Invisible President: Difference between revisions

[[File:Oval Office020.jpg|frame|Nobody behind the Resolute Desk? He's there. You just can't see him.]]

 

See also [[No Party Given]]. For celebs that are neither politicians nor actors, see [[Invisible Celebrity Guest]].

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* ''[[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).

 

 

* ''[[WarGames]]'' 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.

 

 

* 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).

 

 

* 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.

 

 

* ''[[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]]".

 

 

* ''[[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.

 

 

* Partially subverted in ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'': 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.

 

 

 

* 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).

 

 

* 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.

 

 

* [[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]].

 

 

* 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).

 

 

* 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 democracy—unfortunately, in a context from which actual [[History Marches On|history has marched on]].

 

 

* 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.

 

 

* 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.

 

 

* 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]]."

 

 

* 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.