Invisible President: Difference between revisions
→Literature: Replaced redirects
m (Mass update links) |
(→Literature: Replaced redirects) |
||
(18 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"''Well, who did you ''expect'' to see -- the ''President''?''
|'''Droopy Dog''', in the theatrical cartoon ''Droopy's Good Deed''.}}
It is, in some contexts, not legal to use the actual image of the President of the United States for commercial purposes (''[[Contact (
Most likely the lawyers have it wrong to some extent. As far as the President, he has just as much rights to exclusive use of his name and face as any other famous individual. However, as a political
There is, however, a law on the books which prohibits use of a president's name or likeness as a trademark for a product during his lifetime or the lifetime of his widow. This is the only actual legal prohibition other than the standard one that applies to all famous persons including politicians. Famous people can stop exploitation of their image based on a right to commercial exploitation (but the President himself has no greater right, and in fact, may have less because he is a politician), thus it is believed that an actual current or former President cannot be used in a film or TV show.
As a result, whenever a scene calls for the President, but the show is meant to be set "in the real world" (and thus, a fictional president is undesirable, and an [[
See also [[No Party Given]]. For celebs that are neither politicians nor actors, see [[Invisible Celebrity Guest]].
{{examples}}
=== Anime
* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' flip-flops between showing leaders and hiding their faces. Given the [[Edutainment Show|nature of the series]], readers can usually guess who the leaders are.
** Averted in the case of Austria (Maria Theresa), Prussia (Frederick II), Russia ([[Josef Stalin|Stalin]]) and possibly Sealand (Roy Bates or his son).
** Played with for the US Presidents. While their faces are never fully seen, there are subtle cues that hint to who they actually are, such as with [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in the [[World War
* A scene of ''[[
** But only in the anime. The
* ''[[Heroman]]'' plays this... a bit oddly: the President of the United States appears onscreen and has quite a few speaking lines, but looks a lot like former Japanese Prime Minister Jun'ichiro Koizumi.
* Averted in ''[[Golgo 13]]'' - whenever the United States Government hires the title character, the then-current President will usually appear. (Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton have both had reason to do so.)
* ''[[Hellsing]]'' obscures both the faces of Her Highness the Queen and His Holiness the Pope. And yet Alucard still flirts with the former.
* During the [[Beach Episode]] of ''[[
{{quote|
=== Film ===
* ''[[
** It's standard practice in US government offices to display pictures of the sitting president and the relevant cabinet secretary (the Defense secretary, in this case, since it's a military base). However, repeatedly zooming in on a picture of [[Ronald Reagan|the Gipper]] in a movie that deals with the threat of nuclear holocaust has been seen as a [[Take That]] by the director.
* [[wikipedia:Invasion U.S.A. (1952 film)|Invasion U.S.A.]]: an unusual version is used. We see the president's back and [http://www.badmovieplanet.com/3btheater/i/invasionusa.html part of his face]. [[
* ''[[Wag the Dog]]'' almost always has the main characters talking to "the president" on the phone. The one time he's on camera, it's in shadows and from the back only. On the other hand, his opponent is frequently shown in TV ads and on talk shows.
* In the [[Rowan Atkinson]] comedy ''Johnny English'', the queen's hands are shown, and her voice is heard, but everything else is just outside the frame.
* The 2007 ''[[Transformers (
** The 2009 sequel doesn't show the President at all, and in all scenes where an actor is talking about him he is referred to only as "the President"...except in one quick blurb that is delivered offscreen from a news bulletin, where he is specifically named as [[Barack Obama|President Obama]]. This makes sense when you realize that the film was being shot during the 2008 election race and they could only add a name in post-production. [[Word of God]] is that Bay added the name as a sort of tribute to him, [[Fridge Logic|which is odd]] considering the main government representative is an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] who spends the movie trying to kick the Autobots off the planet, and it's implied the administration is considering ''negotiating'' with the Decepticons. Also notable is that every time the Bureaucrat does [[Kick the Dog|something to annoy, obstruct or hinder the heroes]], he does it under the direct orders of the President. The only things he can truly take the blame for are his poor people skills and callous attitude towards the team.
** Then the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon|2011 sequel]] averts this, showing the president in name and face.
* The 1967 film comedy ''[[The
* Another obvious Invisible LBJ "appears" in the 1966 film ''[[Batman:
* ''[[Our Man Flint]]'' from 1966 has a scene where the president, addressing the world to announce capitulation to the bad guys, is told to
* The second movie of ''[[National Treasure]]'' both plays it straight and subverts it. In the reenactment of [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln's]] assassination by John Wilkes Booth, only Lincoln's back and a part of his head was shown ''even though it is very obvious'' that it's him and using his name and likeness is legal under the protection of the First Amendment.
