Donald Trump's highly suspicious Tuesday night firing of FBI Director James Comey, who just happens to have been asking for more resources to investigate the Russian ties of Trump's campaign, has been an exhausting news story -- and it just keeps going. You'd be forgiven for wanting to take a break.
At the same time, entertainment just seems so damn distracting right now. We have some Watergate-level history on our hands, and it's going to take a lot of public outrage and constant pressure on our representatives to get the independent investigation American democracy needs.
Should we shrug our shoulders and turn on Real Housewives? That's exactly what Trump is hoping we'll do.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to take a break and stay woke at the same time. American entertainment is replete with moments that match the full stomach-churning horror of a president taking unprecedented, dictatorial steps to interfere with an investigation against him.
Here are 9 classic moments to get you started:
1. RoboCop (1987)
James Comey, as even his allies will concede, has much in common with an emotionless robotic lawman. Last week's revelation that Comey felt "slightly nauseous" at the notion that his October letter affected the election is about as demonstrative as he ever got.
In RoboCop (the 1987 original, not the 2014 abomination), the cyborg Detroit policeman tries to arrest the smug CEO of mega corporation OCP -- only to find himself shutting down, because OCP built an override into his programming in the first place.
Comey, who arguably put Trump in office in the first place only to be fired by him, can relate.
2. Clear and Present Danger (1994)
This adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel sees Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) confronting a president who has been colluding with a bunch of foreign gangsters (in this case, Colombian drug lords). The president urges Ryan to massage the truth.
Ryan's square-jawed response -- "how dare you, sir" -- is probably the best part of the whole film.
Immediately after this scene, Ryan reveals the president's criminal behavior in his testimony before an open Senate committee. Unfortunately, Comey no longer has that option.
3. House of Cards (2014)
Like Donald Trump, President Frank Underwood has ways of preventing investigations when people get too close to the truth. This scene from the opening episode of House of Cards Season 2, in which Underwood throws reporter Zoe Barnes in front of the D.C. Metro, is easily the most memorable and shocking example.
In the British version of the show, the conniving Prime Minister Francis Urquhart throws the reporter who knows too much from the top of Big Ben. By these standards, Comey got off pretty lightly.
4. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The comparisons between Donald Trump and Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars saga are getting easier to make by the week.
In this clip, Mace Windu (Samuel L Jackson) plays the James Comey role. His goal is to bring Palpatine to justice before the Senate -- but thanks to a timely intervention by Palpatine's subordinate, Windu is swiftly and permanently fired defenestrated.
In this analogy, that would mean assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who helped come up with the rationale for firing Comey, is Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. We'd better watch the D.C. area for any major lightsaber battles in the near future.
5. Rome (2007)
The lavish HBO series Rome is probably the most watchable fictionalized version of how the Roman Republic was replaced by an Empire. And in many ways, it comes down to this moment.
Cicero (David Bamber) was a widely known and respected defender of the rule of law. Like Comey, he'd made some mistakes in the past that aided the rise of the dictator Julius Caesar and his even-more-authoritarian successor Octavian, later the first Emperor Augustus.
But at this point, Cicero is the last man standing between Rome and dictatorship. And he's allowed to live until Octavian decides to permanently end his enemies.
The bodyguard Titus Pullo is sent to assassinate him -- just as Trump dispatched his longtime muscle Keith Schiller to terminate Comey. The sight of Cicero trying to talk his way out of his doom is one of the most nauseating moments in a very bloody and brilliant TV show.
6. My Fellow Americans (2006)
Looking for a little light comedy that can still help with your Trump-Comey catharsis? Try My Fellow Americans, in which two former rival ex-presidents team up to expose the corrupt plotting of the current incumbent.
Or in other words: Barack Obama and George W. Bush, your buddy comedy moment has arrived.
7. Breach (2007)
This underrated thriller tells the gripping true story of an FBI employee assigned to watch senior agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), who is suspected of being a Russian spy.
In real life, the years-long investigation against Hanssen was personally led by FBI Director Louis Freeh, James Comey's predecessor.
In this current climate, it may be some crumb of comfort to know that Hanssen is currently serving 15 life sentences for espionage.
8. Imperium (2016)
FBI agent Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe) goes undercover and discovers a white supremacist plot linked to a conservative talk radio host.
"For evil to triumph," Foster says, quoting Edmund Burke, "it only takes good men to do nothing."
Too real, Harry Potter. Too real.
9. All the President's Men (1976)
You knew this one was coming. The movie based on the book based on the Washington Post investigation that brought down Richard Nixon is possibly one of the most important things you can watch right now -- and not just because the firing of Comey mirrors Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre.
The movie focuses almost entirely on the early days, when even Woodward and Bernstein couldn't believe the depths of the Watergate scandal they'd stumbled upon. They were met with derision and obstruction from the White House at every turn. Sometimes the White House was right: Woodward and Bernstein were not immune to fake news.
At the end of the movie, editor Ben Bradley (Jason Robards) is inches from admitting defeat. "Half the country never even heard of Watergate," he tells the reporters, quoting an opinion poll. "Nobody gives a shit."
What follows is a simple and arresting montage sequence. Woodward and Bernstein are hard at work during Richard Nixon's second inauguration, the president having been re-elected in a landslide despite their hard work.
But over the following months, thanks to dogged reporting and a full Senate investigation, the dominoes begin to fall. A corrupt attorney general is indicted and convicted. The president's inner circle of advisers resign. Finally, so does the president.
It's a timely reminder that an investigation at this level, of this magnitude, is going to take a lot of time and determined focus. The movie of Trump and his Russian connections may just be getting started.
Topics Donald Trump
