Watergate and Pop Culture
The Watergate Hotel complex in Washington DC
June 17, 1972, Washington DC: A young security guard walks the halls of the Watergate Hotel, everything seemed normal, until he noticed a piece of duct tape on the lock of one of the doors. He removed the tape, and continued walking. Half an hour later, he discovered that there was yet another piece of tape on the same door. He immediately ran to the lobby to call the police, when they arrived, the police found five burglars in the offices of the Democratic Party stealing documents and wiretapping telephones. Further investigation discovered that these were no ordinary burglars, but members of President Nixon’s reelection committee. Nixon attempted to cover up his involvement in the break in, but facing certain impeachment, he resigned from office.
Watergate remains the most infamous political scandal in American history, and even fifty years later every scandal, no matter how obscure or insignificant is given the suffix “-gate”. The legacy of Watergate has not only impacted American politics, but American culture as a whole. From All The President’s Men to the podcast Slow Burn, Watergate remains ingrained in our national identity, as represented by popular culture of the last half-century. Keep in mind that this is an incomplete list, and there are far more Watergate references in American popular culture than can be listed.
Books: All the President’s Men:The quintessential Watergate book, this “greatest reporting story of all time” was written in 1974 by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two Washington Post reporters who were pivotal in uncovering President Nixon’s involvement in the break in. Following the publication of the book, journalism school applications rose to record high numbers. While a success in its own right, All the President’s Men is perhaps most famous for its 1976 movie adaptation The Final Days: A followup to All The President’s Men, this 1976 book by Woodward and Bernstien recounts the last moments of the Nixon administration. While nowhere near as popular as Woodward and Bernstien’s first book, The Final Days was the basis for a tv movie of the same name.
Movies: All The President’s Men (1976): One of the most famous movies about American politics, this film stars Robert Redford as Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstien. The phrase “follow the money”, which is not found in the book upon which the movie was based, originates from the famous parking garage scene, in which Woodward meets his anonymous source, known as Deep Throat, played by Hal Holbrook. This quote and this scene have been alluded to and parodied in countless films and television shows, including Tiny Toon Adventures, where Buster and Babs Bunny meet in a parking garage with Plucky Duck, who refers to himself as “Deep Quack”. The film made $30 million dollars in its initial release, and won four Oscars: best supporting actor for Jason Robards as Washington Post reporter Ben Bradlee, best adapted screenplay, best sound, and best director. The American Film Institute ranked All The President’s Men thirty-fifth of their 100 most inspiring movies, seventy-seventh on the anniversary edition of their 100 greatest films of all time list, and Woodward and Bernstien as the twenty-seventh out of their top fifty movie heroes. Forrest Gump (1994): In a scene in the enduringly popular film, Tom Hanks’ titular character is kept awake by lights that he sees from his hotel window at the Watergate. He calls security to report the disruption, unintentionally uncovering the burglars. Nixon (1995): This Oliver Stone film starring Anthony Hopkins as the titular president was his second of the director’s three movies about American Presidents, the others being JFK in 1991 and W in 2008. A biopic of Nixon’s life from his childhood to his presidency, the film painted the disgraced 37th president in a more human light. Frost/Nixon (2008): Based on a play that was itself based on an interview from 1977, in which the former President was interrogated by British journalist David Frost about his involvement in Watergate.
Television: Quantum Leap: The third episode of this time travel show’s first season ends as Scott Backula’s character Dr. Sam Beckett inadvertently discovers the tape on the door to the DNC’s Watergate offices while he is there to reunite his future fiancée with her estranged father.
Other: Slow Burn (podcast): Season one of the now six-season Slate podcast focused on the Watergate scandal. Episodes centered around frequently overlooked figures, such as Martha Mitchell, and Wright Pattman. What started as a documentary mini series about Watergate went on to spawn six seasons that each revolved around a different subject, which range from scandals in politics to those in pop culture. There has even been a television adaptation of Slow Burn’s first season that premiered on Epix in 2020. Watergate(board game): A two-player game where players are either the Nixon administration or an editor for the Washington Post. The players use task cards to maneuver evidence tokens to their side of the board so that they can tie Nixon to the scandal, or prevent Nixon from getting tied to the scandal.