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Election

459 statements
90 feature instances
41 referencing feature instances

Election	type	TVTItem
Election	label	Election
Election	page	Election
Election	comment	Election is a 1999 American satirical teen dramedy film adapted from Tom Perrotta's 1998 novel of the same name, directed and co-written by Alexander Payne and starring Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, and Jessica Campbell.In suburban Omaha, overachieving high school senior Tracy Flick (Witherspoon) is running unopposed for Student Council President. This draws the ire of history and civics teacher Jim McAllister (Broderick), who hates Tracy's attitude and feels that the students should have a choice — any choice — in the election. There's also the fact that McAllister is holding a massive grudge against Tracy for engaging in a sexual relationship with his best friend and fellow teacher Dave Novotny, which wound up getting him fired and destroying his marriage — while Tracy (with her mother's help) got the school to cover up the entire incident to protect her reputation.To foil Tracy's dreams of using an election victory as a springboard for her future, McAllister recruits injured star football player Paul Metzler (Klein) to run against Tracy. This inspires Paul's lesbian sister Tammy (Campbell) to run as well, in order to get revenge upon Paul for dating Tammy's ex-girlfriend (who dumped Tammy after deciding that she wasn't a lesbian after all). Meanwhile, McAllister, feeling a lack of passion in his love life (and fearing his own sexual interest in Tracy), sleeps with Novotny's ex-wife. All of which culminates in the mother of all bad days, as these various trains inevitably crash into each other.While it earned critical raves, the film had a mediocre reception at the box office, due to the studio screwing up its marketing and portraying it as a straight-up teen comedy as opposed to a drama with Black Comedy overtones — presumably an effort to cash in on the success of American Pie (the fact that Chris Klein is in both films adds a bit of credence to that theory), which came out earlier that year. However, it has come to be embraced as a Cult Classic in the years since its release.In 2022, Perotta wrote a sequel, Tracy Flick Can't Win, featuring the titular character as an assistant principal in a New Jersey high school... and not at all happy about where life has taken her. A film sequel based on the new book is being developed for Paramount+, with Witherspoon and Payne set to return in their roles.Not to be confused with the 2005 film Election.
Election	fetched	2024-04-13T16:45:54Z
Election	parsed	2024-04-13T16:45:54Z
Election	processingComment	Dropped link to Foil: Not a Feature - IGNORE
Election	isPartOf	DBTropes
Election / int_11a74598	type	Became Their Own Antithesis
Election / int_11a74598	comment	Became Their Own Antithesis: At least by his own recollection, Jim was an idealistic teacher who truly cared about touching students' lives, and at the start of the film he urges his students and Dave to be moral as well as ethical people. The movie shows him becoming none of those things.
Election / int_11a74598	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_11a74598	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_11a74598
Election / int_11e0d645	type	Arc Symbol
Election / int_11e0d645	comment	Arc Symbol: Pepsi and Coke logos are seen all over the place. Garbage cans are also visible and factor into the story in a variety of ways.
Election / int_11e0d645	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_11e0d645	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_11e0d645
Election / int_17e953b4	type	Go-Getter Girl
Election / int_17e953b4	comment	Go-Getter Girl: Hoo boy, is Tracy ever. The trope's page image is a scene from the film of her presiding over a table filled with about a hundred cupcakes, each one individually hand-decorated with the message "Pick Flick" in icing.
Election / int_17e953b4	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_17e953b4	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_17e953b4
Election / int_1869b4b1	type	Unreliable Narrator
Election / int_1869b4b1	comment	Unreliable Narrator: Most of the voiceovers, particularly those of Jim, Tracy and Paul, are heavily skewed toward the characters' own perceptions and worldview, sometimes to the point of Suspiciously Specific Denial as above.
Election / int_1869b4b1	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_1869b4b1	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_1869b4b1
Election / int_191a3673	type	Graceful Loser
Election / int_191a3673	comment	Graceful Loser: Paul takes his defeat in stride, caring even less than Tammy and still being the most popular kid in school.
Election / int_191a3673	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_191a3673	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_191a3673
Election / int_1ba8eb64	type	Visual Pun
Election / int_1ba8eb64	comment	Visual Pun: After discussing the "fruits" of democracy with Mr. M, there is a bowl of the discussed fruits on Paul's kitchen counter. Also Tracy's viewpoints on Coca-Cola staying #1 because of advertising. While drinking a Pepsi, Mr. McCallister is inspired to pick Paul to run against her. Doubles as a Brick Joke when at the end of the film, McAllister throws a Pepsi cup at the limo Tracy is riding in.
Election / int_1ba8eb64	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_1ba8eb64	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_1ba8eb64
Election / int_1e7487cd	type	Breaking the Fourth Wall
Election / int_1e7487cd	comment	Breaking the Fourth Wall: Paul's last line, spoken directly into the camera: "Or maybe I'd be dead."
