Invisible President: Difference between revisions
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{{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 (film)|Contact]]'', a film starring [[Jodie Foster]], came under some fire for re contextualizing actual footage of [[Bill Clinton]] for their own purposes).
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 ''[[Death Note]]'' has one of the organizations talking to the President of the U.S, but is referred to as "Mr. President".
** 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|"Yes. We. Can!"}}
=== Film ===▼
▲== Film ==
▲* ''[[War Games]]'' features a photograph of the incumbent President on set.
** 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]. [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] parodied this with the line: "Sir, we're over here."
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* The 1967 film comedy ''[[The President's Analyst|The Presidents Analyst]]'' shows the title character entering and leaving the Oval Office, but never shows the president or mentions his name. Even the country's intelligence agencies are aliased to the FBR and the CEA (possibly under pressure to do so), but it's clearly [[Lyndon B. Johnson|LBJ]]; one character describes himself as liberal in the same tradition as the president ("you know...we're for civil rights!") In an exterior location shot, we see his beagles being walked on [[The White House]] lawn.
* Another obvious Invisible LBJ "appears" in the 1966 film ''[[Batman: The Movie]]''. A close-up from the "President's" perspective (thus faceless) shows him reclining in his seat, stroking his dog, and congratulating the Dynamic Duo on the phone, in a cartoonishly stereotypical Texan accent (he even says "Howdy!") provided by Fort Worth-born Van Williams of the ''[[Green Hornet]]''.
* ''[[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 ''[[
▲== Literature ==
▲* The opening chapter of ''[[Harry Potter/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 ''[[The Adventures of Fox Tayle]]'' takes place (late 2005 to early 2006, [[Series Hiatus|so far]]) is [[George W. Bush]]. Fox Tayle was created in a canceled government project and he escaped, and now the FBI is after him. His long-term goal is to talk to the president to try to get some personal rights and to stop being chased (so far, Bush has only been mentioned twice in the story).
* 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 ''[[Animorphs]]'', the main characters break up a summit of several world leaders, and go to great lengths to not refer to the president, or any of the other heads of state, by name. They even decline to mention what ''country'' one of the leaders represents, as he had had a little too much to drink and [[Too Dumb to Live|refuses to get out of the way of a rampaging elephant]]. Averted in the last book, which explicitly refers to President Clinton.
=== 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 by the Pentagon]].
* [[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?|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).
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* 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 ===▼
▲== Newspaper Comics ==
* ''[[Doonesbury]]'' carries this to its logical extreme by literally showing the president as invisible. This began with [[George H. W. 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 (animation)|Earthworm Jim]]'' cartoon used a generic president. The practice was [[Lampshaded]] by whomever was meeting/kidnapping him and always introducing himself with "I'm one of those generic presidents they use to keep cartoons from becoming dated."
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* In the [[Batman: The Animated Series]]/[[Superman: The Animated Series]] crossover "World's Finest" Superman stops a hijacking of [[Air Force One]]. After the rescue, they cut to Superman saying "thank you Mr President" and a car window rolling up as the President's limo drives off.
== 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 ''[[Read or Die]]'' [[OVA]] has an unnamed fictional US president in two episodes. He spends most of his time on screen cringing, and caps off both appearances by wetting himself (though on both occasions with good reason; first the White House is getting blown up by a flying man shooting electricity, the second because US fleet just had no effect on a weapon about to destroy the world).
=== Comic Books ===▼
▲== 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]] ===
* ''[[It's My Life
===
▲* [[It's My Life|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|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 (film)|Alien Nation]]'', the producers using the "If not us, who? If not now, when?" quote from his second inaugural address to reference the legislation that recognized the aliens as refugees (and future citizens).
* ''[[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.
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** 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.
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* 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]]''.
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* In the ''[[Community]]'' episode "Intro to Political Science", the Vice President visiting the college is explicitly identified as Joe Biden, but we only see the back of his head and hear his voice.
=== 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]]."
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* 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 ''[[Animaniacs]]'', [[Freakazoid!]] and ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' as the current President. (Prior series ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' used [[Abraham Lincoln]] as a generic President). Al Gore doesn't get quite as much, but he does show up a few times. Of course, this isn't quite the ''actual'' image, merely an animated version several times.
** [[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).
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* ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'': Plastic Man doesn't recognize President Obama at the end of "Cry Freedom Fighters!"
=== Real Life ===
* 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]]
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