perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id
CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS
A. Allan Trumbull: The African American ‘Olympian’
Olympus is the home for the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses that
signify the power of an institution and the persons in it. What happened if the
Olympus is struck by a catastrophic event? The Olympus Has Fallen film tells
how the Olympus (i.e. The White House) and the Olympians (i.e.s the President,
the Vice President, etc.) are falling due to a terrorist attack that gives impact to the
stability of the world, especially in the Korean Peninsula. This part of the research
explains the meaning behind the title of the film Olympus Has Fallen and what it
means to the characters in it, especially African American, since the uniqueness of
this film is an African American who becomes one of the „Olympians'.
Historically, it means a lot for African Americans since they come to America as
slaves, and then now, in film Olympus Has Fallen, one of them becomes the
Acting President of the United States through the character Allan Trumbull.
Greek has a great influence towards the United States, from the name of
cities (e.g. Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and Syracuse in New York), the
architecture of buildings and monuments (e.g. Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Hill),
and the United States system of democracy. The United States Secret Service
agents who are responsible for President's security use the Greek mythology term
as a codename. The word „Olympus' from the title Olympus Has Fallen is the commit to user
44 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id45
Secret Service codename for the White House. It is a standard rule for the Secret
Service in giving codename to buildings and officers, even President's family
members. As stated in the first paragraph, according to the ancient Greek
mythology, Olympus is a sacred mountain in Greece where the Ancient Greek
deities live and they are led by the king of gods, Zeus. In the film, Olympus is the
White House, and the „Olympians' refer to the President and his staffs running the
United States government. Olympus symbolizes power and the highest authority.
It is similar to the White House as the core power of the superpower government
of the United States that has a major influence to other countries globally.
Moreover, it shows the same spirit to what happens in the reality when Olympus
Has Fallen was in pre-production in 2012. President Obama in his speech in
Colorado says that America is stronger, safer, is respected in the world and
indispensable nation in the world affair. And so, the man who leads in the
„Olympus' possesses the ultimate power, the President.
In the United States presidency history, the white people always take
charge as the ultimate leader. It is very interesting to discuss an African American
holding the most powerful position in the white-dominant country. As Barack
Obama has done in 2009 to become the first African American President, in the
film Olympus Has Fallen, the character Allan Trumbull is an African American
House Speaker of Representatives who eventually becomes the Commander in
Chief of the United States. A long struggle from slaves into the „Olympian' is a
remarkable achievement for African Americans. Becoming a property of their
owner is their first encounter incommit America to .user The slavery itself ends due to the perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id46
Abolition Act and The Civil War in 1865. Later on, the Fourteenth Amendment in
1867 opens the opportunity for African Americans to gain their citizenship. Sadly,
that opportunity is overshadowed by the great wall called „the Jim Crow laws'. It
leads to the discrimination and racial segregation towards African Americans for
about a century. The pivotal era of African American is when the Supreme Court
passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. These two
Acts provide a full recognition of African Americans as true American citizens
and open the way of African American like Allan Trumbull to reach the highest
ranking officer in the government.
The film depicts the fall of the „Olympus‟, The White House, by the
terrorist. Apparently, an African American politician steps up and becomes the
Commander in Chief of the United States. The word „Fallen‟ from the title
Olympus Has Fallen symbolically refers to the fall of the white people who
dominate the White House. The film depicts the fall of the White House by the
terrorist attack and Allan Trumbull comes as an African American president who
tries to restore the sovereignty and the power of the „Olympus‟. In the context of
mythology, it is a pivotal moment in the film when a black person becomes „the
king of the Olympus‟ since Greek mythology depicts gods and goddesses to be
whites. It is similar to what happens in the history of American presidency
because most of the presidents of the United States are white people until Barack
Obama takes charge in the White House. The characteristics of „Olympus‟ or the
White House in terms of the domination of white people is fallen due to the fact
that African Americans or any othercommit races to user and ethnicities can lead the country. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id47
Allan Trumbull is the leader who is responsible for the rising of the „fallen
Olympus‟. He has the quality of an Olympian. In addition, he is the master
planner and the ultimate decision-maker to every U.S. government‟s actions to
win against the terrorist. which will be explained in detail in the point B about the
leadership of Allan Trumbull.