Election / int_1e7487cd	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_1e7487cd	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_1e7487cd
Election / int_203141e3	type	Cute and Psycho
Election / int_203141e3	comment	Cute and Psycho: Tracy is portrayed as this, particularly by Mr. McAllister.
Election / int_203141e3	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_203141e3	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_203141e3
Election / int_2171fd57	type	I'm a Man; I Can't Help It
Election / int_2171fd57	comment	I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Mr McAllister sees his friend Dave as absolutely blameless in cheating on his wife: he blames Tracy for seducing him. Dave himself sees it as his being hopelessly in love with her.
Election / int_2171fd57	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_2171fd57	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_2171fd57
Election / int_220c23cb	type	Condescending Compassion
Election / int_220c23cb	comment	Condescending Compassion: Early on Tracy is heard in a voiceover saying, essentially, that she feels sorry for Mr. McAllister for being a loser jealous of people like her.
Election / int_220c23cb	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_220c23cb	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_220c23cb
Election / int_2241cc1e	type	Passing Notes in Class
Election / int_2241cc1e	comment	Passing Notes in Class: Tammy is shown passing Lisa a dramatic, effusive love note in class when they are still together.
Election / int_2241cc1e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_2241cc1e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_2241cc1e
Election / int_23330a99	type	Immediate Self-Contradiction
Election / int_23330a99	comment	Immediate Self-Contradiction: The film has a lot of voiceovers, many of which are accompanied by cuts showing that the narrator isn't being totally honest.
Election / int_23330a99	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_23330a99	featureConfidence	1.0
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Election / int_294ed981	type	Bilingual Bonus
Election / int_294ed981	comment	Bilingual Bonus: Right before Paul is called to the principal's office to learn that he actually lost the election, his Spanish class is conjugating the verb for "to lose".
Election / int_294ed981	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_294ed981	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_294ed981
Election / int_2e735eb	type	Nominated as a Prank
Election / int_2e735eb	comment	Nominated as a Prank: McAllister goads Dumb Jock Paul Metzler into running for Student Body President just to fuck with Tracy Flick, who is running unopposed, as Jim hates Tracy and blames her for a teacher-student affair that ruined his best friend's career. Shortly after, Paul's sister Tammy decides to run for Student Body President - on a platform of abolishing the position - just to fuck with Paul, who she blames for supposedly turning her ex-girlfriend straight.
Election / int_2e735eb	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_2e735eb	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_2e735eb
Election / int_2f50c5bf	type	Theme Music Power-Up
Election / int_2f50c5bf	comment	Theme Music Power-Up: When Tracy gets really pissed, you'll know it.
Election / int_2f50c5bf	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_2f50c5bf	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_2f50c5bf
Election / int_2f6a98f5	type	Student Council President
Election / int_2f6a98f5	comment	Student Council President: The film revolves around an election for this.
Election / int_2f6a98f5	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_2f6a98f5	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_2f6a98f5
Election / int_351e0e53	type	Dean Bitterman
Election / int_351e0e53	comment	Dean Bitterman: The principal completely overreacts to Tammy's candidacy speech: he wants to punish her for running what is a legitimate protest campaign against Student Council.
Election / int_351e0e53	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_351e0e53	featureConfidence	1.0
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Election / int_375bb8f2	type	Good Is Dumb
Election / int_375bb8f2	comment	Good Is Dumb: Paul, the most sympathetic and decent character in the film, is an absolute moron.
Election / int_375bb8f2	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_375bb8f2	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_375bb8f2
Election / int_392372f9	type	Actor Allusion
Election / int_392372f9	comment	Actor Allusion: Five minutes into the film we see McAllister throwing questions to the class and asking "Anybody?", an allusion to Matthew Broderick's best-known role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Election / int_392372f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_392372f9	featureConfidence	1.0
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Election / int_3eae625	type	Absurdly Powerful Student Council
Election / int_3eae625	comment	Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Deconstructed. The student council is ultimately revealed at the end of the film as being highly dysfunctional, to the point that Tracy can't get anything accomplished during her tenure as President. Furthermore, the film pretty much establishes that the whole thing is one glorified popularity contest. This is why Mr. McAllister selects Paul to run against Tracy since, as one of the most popular kids at school, more kids in theory will vote for him over Tracy. Furthermore, Tammy's entire campaign platform is based upon the idea of dissolving the student council, as she openly acknowledges that it's a huge fraud and a waste of time for everyone at school.
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Election / int_3eae625	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_3eae625
Election / int_3ed23024	type	Surprisingly Realistic Outcome
Election / int_3ed23024	comment	Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After Tracy gets accepted to Georgetown, she expects that she'll easily make friends there under the assumption that all of the students will be just as ambitious and likeminded as her. Instead, she finds that most of them are just privileged rich kids who got there because of their family connections and she's just as alone there as she was at Carver. She also imagines getting elected head of the student council will give her considerable influence and authority only to find out the council is completely dysfunctional making it impossible for her to achieve anything, and no one else, not even the people on it, take it seriously.