** Fast forward to the present time, the current President is fictional. Yet he is still unnamed, only being referred to as "The President".
* ''[[The Tenth Kingdom]]'' has Virginia answering a bland, "The President!" when the trolls are interrogating her on who rules her land.
* A ''[[Three Stooges]]'' short has them prospecting for gold and inadvertently breaking into a federal gold vault. They explain they were trying to pay for a sick kid's operation to a heard but not seen [[Franklin Roosevelt|FDR]], who pardons them and pays for the operation, because he's a swell guy.
* ''[[The Iron Giant]]'' has a brief shot of President Eisenhower being briefed on the situation with the Giant, seen from the back. A portrait of Ike is visible in an earlier scene, hanging in the mayor's office.
* A speech from the President preempts the TV special on which Mike's film is going to appear in ''[[The Wizard of Speed and Time (film)|The Wizard of Speed and Time]]''. Instead of the President at his podium, the screen only shows the Presidential Seal for the duration of the speech. The President's voice, however, makes it clear he's [[Ronald Reagan]].
=== Literature ===▼
* The opening chapter of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (
▲== Literature ==
▲* The opening chapter of ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince|Harry Potter]]'' book has a scene with a new Prime Minister that visibly strains to avoid naming him or his party. Entertainingly, it still manages to be specific enough to cause a [[Continuity Snarl]] -- based on other indications about when the books were set, the PM during ''Half-Blood Prince'' should have be [[John Major]], but it refers to his predecessor (who would then be [[Margaret Thatcher]]) as "he".
** Apparently some of the PM's mannerisms were based on those of [[Tony Blair]], who was PM at the time the book was written (but not at the time in which the book is supposedly set).
* [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''Dreamcatcher'' was finished in mid-November 2000, at which time the outcome of the US presidential election was still in doubt; as such, when the President gives a national address regarding the events of the novel, the book strains to avoid mentioning whether the president was meant to be [[George W. Bush]] or Al Gore.
** In ''[[The Stand]]'', the President is also never named.
* In an unusual case, [[Tom Clancy]]'s novel ''Executive Orders'' does not refer to the President of Iraq by name when he is assassinated. What little characterization there is is entirely in line with Saddam Hussein (who was still in power when the book was published). Noteworthy in that Saddam Hussein was one of the few heads of state who would probably have been referred to by name in normal conversation, and that the book also uses invented leaders for Iran, India, and Russia.
* In ''[[
** The film adaptation names him "Pius XIII", from a brief glimpse of his ring before it's destroyed.
* The President during the time period that ''[[
* There's a double-whammy in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novel ''The Dying Days''; it's set in 1997, but at the time of publication (1996) both the American and British national elections were being contested, thus meaning that the identities of both the President and the Prime Minister are deliberately kept vague.
* In book 21 of ''[[
=== Live-Action TV ===
* The President was never seen in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' until a new one was elected in the show's seventh season (though there was at least one fake-out involving a [[Body Double]]).
** However, there was an episode with William Devane as President, in which the real Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General John Jumper, is on set in uniform. Turns out he was a bit of a fan of the show.
** Several Air Force officers showed up on the show, part of its being [[Backed
* [[wikipedia:Spy Game (TV series)|Spy Game]]: we never see the president. All that is shown is his voice level analysis graph on the communications monitor.
* The President on ''[[The West Wing]]'' was originally intended to be almost entirely
* The Queen and Prime Minister both appeared as outstretched hands from behind doors in ''[[Are You Being Served?
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''The Green Death'' also portrayed the Prime Minister as an outstretched hand and as the unheard half of a telephone conversation with [[The Brigadier]]. In the phone conversation, he was called "Jeremy", a reference to the then leader of the Liberal Party (who was never Prime Minister).
** More recently, ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has used archival footage of the Queen's coronation for an episode set during the event.
Line 73:
** During the 2009 Christmas special, they went to hilarious extremes to ensure that 'President Obama''s face was never shown. This included strategically placed standing people, [[Face Palm|facepalming]] and a [[Makes Sense in Context|vibrating head]].
* ''[[Dharma and Greg]]'' and fake Southern accents and Al Gore. Enough said.
