...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Bob Roberts

179 statements
34 feature instances
16 referencing feature instances

Bob Roberts	type	TVTItem
Bob Roberts	label	Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts	page	BobRoberts
Bob Roberts	comment	Bob Roberts is a satirical Mockumentary about a fictional American political figure, and the first movie directed by Tim Robbins, who also wrote the screenplay and played the title character. It was released in 1992.Bob Roberts is a rising star of the Republican Party. On the occasion of the campaign for the forthcoming Senate elections (which take place in the context of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and US response from 1990), a British film crew follow him as he raises support in his home state of Pennsylvania. Roberts is young and charismatic, with a populist touch which he cultivates by playing folk songs at political rallies taking off Bob Dylan songs with the exact opposite messages (even with music videos like Dylan's). His message is one of social and moral conservatism, based on family values, faith in God, an overt rejection of the heritage of the 1960s (he was raised on a commune by hippie parents), and very pro-business policies. Running against an incumbent liberal Democrat (played by Gore Vidal), he projects an image of plainspoken honesty and dynamism.As the movie goes on, however, people start whispering about Bob's funding coming from sources that are significantly less wholesome than the image he's cultivating. About halfway through, he survives an Assassination Attempt. The results of the election, both political and personal, come out less rosy than expected going in.
Bob Roberts	fetched	2023-09-03T18:44:37Z
Bob Roberts	parsed	2023-09-03T18:44:37Z
Bob Roberts	processingComment	Dropped link to Mockumentary: Not a Feature - ITEM
Bob Roberts	isPartOf	DBTropes
Bob Roberts / int_1b65dfad	type	The Cameo
Bob Roberts / int_1b65dfad	comment	The Cameo: Many well-known actors play TV news anchors and reporters. An odd, unintentional one by a prop. The Cutting Edge Live scene was actually filmed in Pittsburgh at WQED, the PBS station where Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was taped, and at one point a character walks past King Friday XIII's castle backstage. Series regular Don Brockett also has a blink-and-you-miss-it role as a senator in the Iran–Contra hearings scene.
Bob Roberts / int_1b65dfad	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_1b65dfad	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_1b65dfad
Bob Roberts / int_25b5600	type	Captain Ersatz
Bob Roberts / int_25b5600	comment	Captain Ersatz: Coincidence or not, certain aspects of Bob Roberts' character are strikingly similar to Rick Santorum, a real-life Pennsylvania politician who served in both houses of Congress (he was in the House of Representatives at the time it was new, then was elected to the Senate two years later). Bob appears on a popular, New York-based Saturday night comedy-variety TV show called Cutting Edge Live.
Bob Roberts / int_25b5600	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_25b5600	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_25b5600
Bob Roberts / int_267ce120	type	Dirty Old Man
Bob Roberts / int_267ce120	comment	Dirty Old Man: The Roberts campaign accuses the elderly Paiste of having an affair with a teenage girl. It's revealed she's a friend of his granddaughter — they used a cropped photo, and this made it look like he was with her alone.
Bob Roberts / int_267ce120	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_267ce120	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_267ce120
Bob Roberts / int_2e8441c9	type	The Bad Guy Wins
Bob Roberts / int_2e8441c9	comment	The Bad Guy Wins: Villain Protagonist Bob Roberts is elected to the Senate and, apparently, the presidency not long after.
Bob Roberts / int_2e8441c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_2e8441c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_2e8441c9
Bob Roberts / int_372bc105	type	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
Bob Roberts / int_372bc105	comment	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Far down the cynical end of the scale.
Bob Roberts / int_372bc105	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_372bc105	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_372bc105
Bob Roberts / int_3aec9e5e	type	Properly Paranoid
Bob Roberts / int_3aec9e5e	comment	Properly Paranoid: Raplin is convinced the attempt on Bob Roberts' life was just part of his scheme. Unfortunately, he has no hard evidence and he's killed for real before he can find it.
Bob Roberts / int_3aec9e5e	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_3aec9e5e	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_3aec9e5e
Bob Roberts / int_40bb59d0	type	Blatant Lies
Bob Roberts / int_40bb59d0	comment	Blatant Lies: The physician describes injuries suffered by Roberts in the assassination attempt. Roberts never had those injuries.