Election / int_3ed23024	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_3ed23024	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_3ed23024
Election / int_40c57041	type	Manipulative Bastard
Election / int_40c57041	comment	Manipulative Bastard: McAllister manipulates Paul throughout the film, but he's doing it to work Tracy over as well.
Election / int_40c57041	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_40c57041	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_40c57041
Election / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
Election / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: McAllister rebuilds his life and finds a new love, but must deal with the fact that Tracy has not only gone on to great things as a congressman's aide, but is still up to her old tricks of seducing older men. Though depending on how you interpret the characters it may actually range from Happy to Downer. Tracy wins the election and becomes student council president, only to find that the job is practically meaningless and it doesn't make her any more popular with the students. When she goes on to college she's still a solitary student, ignored by her peers, and she realizes that she'll always be alone even though there is the implication that her overachieving ways may eventually take Tracy to high places.
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Election / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_40cc0c7e
Election / int_414ac0d	type	College Is "High School, Part 2"
Election / int_414ac0d	comment	College Is "High School, Part 2": The college Tracy enters is this, much to her anger. She never finds anybody she could consider an academic peer because everybody else is too busy pretending they're in Animal House.
Election / int_414ac0d	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_414ac0d	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_414ac0d
Election / int_4587276e	type	All Elections Are Serious Business
Election / int_4587276e	comment	All Elections Are Serious Business: A student council election at a high school dragging up sordid love affairs and past dirt, all for the sake of vengeance. Notably, only Tracy and McAllister treat it as such (because they are the aforementioned vengeance-seekers) while the other two candidates really don't care (one is in the race because he was asked to, the other is actually protesting the whole thing).
Election / int_4587276e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_4587276e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_4587276e
Election / int_4856ac40	type	Stock Footage
Election / int_4856ac40	comment	Stock Footage: Used in an obvious way when Mr. McAllister moves to New York, blown-up 16mm footage from the 1960s or 1970s is spliced in as a little montage. Also, feeling elated after starting a fling with Linda, he imagines himself driving a Jaguar E-Type convertible in a classic Italian film, with old-style rear projection behind him. Also used in the scene where Tracy is driving her car at night after tearing up all the posters.
Election / int_4856ac40	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_4856ac40	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_4856ac40
Election / int_55554032	type	Irrational Hatred
Election / int_55554032	comment	Irrational Hatred: Whilst Tracy does have her negative side, McAllister takes his dislike for her way too far. He views her as an evil ambitious schemer rather than an overachieving student trying to prevent her from becoming Student President even though it's really not that big of a position in the wider picture. It's strongly implied he's like this because he's become so frustrated with his own life he seeks to make himself feel better by sabotaging someone else's, along with the affair he later takes part in.
Election / int_55554032	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_55554032	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_55554032
Election / int_585db628	type	Vote Early, Vote Often
Election / int_585db628	comment	Vote Early, Vote Often: Inverted, but with the same effect. Mr. McAllister throws two votes for Tracy into the garbage in order to deny her the victory.
Election / int_585db628	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_585db628	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_585db628
Election / int_5a365ed2	type	Incompatible Orientation
Election / int_5a365ed2	comment	Incompatible Orientation: Why Lisa stops being friends with Tammy. She was straight (and only "experimenting") while Tammy was lesbian and thought the two of them were in love.
Election / int_5a365ed2	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_5a365ed2	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_5a365ed2
Election / int_5b9cf82b	type	Education Mama
Election / int_5b9cf82b	comment	Education Mama: Tracy's mother is singlemindedly devoted to her daughter's success.
Election / int_5b9cf82b	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_5b9cf82b	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_5b9cf82b
Election / int_5c554458	type	Dumb Jock
Election / int_5c554458	comment	Dumb Jock: Paul is a former football star of average intelligence at best. In one of his introductory scenes Mr. McAllister tries to convince him to run against Tracy with an analogy that even if you like apples, having oranges on offer too gives you the chance to make an informed choice. His response:
Election / int_5c554458	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_5c554458	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_5c554458
Election / int_5ff8fb1d	type	Big Man on Campus
Election / int_5ff8fb1d	comment	Big Man on Campus: Paul is a sports star at his high school; he gets lots of votes in the election just because he's popular.
Election / int_5ff8fb1d	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_5ff8fb1d	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_5ff8fb1d
Election / int_62f9d08e	type	Freeze-Frame Bonus
Election / int_62f9d08e	comment	Freeze-Frame Bonus: Despite being disqualified, Tammy won the election. Tracy was the runner up.