* ''[[
* Similarly, on an episode of ''[[Hustle]]'', the Queen's feet were shown, as was her corgi. Earlier in the episode, in a scene at Buckingham Palace, a bell marked 'HRH' was seen to ring in the butler's pantry, suggesting that the Royal Highness in question was calling for assistance.
* The Pentagon drama ''[[E Ring]]'' had an extreme example where the president was never even mentioned, even though in real life he'd be heavily involved in the military missions each episode featured.
Line 80:
* While Hacker was Minster for Administrative Affairs in ''[[Yes Minister]]'', many characters mentioned the Prime Minister, but the PM never actually showed up on-screen despite occasionally determining the outcome of an episode. Averted once Hacker got the top job himself.
** Notably, the PM was referred to as 'him' despite [[Margaret Thatcher]] being in office at the time. This aided the goal of obfuscating Hacker's party membership: referring to the PM as "her" would have led many the erroneous conclusion that the show was specifically a satire of the current government and/or that Hacker was a Tory.
* Old and very funny example. There was a ''The Lucy Show'' episode where Lucy and a Girl Scout troop went to visit President [[John F. Kennedy]] at [[The White House]]. Lucy (Lucille Ball) feels faint and sits down on a historical piece of furniture, [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s boyhood rocking chair. The chair is too small, and gets stuck to Lucy's big ass. As she is stumbling around trying to get this thing off, a voice off camera in the oval office says "It's nice to meet you. I see I am not the only one around with a personal attachment to rocking chairs." This, of course, was an impersonation of JFK. Lucy wattles into the oval office as dignified as she can, patriotic music playing in the background.
* Another old example. The original ''[[
** One episode had Max needing to convince his pal (Don Rickles) he was a spy; he puts Rickles on the hot line and he says "Uh-huh. Right. And I'm Sidney Bird." After he's convinced, he tells Max "Hey, I never met the guy, but I use his baby powder all the time!"
* In ''[[The Thick of It]]'', Prime Minister Tom Davis is never seen. His predecessor was known only as "the Prime Minister".
* In the season 1 finale of ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', the Kane family throws a party where the Governor of California is a guest. Based on the episode's air date and a few chance remarks, it's pretty clear that the governor is intended to be [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], but his name is never mentioned and he never appears onscreen.
=== Newspaper Comics ===▼
* ''[[Doonesbury]]'' carries this to its logical extreme by literally showing the president as invisible. This began with [[George
▲== Newspaper Comics ==
▲* ''[[Doonesbury]]'' carries this to its logical extreme by literally showing the president as invisible. This began with [[George HW Bush]], to poke fun of his weak stance on issues. Later presidents were shown with floating symbols -- [[Bill Clinton]] as a waffle (as in "waffling on the issues"); [[George W. Bush]] as an asterix, a cowboy hat, and (after 9/11) a Roman centurion helmet. This extended to other politicians, such as Dan Quayle (a feather) and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (a [[Cartoon Bomb]]).
** Prior to this, strips featuring the President simply showed [[Establishing Shot|establishing shots]] of [[The White House]]. Then there was the time [[Ronald Reagan]] appeared as "[[Max Headroom|Ron Headrest]]".
=== Video Games ===▼
▲== Video Games ==
* ''[[Fallout 3]]'' may or may not be an exception, with President Eden {{spoiler|being a computer}}.
* President Graham from ''[[Resident Evil 4]]''. We never see the president himself (except possibly in some incredibly blurry photographs right before the final boss fight), but we do meet his daughter.
=== Western Animation ===▼
* Partially subverted in ''[[The Fairly
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* Partially subverted in ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'': In the two episodes where the president appears, he either is only seen as an arm poking out the window of his car (in "Baby Face") or dressed as [[George Washington]], and later [[Abraham Lincoln]] (in "Vicky loses her Icky".) However, you can tell from the voice that it's intended to be George Bush.
** The president also appears in "That Ol' Black Magic", and once again is unnamed but obviously George W. Bush.
* The ''[[Earthworm Jim (
* The [[Droopy]] cartoon ''Droopy's Good Deed'' used this at the end, after Droopy's character, a Boy Scout, had won a visit with the President. Droopy lampshaded this after [[The Un-Reveal]] with the page quote above. This also subverted MGM cartoons' tendency towards surprise live-action cameos at the time.
** Also, at the beginning of the same cartoon, when Spike first learns that the winning scout would meet the president, a thought bubble appears over his head as he imagines himself at Washington DC shaking hands with the president, whose body is all but shown entirely, [[The Faceless|his head out of the thought bubble's frame]]. So even if the president did appear in the ending, he would probably be given the same treatment that Spike's fantasy gave him.
