Freedom and democracy. Bills and laws. Bureaucracy and red tape. Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, is known for many things, mostof them related to the inner workings of the government. But it is also a city of carefully planned parks, trees exploding with cherry blossoms in spring, and bright sunshine polishing the gleaming white of stately memorials. With no shortage of iconic American landscapes, such as the vast National Mall; buildings, from the White House and the Capitol to the Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and monuments, including the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, it is at once synonymous with the country it governs and a world apart. This friction animates and attracts filmmakers, who use the District's landmarks as a shorthand to express and investigate contemporary ideals and concerns about American society. Films set there both celebrate and castigate the grand American experiment it symbolizes. From Frank Capra’s 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the alien invasion blockbuster Independence Day , films set in Washington depict our most ardent hopes and bring to life our darkest fears. World Film Locations: Washington, D.C. , collects essays and articles about Washington film history and locations. Featuring explorations of carefully chosen film scenes and key historical periods, the book examines themes, directors, and depictions and is illustrated with evocative movie stills, city maps, and location photographs. Taken as a whole, this is essential reading for any cinephile who has ever wondered how a bill becomes a law. Katherine Larsen  teaches courses on fame, celebrity, and fandom in the University Writing Program at George Washington University. World Film Locations Washington D.C. By Katherine Larsen Intellect Ltd Copyright © 2015 Intellect Ltd All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-78320-456-4 Contents Maps/Scenes, Scenes 1-6 Group A, 8, Scenes 7-12 Group B, 24, Scenes 13-18 Group C, 40, Scenes 19-21 Group D, 56, Scenes 22-28 Group E, 66, Scenes 29-33 Group F, 84, Scenes 34-38 Group G, 98, Essays, Washington D.C. City of the Imagination Katherine Larsen, 6, A Memorial for the Masses Katherine Larsen, 22, Dope, Guns and Go Go: D.C. Black Music on Film Christopher Lornell, 38, Capital of the National Security State Michael Svoboda, 54, Capital of Fear: The Washington D.C. Suspense Film Paul Haspel, 64, District of Tomorrow: Science Fiction Films in Washington D.C. Paul Haspel, 82, Destroying Washington Michael Svoboda, 96, Backpages, Resouces, 110, Contributor Bios, 111, Filmography, 114, CHAPTER 1 WASHINGTON D.C. City of the Imagination Text by KATHERINE LARSEN * * * THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA has been an imaginary city from its inception. Pierre L'Enfant, hired by George Washington to design the new federal city, took European models and translated them to the vernacular of a new Republic. The government, rather than the president, would occupy the high ground – literally. There were to be grand boulevards and parks, but they would be open to all. Exclusion gave way to egalitarianism. A new federal capital rising fully formed from the marshes and woodlands of land ceded by Maryland and Virginia in 1790 is a romantic conceit, and like most wonderful romances, completely, giddily impractical. The idealistic architect had to contend with the tight purse strings of the new government. His vision and their demands for compromise did not make for a happy union and they eventually parted ways. In that parting, L'Enfant laid the groundwork for the city of contradictions that remains to this day, a constant reminder that idealism is not always actionable, or even appreciated. And yet, Washington has always been synonymous with the ideals upon which the country was founded, those contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and those engraved on the monuments that dot the cityscape – justice, freedom, equality, honour, truth. These are the ideals frequently championed in Hollywood films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939) and Born Yesterday (George Cukor, 1950). The Capra-esque hope of a system that works, despite occasional malfunctions in the machine of justice and freedom that we believe our government should be, is an infrequent component of more recent films – only dimly and sporadically realized. We place our faith in individual crusaders working outside the system – Cal Macaffrey ( State of Play [Kevin Macdonald, 2009]) and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein ( All the President's Men [Alan J. Pakula, 1976]) – instead of in presidents who are unaware or uncaring at best ( Gabriel Over the White House [Gregory La Cava, 1933]) and mildly psychotic at worst ( Nixon [Oliver Stone, 1995) or in politicians more interested in gaining and keeping power than in the welfare of their constituents. And when this corruption gets to be too