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Jan 9, 1998 · A political satire film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro as a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer who create a fake war to distract from a presidential sex scandal. The film was released in 1997 and nominated for two Oscars, and predicted the Kosovo war in Albania.
- (89K)
- Comedy, Drama
- Barry Levinson
- 1998-01-09
Wag the dog is, as a political term, the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue usually through military force. It stems from the generic use of the term to mean a small and seemingly unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog).
Two weeks prior to reelection, the United States president lands in the middle of a sex scandal. In need of outside help to quell the situation, presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche ...
- (78)
- Barry Levinson
- R
- Dustin Hoffman
Learn the history and usage of the idiom the tail wagging the dog, which means something less important or powerful controlling something more important or powerful. Find out how the 1997 film Wag the Dog added a new meaning of superfluous military action to distract from domestic scandal.
Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. After being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the president does not seem to have much of a chance of being re-elected.
Jan 2, 1998 · A comedy about a White House spin doctor who creates a fake war with Albania to distract from a sex scandal. Ebert praises the film's realistic and absurd elements, and the performances of Hoffman, De Niro and Harrelson.
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Jul 8, 2018 · Wag the dog is a political term that means to divert attention from a scandal or crisis by creating a distraction. Learn the history, usage and origin of this phrase from a 1997 film and a 1998 scandal involving Bill Clinton.