Bulworth: The Schism between the Reality and Appearance

The movie opens with the scene of the Senator’s office. Senator Jay Belington Bulworth, dressed in a rumpled suit, with his tousled hair and three-day bristle experiences an emotional breakdown while all the TV sets in his office are rolling his election campaign commercials. With all the festive hoopla on TV, the audience would expect him to be watching carefully, perhaps taking notes, and looking for ways to improve the

Jay Bulworth’s reality and appearance are always at stake in the movie. During the course of the film the Senator believes that he is followed by an assassin. However, in reality it’s just a very zealous journalist who goes through Bulworth’s every evasive trick just to take an extraordinary picture. It’s hilarious to watch the Senator ducking at every loud noise be that backfire on Harley or Ferrari, or a suitcase falling on the floor in the airport which he takes for gunshots. The producers effectively transform Bulworth’s tension into a comic relief. Another striking characteristic of the Senator that fails to conform to his appearance is his attire. He has a suit on in the ghetto, while wears “a faux-rapper outfits complete with wool cap and baggy shorts.” (Turan) on a nationally transmitted televised debates. Perhaps, dressed up like a homeboy, the producers wanted to stress that Jay Bulworth feels at ease, where as in his extravagant suit he is not comfortable, always loosening his tie and unbuttoning the shirt.

Bulworth builds on misconceptions about its characters and forces the audience into wrong conclusions about them. Throughout the film, a sturdily built man in a black leather jacket, wearing large shades, with dark oily hair, and a scary grin is on Senator’s heels everywhere he goes. Jay Bulworth perceives this suspicious figure as his eventual killer and panics at the very sight of him. Scriptwriters effectively mislead both the audience and the Senator into thinking that a picture-taker is a life-taker.

Towards the end of the movie, things fall into place for both viewer and for the characters in Bulworth’s comic scenario. The audience and the characters finally recognize the true identity of each persona. During the course of the movie Jay Bulworth has changed from a boring politician to a fervent fighter for individual rights. It’s interesting that after such a roller coaster ride he is still on top in the senatorial elections. Moreover, many would believe that a person like Bulworth should be disqualified from the election for his notorious actions, yet in reality h

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