In a recent campaign video for the 2020 Presidential Election, Donald Trump used dialogue from the 1997 action-thriller movie ‘Air’ starring Nicolas Cage and John Cusack. The dialogue was delivered by Matt Damon, who played a supporting role in the movie.
The scene in question features Damon’s character explaining to Cage’s character how the world’s political leaders have failed to take action on climate change. “You know what your problem is? It’s that you haven’t seen enough movies, all of life’s riddles are answered in the movies,” says Damon’s character.
While the original context of the dialogue was meant to highlight the theme of governmental inaction on climate change, Trump seems to have used it for a different purpose. In the campaign video, Trump is shown making various speeches and rallying his supporters while Damon’s dialogue is played in the background.
It’s unclear what message Trump was trying to convey with this use of the ‘Air’ dialogue, but it’s safe to assume that he was trying to appeal to his base and suggest that he has all the answers. Additionally, Trump has famously denied the existence of climate change, making his use of dialogue about the topic ironic.
The use of movie dialogue in political campaigns is not new. Many candidates have used quotes from movies to appeal to voters and emphasize their platforms. However, the way Trump used the ‘Air’ dialogue seems to be particularly manipulative.
Trump has a history of using out-of-context quotes and footage to create a narrative that supports his agenda. This latest campaign video is just another example of how he uses media to control the narrative and appeal to his base. Whether or not his tactics are effective remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – the use of movie dialogue in political campaigns is likely to continue.