Election / int_62f9d08e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_62f9d08e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_62f9d08e
Election / int_65b696be	type	Fille Fatale
Election / int_65b696be	comment	Fille Fatale: Jim seems to see Tracy as a Femme Fatale in the making, and the viewer largely sees her through his narration.
Election / int_65b696be	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_65b696be	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_65b696be
Election / int_6b35bdff	type	Serious Business
Election / int_6b35bdff	comment	Serious Business: The central election. Both Tracy and Jim treat it as a pivotal moment in Tracy's life, something that has the potential to shape her future. To everyone else, the election is basically meaningless and the role comes with almost no actual power or influence and which was never going to make much of a difference to her life either way.
Election / int_6b35bdff	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_6b35bdff	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_6b35bdff
Election / int_6d892421	type	Teacher/Student Romance
Election / int_6d892421	comment	Teacher/Student Romance: Dave Novotny, Tracy's geometry teacher, comes on to her after a pizza party for the yearbook, and they begin a relationship both claim to view as this. They got busted, and Dave lost his job and his wife. Fortunately for Tracy's reputation, the whole thing was kept under wraps.
Election / int_6d892421	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_6d892421	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_6d892421
Election / int_7241785e	type	You Can't Fight Fate
Election / int_7241785e	comment	You Can't Fight Fate: Invoked by Tracy in her Opening Monologue.
Election / int_7241785e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_7241785e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7241785e
Election / int_7335ffa9	type	Grey-and-Gray Morality
Election / int_7335ffa9	comment	Grey-and-Gray Morality: Tracy is a sweet but borderline psychotic overachiever who tears down Paul's posters in a fit of rage, Paul is a well-intentioned but fairly clueless guy who's only running because he was told to by his teacher, Tammy is only in the race to get revenge against Paul and Lisa, and Mr. McAllister cheats on his wife and rigs the ballots to deny Tracy the victory.
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Election / int_7335ffa9	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7335ffa9
Election / int_733e007a	type	Unwitting Pawn
Election / int_733e007a	comment	Unwitting Pawn: Paul isn't the brightest guy, and so he is very easy to manipulate. Jim convinces him to run for election to sabotage Tracy, while Lisa hooks up with him to hurt Tammy.
Election / int_733e007a	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_733e007a	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_733e007a
Election / int_73ef9ef3	type	Almighty Janitor
Election / int_73ef9ef3	comment	Almighty Janitor: Mr. McAllister makes the big mistake of unknowingly pissing off the school janitor by dropping a box of chow mein on the floor in an absent-minded attempt at cleaning up the staff room. It bites him in the ass when the janitor finds the thrown-out ballots in the trash bin and reveals to the principal that he had rigged the election.
Election / int_73ef9ef3	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_73ef9ef3	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_73ef9ef3
Election / int_7464705c	type	Arc Words
Election / int_7464705c	comment	Arc Words: A large part of the satire comes from the frequent mention of "morals" and "ethics" and the lack of either on display.
Election / int_7464705c	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_7464705c	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7464705c
Election / int_74b34280	type	Academic Alpha Bitch
Election / int_74b34280	comment	Academic Alpha Bitch: Tracy is perhaps the ultimate example as she's smart and ambitious, but also selfish and callous, willing to win the election at all costs. When she sees Tammy's list of signatures supporting her candidacy, she complains that half the students are nobodies.
Election / int_74b34280	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_74b34280	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_74b34280
Election / int_74c1b6f4	type	Flyover Country
Election / int_74c1b6f4	comment	Flyover Country: Although Alexander Payne seems to be proud of his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska — making it the setting for three of his films, including this one — he certainly doesn't try to make it look glamourous.
Election / int_74c1b6f4	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_74c1b6f4	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_74c1b6f4
Election / int_794fd8a4	type	Popular Is Dumb
Election / int_794fd8a4	comment	Popular Is Dumb: Paul is not particularly bright, but as Jim points out, he's one of the most popular students in the school, and the auditorium cheers even before he begins his speech.
Election / int_794fd8a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_794fd8a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_794fd8a4
Election / int_7ac5c1de	type	Unishment
Election / int_7ac5c1de	comment	Unishment: Tammy's parents try to discipline her by sending her to Catholic school (implied to be all-girl), although that's exactly where she wants to go.
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Election / int_7ac5c1de	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7ac5c1de
Election / int_7ce7d94d	type	Age-Inappropriate Dress
Election / int_7ce7d94d	comment	Age-Inappropriate Dress: Tracy is dressed more like president of the PTA than a high school student. This is cleverly inverted when Tracy is portrayed as seen in a more child-like lens when she's seduced by her teacher.
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Election / int_7ce7d94d	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7ce7d94d
Election / int_7f8fd503	type	Lonely at the Top
Election / int_7f8fd503	comment	Lonely at the Top: One interpretation of Tracy. Dave tells her as much when they're dating, albeit in the process of grooming her.