Bob Roberts / int_40bb59d0	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_40bb59d0	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_40bb59d0
Bob Roberts / int_4192763e	type	Malaproper
Bob Roberts / int_4192763e	comment	Malaproper: Roger (the Loony Fan played by Jack Black) says that Bob's song "I Want to Live", released while he's in the hospital after supposedly getting shot, was "prophestic".
Bob Roberts / int_4192763e	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_4192763e	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_4192763e
Bob Roberts / int_45cd286c	type	Corrupt Politician
Bob Roberts / int_45cd286c	comment	Corrupt Politician: Bob at the end of the film. A corrupt extremist willing to use lies, frame an innocent critic and fake a disability has been elected as senator. This does not bode well...
Bob Roberts / int_45cd286c	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_45cd286c	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_45cd286c
Bob Roberts / int_462ea851	type	Straw Fan
Bob Roberts / int_462ea851	comment	Straw Fan: Any Roberts supporters that are given even a bit role are all portrayed as gullible, homophobic, and violent (to the point that a group of them led by a kid played by Jack Black attack protesters at one of his concerts).
Bob Roberts / int_462ea851	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_462ea851	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_462ea851
Bob Roberts / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
Bob Roberts / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: Bugs Raplin gets assassinated offscreen, and despite his corruption, Roberts wins the Senate race.
Bob Roberts / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_4e3d253b
Bob Roberts / int_4e7f703c	type	Wham Shot
Bob Roberts / int_4e7f703c	comment	Wham Shot: At the concert he gives toward the end of the film, a close-up shows supposedly paralyzed, wheelchair-bound Bob tapping his foot, confirming that his assassination attempt was faked.
Bob Roberts / int_4e7f703c	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_4e7f703c	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_4e7f703c
Bob Roberts / int_4eaa9b84	type	Author Tract
Bob Roberts / int_4eaa9b84	comment	Author Tract: In-Universe, Roberts' songs all stridently promote right-wing political positions. The film itself is an example from the left-wing side of things, arguing that conservatives hypocritically preach patriotism and values while seeking money and power, and that establishment liberals are too weak and ineffectual to counter them.
Bob Roberts / int_4eaa9b84	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_4eaa9b84	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_4eaa9b84
Bob Roberts / int_4ec4c5ab	type	Harsher in Hindsight
Bob Roberts / int_4ec4c5ab	comment	Harsher in Hindsight: Invoked and exploited In-Universe: about one of Roberts' sadder songs, a sad fan comments that it's almost as if he knew beforehand that he would be attacked and paralyzed. He and his aides faked the whole assassination attempt.
Bob Roberts / int_4ec4c5ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_4ec4c5ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_4ec4c5ab
Bob Roberts / int_5f52cfcf	type	Intrepid Reporter
Bob Roberts / int_5f52cfcf	comment	Intrepid Reporter: John Alijah "Bugs" Raplin, who attempts to dig out the truth about Bob Roberts.
Bob Roberts / int_5f52cfcf	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_5f52cfcf	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_5f52cfcf
Bob Roberts / int_722171e7	type	Straw Character
Bob Roberts / int_722171e7	comment	Straw Character: Ya think? Bob is a no-holds-barred Take That! to right-wing, evangelical, capitalist conservatives, simultaneously a wide-eyed fanatic and a scheming cynic. His opponent, Senator Paiste, gets off lighter but is still an unflattering portrait of the establishment Democrat: a wishy-washy, uncharismatic career politician who breathes moral platitudes with no real conviction behind them, who acknowledges that something is wrong without lifting a finger to change things. His actor, Gore Vidal, was a far-left radical who harshly criticized the Democratic Party.
Bob Roberts / int_722171e7	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_722171e7	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_722171e7
Bob Roberts / int_7db984b1	type	Rule-Abiding Rebel
Bob Roberts / int_7db984b1	comment	Rule-Abiding Rebel: While Bob may call himself a "rebel" for using folk songs in the style of Bob Dylan to support conservatism, by 1990, Republican ideology had dominated national-level American politics for almost a decade, and Democrats like Bill Clinton were starting to adopt more conservative stances in the hopes of electability. Even setting aside what a reactionary Roberts is, he's only championing a more hardline version of what was then the status quo; his sole "rebellion" is a cultural one against '60s folk music itself for its typically left-wing values.
