Wag the Dog (1997) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A political crisis is transformed into a manufactured war, revealing how media spectacle can overpower reality and consume its creators.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Scandal And The Spin

The President's misconduct scandal threatens the election. Winifred Ames brings in Conrad Brean, who proposes a fictional war and recruits Stanley Motss to produce it.

Key Events

• Oval Office Scandal — The President is accused of making advances on an underage girl before the election. Characters: President, Winifred Ames Location: Oval Office
• Brean Is Recruited — Winifred brings Brean in to divert attention from the scandal. Characters: Winifred Ames, Conrad Brean, President Location: White House
• A Fictional War — Brean proposes inventing a war in Albania to redirect the media. Characters: Conrad Brean, President Location: White House
• Motss Joins The Scheme — Brean hires Motss to produce the fictional war as convincing entertainment. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: Hollywood production office

Manufacturing Albania

Brean and Motss construct a convincing war through staged footage and emotional imagery. The hoax initially succeeds, and the President's poll numbers improve.

Key Events

• War Footage Fabricated — Motss creates staged war images, including footage of a fleeing orphan. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: Production studio
• Polls Begin To Rise — The war hoax succeeds and the President quickly gains ground in the polls. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: White House
• CIA Learns The Truth — The CIA discovers that the Albanian war is fabricated. Characters: Conrad Brean, Young Man / CIA Location: Washington, D.C.
• CIA Confrontation — Young Man / CIA confronts Brean about the deception. Characters: Conrad Brean, Young Man / CIA Location: Washington, D.C.

The Hoax Under Threat

The CIA discovers the deception and confronts Brean, but he persuades its representative to remain silent. When the war is reported over, the original scandal returns to the news.

Key Events

• Brean Wins Time — Brean persuades the CIA representative that exposure would harm the CIA's interests. Characters: Conrad Brean, Young Man / CIA Location: Washington, D.C.
• War Declared Over — The CIA and the President's rival report that the war has ended. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, Young Man / CIA, President Location: White House
• Scandal Returns — Media attention shifts back toward the President's sexual misconduct scandal. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: White House

The Old Shoe Hero

Motss invents a missing hero and uses Johnny Dean's song and staged shoes to create an apparent grassroots movement. The campaign forces the operation to retrieve the supposed hero.

Key Events

• A Hero Is Invented — Motss invents a hero supposedly left behind enemy lines in Albania. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: Production office
• Old Shoe Campaign — Johnny records a staged old song to support the invented hero story. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, Johnny Dean Location: Recording studio
• Shoes Become Symbols — Brean and Motss place shoes in a tree, inspiring a wider grassroots display. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: White House grounds
• Grassroots Hoax Spreads — The shoe display becomes an astroturfed movement demanding the hero's return. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: Washington, D.C.

Victory At Any Cost

The retrieval mission reveals an unexpected criminal reality, followed by a crash and a staged military funeral. After the President wins reelection, Motss's demand for credit leads Brean to silence him.

Key Events

• Rescue Mission Collapses — The team discovers that the supposed hero is an Army convict with severe mental illness. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: Albania
• Plane Crash And Rescue — The return plane crashes, and a farmer rescues the surviving team. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss Location: Road near Andrews Air Force Base
• Funeral Story Staged — Motss stages a funeral and claims the hero died from rescue wounds. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: Military funeral site
• Motss Demands Credit — Motss rejects an ambassadorship and threatens exposure unless credited publicly. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: Washington, D.C.
• The Producer Is Silenced — Brean orders Motss killed; the news reports a heart attack and reelection. Characters: Conrad Brean, Stanley Motss, President Location: Stanley Motss's home
• The Hoax Becomes Real — An Albanian terrorist organization claims responsibility for a bombing. Characters: Conrad Brean, President Location: Television news broadcast

Story Breakdown

• Election Scandal — The President's misconduct threatens reelection and prompts an emergency spin operation.
  • Oval Office Accusation — The President is accused of making advances on an underage girl shortly before the election.
  • Emergency Recruitment — Winifred Ames brings Conrad Brean in to redirect public attention.
• War Invention — Brean turns to a fictional international conflict as a distraction from the scandal.
  • Albanian Crisis — Brean proposes a fabricated war in Albania.
  • Hollywood Partnership — Brean recruits Stanley Motss to produce the illusion.
• Media Manufacture — The operation uses cinematic images and emotional symbols to make the invented war believable.
  • Fleeing Orphan Footage — Motss creates fake footage designed to arouse sympathy.
  • Poll Recovery — The President gains ground when the media accepts the war story.
• Institutional Resistance — The CIA discovers the hoax, while competing political forces undermine the fabricated narrative.
  • CIA Confrontation — Young Man / CIA confronts Brean about the deception.
  • War Declared Over — The CIA and the President's rival report that the conflict has ended.
• Old Shoe Campaign — A missing hero is invented and supported through music, staged artifacts, and an apparent grassroots movement.
  • Hero Narrative — Motss creates a story about a hero left behind in Albania.
  • Manufactured Movement — Johnny Dean's song and strategically placed shoes create public pressure for the hero's return.
• Rescue Disaster — The attempt to retrieve the supposed hero exposes the instability of the fabricated story.
  • Criminal Reality — The team discovers that the supposed hero is an Army convict with severe mental illness.
  • Plane Crash — The return flight crashes, and a farmer rescues the surviving team.
• Funeral Cover Story — The operation converts a disastrous death into a patriotic ending for the invented hero.
  • Military Funeral — Motss stages a funeral and attributes the death to rescue wounds.
  • Political Reward — The President's reelection campaign benefits from the staged sacrifice.
• Producer Silenced — Motss's demand for recognition threatens the entire operation, leading Brean to remove him.
  • Demand For Credit — Motss rejects an ambassadorship and threatens to expose his involvement.
  • Final News Report — Motss is reported dead, the President is reelected, and the fictional conflict appears to generate real consequences.

Directed by

Barry Levinson

Key Cast

• Dustin Hoffman — Stanley Motss
• Robert De Niro — Conrad Brean
• Anne Heche — Winifred Ames
• Woody Harrelson — Sergeant William Schumann
• Denis Leary — Fad King