Election / int_7f8fd503	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_7f8fd503	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_7f8fd503
Election / int_82a64c4b	type	Adaptational Nice Guy
Election / int_82a64c4b	comment	Adaptational Nice Guy: Tracy, actually; as author Tom Perrotta noted, in the book she is portrayed as far more of a Fille Fatale and less vulnerable.
Election / int_82a64c4b	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_82a64c4b	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_82a64c4b
Election / int_83535879	type	Tall Poppy Syndrome
Election / int_83535879	comment	Tall Poppy Syndrome: Tracy believes Jim's vendetta against her is driven by this, viewing herself as the "tall poppy" that gets cut down. She is not especially kind about this, and exactly how correct she is about this is left open to interpretation, but the film's events suggest she's not entirely wrong.
Election / int_83535879	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_83535879	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_83535879
Election / int_83a903f6	type	Stepford Smiler
Election / int_83a903f6	comment	Stepford Smiler: Tracy, especially in Mr. McAllister's view, the way she can go from sweet to borderline psychotic. In several scenes, she flicks on her smile like a light. It's implied that there's something going on under the surface, though Tracy isn't aware of it.
Election / int_83a903f6	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_83a903f6	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_83a903f6
Election / int_87bf0789	type	Teacher's Pet
Election / int_87bf0789	comment	Teacher's Pet: Tracy certainly tries to be one of these, but the teachers we see interact with her hate and/or take advantage of her.
Election / int_87bf0789	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_87bf0789	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_87bf0789
Election / int_890d4ef2	type	Humiliation Conga
Election / int_890d4ef2	comment	Humiliation Conga: Mr McAllister's story arc is dedicated to heaping more and more humiliation and failure on him at an ever-increasing speed, especially in the film's final act. He does improve his lot in life a bit by the conclusion, but the way he is presented still makes him look like something of a Butt-Monkey.
Election / int_890d4ef2	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_890d4ef2	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_890d4ef2
Election / int_898ff050	type	Villain Protagonist
Election / int_898ff050	comment	Villain Protagonist: Mr. McAllister. Lying, election fraud, adultery, Machiavellian use of Paul... all whilst enacting his plan to bring down the target of his spite. Not really a boy scout.
Election / int_898ff050	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_898ff050	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_898ff050
Election / int_9315c635	type	Lovable Jock
Election / int_9315c635	comment	Lovable Jock: Paul is a genuinely kind-hearted person who doesn't say or do a single unkind thing throughout the film. He's almost too nice to be real. He does hurt his sister pain by dating and humping her former soulmate Lisa, but due to his sheer naivete he is completely unaware of this, or that Lisa is doing it to get back at Tammy.
Election / int_9315c635	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_9315c635	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_9315c635
Election / int_957e5fc2	type	Villainous Breakdown
Election / int_957e5fc2	comment	Villainous Breakdown: Although Tracy isn't very good at controlling her emotions anyway, she has one in the scene where she snaps and tears down all Paul's posters, ending up with bloody hands. And also after she "loses" the election, when she gets home she cries her eyes out.
Election / int_957e5fc2	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_957e5fc2	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_957e5fc2
Election / int_96b89043	type	Not So Above It All
Election / int_96b89043	comment	Not So Above It All: Tracy, in her portion of the film's narration, rants and raves against the rich kids of the school and how working hard and playing by the rules gives her moral superiority, all before engaging in blatant vandalism by destroying Paul's posters, an act she only gets away with because someone else (Tammy) would rather take credit for the crime. She also regularly shows that she's not as mature as she'd like to come across, still viewing her relationship with Dave like it was a fairy tale romance rather than a grown man abusing his position and trust in the worst way possible.
Election / int_96b89043	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_96b89043	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_96b89043
Election / int_9bc66bb1	type	Belated Happy Ending
Election / int_9bc66bb1	comment	Belated Happy Ending: In Tracy Flick Can't Win Tracy gets the promotion she wants by publicly performing a selfless act - protecting her rival from a gunman - and gains the respect and adoration of the students and her peers - all the while believing she didn't do anything special, she was simply being true to her values.
Election / int_9bc66bb1	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_9bc66bb1	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_9bc66bb1
Election / int_9e529def	type	Dork Horse Candidate
Election / int_9e529def	comment	Dork Horse Candidate: Tammy is viewed at this at first; several students in the bleachers mock her before she starts her speech.
Election / int_9e529def	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_9e529def	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_9e529def
Election / int_a10a7f9b	type	Smug Smiler
Election / int_a10a7f9b	comment	Smug Smiler: A Running Gag is that on several occasions, whenever McAllister sees Tracy the camera will freeze on a shot of her with a very smug look on her face.
