MovieChat Forums > Boss (2011) Discussion > How close to reality is this?

How close to reality is this?

posted 9 years ago by demon-62
9 replies | jump to latest

I love this show. When it comes to politics I'm somewhat of a cynic, but I hope and pray to god that politics in reality isn't anywhere close to what goes on in this show. If it is then all of the community outreach, progressive blogging, and political activism I'm a part of is totally useless and a complete waste of my time. That thought sends chills down my spine. As I said before, I'm a cynic, so I'm far from naive when it comes to politics and the things politicians are capable of and get away with. But the politicians in this show are down right evil. You could pick almost any character in the show and make a very credible case diagnosing them as narcissistic sociopaths.

I hate that the show got cancelled. There are too many loose ends and unexplored story lines to just cut it off so abruptly.

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[–] sammybear85 9 years ago

More like Macbeth in modern day I thought. They definitely chose the right setting to make it believable.. Chicago!

[–] Alek_Hidell 9 years ago

It's probably closer to reality than not. Illinois politics is notoriously corrupt with most of it's former governors ending up in prison. Chicago IS Illinois. Mayor Richard J. Daley ran the city with an iron fist. During his tenure no Democratic Presidential candidate got elected with his approval and help (along with the citizens of the city's cemeteries). He was once asked why he didn't run for president himself, and he said "Why should I run for President when I can run the country from here?". He was mayor of Chicago from 1955 until 1976.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Daley

His son, Richard M. Daley, is cut from the same cloth. Search online for Meigs Field, Chicago's lakefront airport (and MS Flight Simulator's default airport) to see how he handled that. In short, he didn't want it so he went out on a Sunday night and bulldozed big "X"s in the runway without so much as notifying the FAA. This wasn't some little grass strip. It could handle jets and was Chicago's main general aviation and commuter airport for decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field

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I'm just a patsy!

Ha! Made you look!!

[–] civicsic 9 years ago

Wow, you really have no idea what you're talking about. Other than Meigs Field closure, that is all total crap. As far as "most" of the former governors ending up in prison, Illinois has had a governor since 1818, and all I can find is that 4 have gone to prison. It's still too many, but I would hardly call that most.

The Richard J. Daley quotation is nowhere to be found, either in the wiki article you linked or elsewhere.

Are you seriously implying that Meigs was Chicago's main airport? Just read the wiki articled you linked. The main airlines were Air Illinois, Great Lakes Airlines, Ozark Airlines, etc. At no point was this ever a main airport, it was just a place for Harrison Ford to fly in his private plane.

I'm guessing you've never been to Chicago or Illinois. Moron.

[–] Alek_Hidell 8 years ago

Wow! Talk about not knowing what you are talking about!! I never said that Meigs was Chicago's main airport. I said it was Chicago's main general aviation and commuter airport. If you knew anything at all about aviation you would know the difference. And yes, any airport that can handle commercial jets IS a major airport, even if it's not THE major airport.

Secondly, I was born in Chicago in 1954 and moved away in 1977. Daley was Chicago's mayor from 1955 to 1976. I grew up watching him on local TV and I saw him make that statement (along with lots more) on one of the local news stations back then. Now who's the moron?

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I'm just a patsy!

Ha! Made you look!!

[–] toallitas 9 years ago

The backroom corruption is probably fairly common. The political violence is over the top; that kind of thing happens in other countries but not usually in the U.S. The vulgarity and debauchery seem at least somewhat exaggerated.

[–] yogi115 9 years ago

Having grown up in the south side of Chicago during the 50's and 60's as well as having two alderman and one ward boss in the family, I can say with absolute certainty that the real Daley machine was far worse than ANYTHING shown on BOSS!!!!!!

[–] meldrone 8 years ago

Pretty close.

[–] de3206 8 years ago

Agree with pretty close, although less so now than 40 or 50 years ago. I saw some of it first hand in my job.

Having said that, this is probably the same as any major city. I'm not native to this state, so I'm not defending it because it's my hometown.

And despite all its faults, Chicago is a great town.

[–] de3206 8 years ago

Meigs got closed because it was right downtown, right on the lakefront. Most of the congressman and senators lived in the Chicag area and needed to get back and forth to Sprinfield, the state capital frequently. The politicians and their staffers used Meigs because it was downtown, close to the Chcago seats of power and they used private aircraft, as well as commercial aircraft to make it easier for them to get back and forth. Mayor Daly wasn't getting what he wanted from Springfield so.......X X X across the runway and FU to the Springfield politicians. It was that petty, and a demonstration of his power.

As a side note, because he did it in the middle of the night, with no notification, plain old citizens and small companies could company's had their aircraft stranded. They had to be taken apart and trucked away, or craned onto barges.