* An episode of the 1981 ''[[Spider-Man]]'' cartoon has a faceless President refusing to give in to Doctor Doom's demands, and promptly ordering an air strike on his nefarious device (this puts Spider-man's life at risk, since he's there trying to thwart the plan himself, but he doesn't know that). Later, however, at the climax of the show's world-conquering [[Story Arc]], {{spoiler|the President -- now in complete silhouette -- is forced to give up his seat to one of Doctor Doom's robotic proxies}}.
* In the [[Batman:
== Exceptions ==
===
* Because they have to sign off on the hiring, whenever the US government hires ''[[Golgo 13]]'', the president in office at the time of the story's writing will make an appearance.
* The ''[[
=== Comic Books ===
* Often averted in comic books. Kennedy appeared more than once on page (Superman infamously revealed his identity to him in an issue published after his death, and Teen Titans featured an [[Elseworlds]] story wherein Kennedy became a space-traveling hero) and Obama was famously given a back-up story in an issue of Spider-Man (after reporting that Stephen Colbert won).
** We see the back of JFK's head in an early '60s Dennis the Menace(!) comic book, uttering his famous "Let me say this about that...", and he's talking off-panel in a [[Wonder Wart Hog]] comic of the era.
* In the comic book ''Black Summer'', the
* [[Richard Nixon]] appears in a relatively early issue of ''Daredevil'', specifically identified as Nixon.
* Then-president [[Bill Clinton]] actually delivered the eulogy at [[The Death of Superman|Superman's funeral]]. His face was clearly visible, and [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] was there, too.
** In a less glamorous moment for Slick Willie, his Marvel Universe self also personally kicked [[Captain America (comics)]] out of the country after Cap had been accused of treason. Of course, once Cap's name was cleared, he welcomed him back.
* Until recently, the usual unwritten policy at both Marvel and DC was that the president's face could be shown, but his name never be used; he would always just be called "Mr. President". Marvel broke this rule recently with a few appearances by [[Barack Obama]] in which he's referred to by name.
** DC went the opposite route in 2000, when [[Lex Luthor]] [[President Evil|was elected president]]. Ever since then, the president in the DCU has always been a fictional character, which obviously allows them to do whatever they want with him.
* [[Savage Dragon]] does this quite a bit. When the protagonist wakes up in the first issue with a specific form of amnesia, he mentions that George Bush (senior) is the president but has no information regarding his own name. Later in the series, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all make appearances while in office. This trope is also played with since Dragon himself nearly became the president at one point.
=== [[Fan Works]] ===
* ''[[
===
▲* [[Its My Life (Fanfic)|ITS MY LIFE!]]: By the end of the first fan fiction "the President" appears to give most of the protagonists medals, but it is not revealed who he is. (And, because of the confusing writing, one would assume he is [[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Cave Johnson.]]) By TEEN FORTRESS 2 we figure out that he is... [[Abraham Lincoln]].
▲== Film ==
* In a highly controversial exception, the film ''The Death of a President'' digitally superimposes the face of [[George W. Bush]] onto an actor as he is killed by a sniper.
* A clip of [[Ronald Reagan]] appeared in the film of ''[[Alien Nation (
* ''[[National
* Similarly, the part of the second ''[[Austin Powers]]'' movie that explicitly takes place in 1969 shows Dr. Evil communicating with a nonexistent American President (played by [[Tim Robbins]]) who looks considerably younger and better-looking than [[Richard Nixon]].
=== Literature ===▼
▲== Literature ==
* The Queen is a major character in [[Roald Dahl]]'s ''[[The BFG]]''. Admittedly, she's never directly called Queen Elizabeth II... but in the animated version she is drawn to look exactly like her.
* Literary example: ''[[World War Z]]'': Howard Dean, Colin Powell, Paris Hilton, Bill Maher, [[Ann Coulter]], and Nelson Mandela are all described in such explicit detail as to leave no doubt who they mean, but characters go to great lengths to avoid naming them. Fidel Castro ''is'' mentioned by name, as the leader of Cuba who gives in to
* One of [[Robert Rankin]]'s rather insane stories (his most common thread involves Elvis with a time-traveling sprout lodged in his head) features Prince Charles as a love interest for one of the semi-protagonists, including some quite surprising scenes...
* There's a rather odd version of this in [[Tom Clancy]]'s novel ''Rainbow Six''. The president is never named, but is mentioned as a "good friend" of John Clark's at the beginning of the book. Most likely Jack Ryan is president, and considering that he was the main character of most of the previous books, I don't know why they can't say his name.