Election / int_a10a7f9b	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_a10a7f9b	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_a10a7f9b
Election / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
Election / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: Lisa, as it's strongly implied she dates Paul to hurt Tammy and later a football player to hurt Paul. Tracy is able to to get into Georgetown, and later becomes a senator's aide that she is implied to be having an affair with. However, she has to endure the scorn of everyone around her for her holier-than-thou attitude. Not to mention McAllister really having it in for her. Tracy in a more specific example. After tearing down Paul's posters she's heading for an expelling, derailing all her ambitions at once. That particular bullet misses her completely. Downplayed with Dave. He escapes going to jail for statutory rape nor is stated to have been made to register as a sex offender. But he loses his wife and son, is fired from his job and all but forbidden from ever getting another teaching job due to his behavior, loses his home and everything he owns in the divorce, has to move back to Milwaukee to live with his parents and ends up in a dead-end job tagging items in a hardware store, clearly miserable and very likely to remain in that position for the rest of his life.
Election / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_a70223
Election / int_aaece264	type	Rousing Speech
Election / int_aaece264	comment	Rousing Speech: Tammy gives one during the debate about how meaningless student government is and how the first thing she'd do upon being elected Student Council President is to dismantle the system so that the students wouldn't have to sit through these damn speeches and debates. Her speech is by far the most popular of the three, and it's implied that she would've won the election in a landslide had she not been disqualified after she (falsely) confessed to tearing down Paul's campaign posters.
Election / int_aaece264	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_aaece264	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_aaece264
Election / int_ad9fbc1e	type	Pyrrhic Victory
Election / int_ad9fbc1e	comment	Pyrrhic Victory: Winning Class President for Tracy, since it's a meaningless position, and she is not very well liked for it anyways.
Election / int_ad9fbc1e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_ad9fbc1e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_ad9fbc1e
Election / int_b0bd5f11	type	Catholic School Girls Rule
Election / int_b0bd5f11	comment	Tammy gets sent to Catholic school after covering for Tracy by falsely confessing to tearing down the posters. She finds that it's not nearly as strict as expected and spends most of her time getting stoned in the bathroom. She also meets her new girlfriend Jennifer.
Election / int_b0bd5f11	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_b0bd5f11	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_b0bd5f11
Election / int_b3f77675	type	Grass Is Greener
Election / int_b3f77675	comment	Grass is Greener: How Mr. McAllister, possibly to the point of delusion, thinks of his "exciting" new life in New York compared to his old life in Omaha, although he is now living in a ridiculous small apartment instead of a house and has a more humble job as a museum tour guide, probably earning less with a much higher cost of living.
Election / int_b3f77675	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_b3f77675	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_b3f77675
Election / int_b77808f2	type	"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue
Election / int_b77808f2	comment	"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Tammy gets sent to Catholic school after covering for Tracy by falsely confessing to tearing down the posters. She finds that it's not nearly as strict as expected and spends most of her time getting stoned in the bathroom. She also meets her new girlfriend Jennifer. Tracy is instated as student council president after Mr. McAllister's fraud is exposed. Unfortunately for Tracy, everyone on Student Council hates her (and each other in general), meaning that Tracy's tenure is a miserable experience all around. After graduation, she attends Georgetown University and continues to find herself alone, surrounded by people she considers to be slackers and underachievers who get by on their parents' money. She later becomes a Congressional aide, with it strongly implied that she is having a sexual relationship with the older man. Paul recovers from his injury, rejoins the team, becomes homecoming king and prom king, and goes on to play football for the University of Nebraska. He wonders where his life would have gone had he won the election, but concludes that he's happy where he is. Mr. McAllister is forced to resign after getting caught rigging the student council election and his wife divorces him for cheating on her. And since the scandal happened on a slow news day, the whole thing is picked up by the national media and McAllister becomes the town pariah. He ultimately moves to New York City where he lives in a tiny yet expensive apartment and manages to land a job working as a tour guide at the Museum of Natural History. This gives him a chance to teach again and he starts dating a co-worker named Gillian. Dave is working a dead-end job stamping price tags at a hardware store.
Election / int_b77808f2	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_b77808f2	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_b77808f2
Election / int_bb9b52f3	type	Extracurricular Enthusiast
Election / int_bb9b52f3	comment	Extracurricular Enthusiast: In addition to running for student body president, Tracy has a title role in the school musical, an anchor spot on the journalism club, and is on the yearbook staff. She is not shy about highlighting any of these things.
Election / int_bb9b52f3	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_bb9b52f3	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_bb9b52f3
Election / int_bbc77bb5	type	Hard Truth Aesop
Election / int_bbc77bb5	comment	Hard Truth Aesop: Despite everything you might have been told, life is not a meritocracy. Working harder than anyone else doesn't mean you can't be undermined by forces outside of your control.