Bob Roberts / int_7db984b1	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_7db984b1	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_7db984b1
Bob Roberts / int_83a903f6	type	Stepford Smiler
Bob Roberts / int_83a903f6	comment	Stepford Smiler: Bob's wife Polly is the standard serene, docile political wife. She seems to exist only as a campaign prop; we never actually see her interact with Bob outside of staged events, and a few scenes imply that Roberts is having an affair with one of his backing singers.
Bob Roberts / int_83a903f6	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_83a903f6	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_83a903f6
Bob Roberts / int_85557b38	type	Reality Is Unrealistic
Bob Roberts / int_85557b38	comment	Reality Is Unrealistic: A guy who sings explicitly right-wing Folk Music scoring Top 10 hits in the latter part of The '80s (alongside Rap and Hair Metal and teen pop) is a definite stretch, but Folk artists like Suzanne Vega ("Luka") and Tracy Chapman ("Fast Car") had big hits in that era. Given that Bob Roberts made eye-catching videos at a time when MTV set the pop music agenda, you can see where he might've lucked out and gotten big based on the sheer novelty value of his act.
Bob Roberts / int_85557b38	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_85557b38	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_85557b38
Bob Roberts / int_898ff050	type	Villain Protagonist
Bob Roberts / int_898ff050	comment	Villain Protagonist: Even the most charitable interpretation of Bob Roberts still paints him as a willing front man for corrupt interests. But his hypocrisy, cynical pandering and narcissism all come through loud and clear, and the accusations that he was involved in outright criminality are never fully dismissed.
Bob Roberts / int_898ff050	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_898ff050	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_898ff050
Bob Roberts / int_8cd3d091	type	Repetitive Name
Bob Roberts / int_8cd3d091	comment	Repetitive Name: Robert Roberts. Junior.
Bob Roberts / int_8cd3d091	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_8cd3d091	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_8cd3d091
Bob Roberts / int_9b54d536	type	Evil Counterpart
Bob Roberts / int_9b54d536	comment	Evil Counterpart: Bob Roberts is basically a corrupt Bizarro-Bob Dylan. His music videos even have Shout Outs to Dylan's work, and one of his most prominent songs is called "Times Are Changin' Back" (citing "The Times They Are a-Changin'"). There are some other little allusions to Dylan's life, like Bob falling off a motorcycle and a controversy over allowing him to perform a song when he's scheduled to appear on a TV variety show (like Dylan had with Ed Sullivan).
Bob Roberts / int_9b54d536	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_9b54d536	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_9b54d536
Bob Roberts / int_aa07ca54	type	Obfuscating Disability
Bob Roberts / int_aa07ca54	comment	Obfuscating Disability: Bob claims the assassination attempt has left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he is seen tapping his feet at a celebration party, and later he is shown in silhouette walking upright.
Bob Roberts / int_aa07ca54	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_aa07ca54	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_aa07ca54
Bob Roberts / int_b53077b3	type	Take That!
Bob Roberts / int_b53077b3	comment	Ya think? Bob is a no-holds-barred Take That! to right-wing, evangelical, capitalist conservatives, simultaneously a wide-eyed fanatic and a scheming cynic.
Bob Roberts / int_b53077b3	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_b53077b3	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_b53077b3
Bob Roberts / int_b707726f	type	Hypocritical Humor
Bob Roberts / int_b707726f	comment	Hypocritical Humor: Define irony: a guy singing a song complaining about people who complain. The irony is lost on everyone In-Universe.
Bob Roberts / int_b707726f	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_b707726f	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_b707726f
Bob Roberts / int_c49935fa	type	20 Minutes into the Past
Bob Roberts / int_c49935fa	comment	20 Minutes into the Past: A 1992 film set in 1990, with the lead-up to the first Gulf War as an important backdrop to the story.
Bob Roberts / int_c49935fa	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_c49935fa	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_c49935fa
Bob Roberts / int_d73e0f7f	type	"Ray of Hope" Ending
Bob Roberts / int_d73e0f7f	comment	"Ray of Hope" Ending: This is supposed to be a documentary In-Universe. The camera spots Bob tapping his feet while singing behind a podium in the Senate chambers. That would have a chance of blowing the whole plot open.
