will contextualize the events of the movie from the perspective of a media scholar; but will also stress the importance fictional media such as Frost/Nixon play in our understanding of the relation between politics and media. Because: How close to the truth are these depictions?
More information
- Date: 05–10-2021
- Time: 18:30–21:00
- Location: Erasmus Paviljoen, Campus Woudestein
- Tickets: free entrance, reservation mandatory via our ticketshop
Organised by Studium Generale and dr. Delia Dumitrica (ESHCC).