Election / int_bbc77bb5	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_bbc77bb5	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_bbc77bb5
Election / int_bc502e4b	type	You Are What You Hate
Election / int_bc502e4b	comment	You Are What You Hate: Jim criticizes Dave for sleeping with a student, but he toes that line himself. He comes up with the idea to recruit Paul while watching porn role-playing a football player and a student, and he has explicit, extended fantasies about Tracy while having sex with his wife.
Election / int_bc502e4b	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_bc502e4b	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_bc502e4b
Election / int_c819533b	type	Rage Breaking Point
Election / int_c819533b	comment	Rage Breaking Point: Tracy doesn't plan to tear down the campaign posters; she does it in a fit of frustration after accidentally tearing hers.
Election / int_c819533b	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_c819533b	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_c819533b
Election / int_c83751cb	type	Description Cut
Election / int_c83751cb	comment	Description Cut: After Paul "wins" the election:
Election / int_c83751cb	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_c83751cb	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_c83751cb
Election / int_cbe32f62	type	Decided by One Vote
Election / int_cbe32f62	comment	Decided by One Vote: Ironically, the deciding vote comes from Paul, he votes for Tracy because he doesn't know if voting for himself would be the right thing.
Election / int_cbe32f62	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_cbe32f62	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_cbe32f62
Election / int_d0f0a80d	type	One-Word Title
Election / int_d0f0a80d	comment	One-Word Title: Election, because of the Student Council President election that's the basis of the plot.
Election / int_d0f0a80d	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_d0f0a80d	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_d0f0a80d
Election / int_d51158ee	type	Revised Ending
Election / int_d51158ee	comment	Revised Ending: The original ending has Jim working at a car dealership in town having generally recovered from his pariahdom. Tracy shows up to pick up a new car the day before she goes off to college, confronts McAllister and asks him why he did it. After Mr. McAllister apologizes, Tracy confesses to being scared about going off to college, but McAllister reassures her that she'll be okay and signs her yearbook. This is taken from the book's ending.
Election / int_d51158ee	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_d51158ee	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_d51158ee
Election / int_d52d28b6	type	Hypocrite
Election / int_d52d28b6	comment	Hypocrite: Jim does not live up to his civic ideals, as he manipulates the student council election in increasingly unethical ways. There are subtle hints of this early on: He makes a big presentation to Paul about the dangers of candidates running unopposed, but he doesn't mind that the vice presidential candidate has no opponent, and. Tracy has her moments. At one point she speaks earnestly about wanting to be a voice for students who are struggling at school...only to dismiss the supporters of Paul and Tammy's campaigns as losers and nobodies.
Election / int_d52d28b6	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_d52d28b6	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_d52d28b6
Election / int_dae0cfd5	type	Something Else Also Rises
Election / int_dae0cfd5	comment	Something Else Also Rises: Jim pursues an affair with Linda. While helping her with errands around the house and checking her out, he is shown holding a wine bottle at crotch level and pulling out the cork.
Election / int_dae0cfd5	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_dae0cfd5	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_dae0cfd5
Election / int_db015585	type	False Confession
Election / int_db015585	comment	False Confession: Tammy lies and says that she tore down Paul's posters, evidently to get expelled from the school and therefore distanced from the people she grew to hate.
Election / int_db015585	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_db015585	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_db015585
Election / int_de80e030	type	Social Climber
Election / int_de80e030	comment	Social Climber: Tracy is primarily the Snob subtype, showing disdain both for the people with money and connections who are more successful than her and the "burnouts" who are less successful. Especially toward the end she shows shades of the Backstabber variety as well. Notably, she openly identifies as one and believes that it is a good thing, that she is simply overcoming challenges.
Election / int_de80e030	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_de80e030	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_de80e030
Election / int_dfb71617	type	Male Gaze
Election / int_dfb71617	comment	Male Gaze: Used intentionally when Jim is checking out Linda, to highlight his unreliable narration about getting to know her better.
Election / int_dfb71617	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_dfb71617	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_dfb71617
Election / int_e13156e1	type	Mama Bear
Election / int_e13156e1	comment	Mama Bear: Tracy's mother is instrumental in getting Dave fired once she finds out about him and Tracy.
Election / int_e13156e1	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_e13156e1	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_e13156e1
Election / int_e313b4e7	type	Manchild
Election / int_e313b4e7	comment	Manchild: The most generous interpretation of Dave. McAllister even describes him as someone who went into teaching because he never wanted to leave high school to begin with. Throughout his affair with Tracy, he genuinely can't see anything wrong with his behavior and honestly thinks he and Tracy are an epic love affair rather than a grown man preying on a naive and lonely teen who looked to him as a father figure.
Election / int_e313b4e7	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_e313b4e7	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_e313b4e7
Election / int_e624f0e8	type	Suspiciously Specific Denial
Election / int_e624f0e8	comment	Suspiciously Specific Denial: Frequently. Comes with the territory of everyone being an Unreliable Narrator.