Bob Roberts / int_d73e0f7f	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_d73e0f7f	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_d73e0f7f
Bob Roberts / int_d9ee7048	type	Spin-Off
Bob Roberts / int_d9ee7048	comment	Spin-Off: From Saturday Night Live, believe it or not. Robbins first played Bob Roberts in an SNL sketch from 1986.
Bob Roberts / int_d9ee7048	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_d9ee7048	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_d9ee7048
Bob Roberts / int_de7b7cbf	type	Drugs Are Bad
Bob Roberts / int_de7b7cbf	comment	Drugs Are Bad: One of Bob's songs is called "Drugs Stink," which goes so far as to threaten violence against not only drug dealers, but drug users too. His extreme anti-drug stance only makes his opponents more eager to uncover his connections to a South American drug cartel.
Bob Roberts / int_de7b7cbf	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_de7b7cbf	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_de7b7cbf
Bob Roberts / int_e3585b3d	type	No Party Given
Bob Roberts / int_e3585b3d	comment	No Party Given: Roberts isn't explicitly Republican, though he is called a right-wing conservative. His opponent, Paiste, is explicitly a Democrat—he's noted as "Sen. Brickley Paiste, D-PA" on a news appearance.
Bob Roberts / int_e3585b3d	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_e3585b3d	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_e3585b3d
Bob Roberts / int_e3bdea5c	type	Artistic License â€“ Politics
Bob Roberts / int_e3bdea5c	comment	Artistic License – Politics: Roberts is shown to be challenging incumbent Paiste in Pennsylvania's Senate election in 1990. There were no elections for the Senate in Pennsylvania during 1990; there were regular elections held there at the same time as presidential and House elections in 1988 and 1992. There would only be an election in 1990 if a senator who was last elected in 1986 or 1988 died or resigned prior to the 1990 election cycle and a special election was held to fill the remainder of the previous senator's term, which would have expired in 1993 or 1995 depending on when the last regular election was.note In fact, at the time the movie was released, Pennsylvania had recently had a special Senate election, albeit in 1991, where incumbent senator Harris Wofford was appointed and subsequently elected to finish the term to which his predecessor John Heinz had been elected before dying in an accident earlier that same year.
Bob Roberts / int_e3bdea5c	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_e3bdea5c	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_e3bdea5c
Bob Roberts / int_f54a4264	type	Disability Alibi
Bob Roberts / int_f54a4264	comment	Disability Alibi: At the end of movie, John Alijah "Bugs" Raplin is arrested for an attempt on Roberts' life, when he's shot and left unable to walk as Bugs confronts him. Bugs is released when it's revealed that due to constrictive palsy in his right hand he physically couldn't have pulled the trigger, but he's murdered by a right-wing vigilante group off camera and it's made clear that Roberts engineered the whole affair and used the sympathy to sweep himself into office.
Bob Roberts / int_f54a4264	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_f54a4264	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_f54a4264
Bob Roberts / int_ff7b34f9	type	Strawman News Media
Bob Roberts / int_ff7b34f9	comment	Strawman News Media: Aside from Bugs, all the news media are easily manipulated or biased for Roberts, uncritically passing on his faked claims about his opponent and himself.
Bob Roberts / int_ff7b34f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_ff7b34f9	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_ff7b34f9
Bob Roberts / int_name	type	ItemName
Bob Roberts / int_name	comment
Bob Roberts / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob Roberts / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Bob Roberts / int_name
Bob Roberts / int_name	itemName	Bob Roberts

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Complaining About Complaining / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Election Day Episode / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Films of 1990â€“1994 / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Loony Fan / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	No Adaptations Allowed / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	No Party Given / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	President Evil / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Repetitive Name / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Rule-Abiding Rebel / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Sleazy Politician / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Smug Straight Edge / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Strawman News Media / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	The Complainer Is Always Wrong / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	The Moral Substitute / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	20 Minutes into the Past / int_110a72b6
Bob Roberts	hasFeature	Wearing a Flag on Your Head / int_110a72b6

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.