Line 145 ⟶ 136:
** The President is referred to as "Jack" once.
=== Live-Action TV ===▼
▲== Live-Action TV ==
* A recent [[Mockumentary]] in the UK featured footage of [[Tony Blair]] used to talk about a stock market crash.
* Footage of Blair and [[George W. Bush|Bush]] appeared in an episode of ''[[Spooks]]'' about a state visit of the latter.
Line 154 ⟶ 144:
* While the actual president never appeared in ''[[The X-Files]]'', a large photo of [[Bill Clinton]] was clearly visible in Skinner's office throughout several seasons. However, no pictures of [[George W. Bush]] ever appeared after his election.
** However, in the recent movie, both Mulder and Scully notice a picture of Bush in the hallway, walk over to it, and stare at it, as the theme music plays.
* Paul Martin appeared on ''[[
* A first season episode of ''[[JAG]]'' used stock footage of [[Bill Clinton]] jogging through a park, edited to look like Harm, who was jogging the other way, passed him.
** The second season opener starts with [[Bill Clinton]] presenting Harm with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Again stock footage was edited into the show.
** In one episode, Bud Roberts carried the so-called "football" for [[George W. Bush]], and archived footage of the President was used in the episode.
* Averted in two ways in ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]''. The show has a habit of using still images of famous people to illustrate whatever emotion they're talking about, and a solid majority of these seem to be recent US Presidents (as well as Presidential candidates and Vice Presidents). In addition, President Obama has been referred by name to at least twice so far by the characters in the show.
* [[Margaret Thatcher]] famously appeared as herself in a sketch she wrote for ''[[Yes Minister]]''.
* In ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' (season 4, George and Jimmy) President [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] was invited by George Jefferson to stay at his house.
Line 164 ⟶ 154:
* When the Prime Minister is the main character, you can't very well keep him invisible, and hence ''[[Yes Minister|Yes, Prime Minister]]'' averts this trope.
* Tony Blair appeared as himself in a Comic Relief sketch of ''[[The Catherine Tate Show]]''.
* In the ''[[
=== Video Games ===▼
▲== Video Games ==
* A fictional US President, whose name is never mentioned, is clearly visible in ''[[World in Conflict]]'' cutscenes.
* [[Memetic Mutation|If you are]] [[Bad Dudes|a bad enough dude]] [[Memetic Mutation|to save him]], [[Ronald Reagan|President "Ronnie"]] will treat you to a hamburger.
* ''[[Duke Nukem]]'' 3D's expansion pack Duke It Out in D.C. had what was for all intents and purposes [[Bill Clinton]], tied to a chair and kept in stasis at the end of the game. Clinton and Janet Reno both appear in framed photographs in the Atomic Edition's 4th episode, as well.
=== Western Animation ===▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] appeared as himself in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' in 2004, becoming the first serving leader to do so.
* Al Gore, then Vice President, appeared as himself in ''[[Futurama]]'' in 2000. He reappeared 3 years later as his future self, "Al Gore, First emperor of the moon and [[Memetic Mutation|Inventor of the Environment]]."
Line 180 ⟶ 168:
* A fictional president bearing a passing resemblance to George Bush appears in ''[[Justice League]]'', albeit in a parallel universe.
** Played straighter in ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', where in the aftermath of {{spoiler|the Watchtower being overridden and firing on Earth}}, J'onn receives a call from the President, who is not clearly shown.
* [[Bill Clinton]] ended up with quite a bit of animated screen time in ''[[
** [[Bill Clinton]] is in the opening credits of ''Animaniacs'', with the line "[[Bill Clinton]] plays the sax."
** Of course, an exception for ''Tiny Toons'' was the [[Very Special Episode]] about [[Media Watchdogs]], where the cast went to the capitol to pick on the Bush administration in person (the highlight was, of course, Quayle).
* ''[[Arthur (
* On ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'', Cleveland initially [[Too Dumb to Live|does not realize]] that the [[Barack Obama|Barry Obama]] he beat at basketball as a child grew up to be President.
* ''[[Batman:
===
* French films or live-action TV are an ''inversion'' of this trope. In France, every police station and town hall is required to display the official portrait of the current president. And during last half century, every president had a very long term (the mandate was originally seven years, and Mitterrand was able to run two full mandates). So, it is very common in French films or live-action TV to display the president's portrait, even if the show is about people way too unimportant to deal with the actual president.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Politics Tropes]]
[[Category:Invisibility Index]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Our Presidents Are Different]]
|