Election / int_e624f0e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_e624f0e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_e624f0e8
Election / int_ed874c14	type	Self-Made Man
Election / int_ed874c14	comment	Self-Made Man: Tracy views herself as one; one of her main Berserk Buttons is seeing people get ahead based on popularity or money or simply not working for it as much as she personally believes they should. It's shown that her perspective is limited and alienating.
Election / int_ed874c14	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_ed874c14	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_ed874c14
Election / int_ef3d1b57	type	Technician Versus Performer
Election / int_ef3d1b57	comment	Technician Versus Performer: Tracy, who does everything by the book and runs her campaign in Crazy-Prepared fashion, is the Technician. Paul and Tammy rely on their popularity and anti-authoritarian attitude and Rousing Speech. The outcome is less one-sided than some applications of this trope. Paul and Tammy get far more cheers than Tracy, but Tracy gets roughly half of the votes, although it's suggested Tammy might have gotten more had she not been expelled.
Election / int_ef3d1b57	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_ef3d1b57	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_ef3d1b57
Election / int_f013bd87	type	Pick on Someone Your Own Size
Election / int_f013bd87	comment	Pick on Someone Your Own Size: McAllister finds someone to run against Tracy for the sheer sake of making it more difficult for her to win.
Election / int_f013bd87	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_f013bd87	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_f013bd87
Election / int_f0fc8518	type	High-School Dance
Election / int_f0fc8518	comment	Paul recovers from his injury, rejoins the team, becomes homecoming king and prom king, and goes on to play football for the University of Nebraska. He wonders where his life would have gone had he won the election, but concludes that he's happy where he is.
Election / int_f0fc8518	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_f0fc8518	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_f0fc8518
Election / int_f237981e	type	The Alleged Car
Election / int_f237981e	comment	The Alleged Car: Although it is in reasonable condition, Mr. McAllister drives a pretty crappy early 90s Ford Festiva compact car (a rebadged Korean-built Kia Pride), a minute car by American standards. Presumably this was chosen deliberately, in the DVD commentary Alexander Payne says "Ford Festiva, the car of an impotent man."
Election / int_f237981e	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_f237981e	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_f237981e
Election / int_f26d5e66	type	Brainless Beauty
Election / int_f26d5e66	comment	Brainless Beauty: Paul is a widely admired Big Man on Campus. He's also a total himbo.
Election / int_f26d5e66	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_f26d5e66	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_f26d5e66
Election / int_fb4c41b4	type	"Friends" Rent Control
Election / int_fb4c41b4	comment	"Friends" Rent Control: Averted: when Jim moves to New York City he has to pay $1550 a month (plus utilities) for a tiny little cramped basement apartment with the bed, bath and kitchen units stuffed into one little room.
Election / int_fb4c41b4	featureApplicability	-1.0
Election / int_fb4c41b4	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_fb4c41b4
Election / int_fe0330fb	type	Brick Joke
Election / int_fe0330fb	comment	Also Tracy's viewpoints on Coca-Cola staying #1 because of advertising. While drinking a Pepsi, Mr. McCallister is inspired to pick Paul to run against her. Doubles as a Brick Joke when at the end of the film, McAllister throws a Pepsi cup at the limo Tracy is riding in.
Election / int_fe0330fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_fe0330fb	featureConfidence	1.0
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Election / int_name	type	ItemName
Election / int_name	comment
Election / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Election / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Election	hasFeature	Election / int_name
Election / int_name	itemName	Election

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

Election	hasFeature	Abdicate the Throne / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Absurdly Powerful Student Council / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	All Elections Are Serious Business / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Assumed Win / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Awkward Stoplight Moment / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Big Man on Campus / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Blonde Republican Sex Kitten / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Brainless Beauty / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Briar Patching / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Catholic School Girls Rule / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Character Witness / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	College Is "High School, Part 2" / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Decided by One Vote / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Dork Horse Candidate / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Downfall by Sex / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Election Day Episode / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	False Confession / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Films of 1995â€“1999 / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Grass Is Greener / int_5cf55593
Hellcats	seeAlso	Election
Election	hasFeature	Ignored Raised Hand / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Incompatible Orientation / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Intelligence Equals Isolation / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Lonely at the Top / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Lovable Jock / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Nominated as a Prank / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Pick on Someone Your Own Size / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Popular Is Dumb / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Rage Breaking Point / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	School Stories / int_5cf55593
Sideways	seeAlso	Election
Election	hasFeature	Student Council President / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Teacher/Student Romance / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	The Problem with Pen Island / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Throwing Out the Script / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Unfocused During Intimacy / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Unreadably Fast Text / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Vengeful Vending Machine / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Video Full of Film Clips / int_5cf55593
Election	hasFeature	Vote Early, Vote Often / int_5cf55593

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