It is no longer an issue for African American to work as a president inspite
of the color of their skin. In Olympus Has Fallen, when Allan Trumbull is
appointed as the Acting President of the United States, his identity as an African
American is not becomes his or any other people's concern. The 3 U.S Code
section 19, the constitutional regulation that makes him become the acting
president does not concern to any racial identity to be an acting president. Allan
Trumbull's manner as he is appointed as the acting president shows that he only
worries about the condition of the president and the vice president. The following
dialogue shows Allan Trumbull's reaction to his appointment as the acting
president of the United States,
Lynne Jacobs : Mr. Speaker. As both the President and the Vice
President of the United States are unable to discharge the duties of their offices, I‟m officially placing you under Secret Service protection. You are the Acting President of
the United States. Allan Trumbull : Are they alive?
Lynne Jacobs : They are. (Minutes: 00:46:02)
The people inside the crisis room show no objection during Allan Trumbull's
inauguration as the Acting President (see figure a.1). The medium shot and the
camera panning the crisis room capturescommit tothe user emotion of the people around Allan perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id48
Trumbull and there is no sign of protest towards Allan Trumbull. In addition,
none of the people within the crisis room become the leader of the operation in
saving the president until Allan Trumbull arrives in this scene. As Allan Trumbull
stepping into the crisis room, all of the people in the room are standing up. The
people show their respect to Allan Trumbull because he is the highest-ranking
officer in the country who can run the presidential works. The scene indicates that
these days Americans are no longer caught up by the idea of African American
being the second class citizens in the past. The wall of discrimination is crumbled
and Americans embrace the African Americans as American citizens equally as
the whites or any other races in America. Inspite of the color of his skin, Allan
Trumbull has his right to be the acting President and leading the operation to save
the president because constitutionally speaking, he is the second in the line of
succession of the presidency in case of the absence of the president from work.
Figure a.1.
Taken from the same scene (see figure a.1), as a black leader, Allan
Trumbull's main concern is no longer about racial equality or protection to
African Americans but the safety of the president and a country. He is now an
„Olympian' who leads a whole nationcommit and to user possesses power that influences the perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id49
world's condition. His range of power is not only about the African Americans'
importance, but also beyond it, the All-Americans' importance. In Allan Trumbull
situation from the film, he knows that the president is in trouble and it is his main
priority as the Acting President to get the president out of the terrorist-occupied
White House. Back in the Civil Rights movement, African American leaders such
as Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X question the African Americans' position
in the society since they are alienated by their own country. They asks for the sake
of their own life. On the other hand, Allan Trumbull's first words after his
inauguration as the Acting President of the United States are, "Are they alive?” He
asks about the condition of the president, the vice president, and others. The
paradigm of African American is changing. The White House attack from
Olympus Has Fallen is as monumentally horrific as the 9/11. The United States
citizens as the multicultural country with the various races and ethnicities blend
into one, Americans, when the twin towers have been collapsed. Allan Trumbull
is the representation of that moment via those three words. It neutralizes Allan
Trumbull as an American, not African American. Although, it does not mean that
his blackness is nullified. Naturally, the film tones down his blackness and
focuses more on his position as an acting President of the United States. It
cements the notion that an African American can deal with American issue (not
just African American one) or even bigger one.
Allan Trumbull's perspective towards foreign affair or international issues
shows the progression of African American's mind that no longer concerns about
racial issue. It shows through Allancommit Trumbull's to user first appearance in the film when perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id50
he pitches the idea for the United States to issue a joint statement with South
Korea in an effort to end the threat of North Korea. Allan Trumbull demonstrates
his broad knowledge of the condition that occurrs in the Korean Peninsula that
may affect the national and global security. He puts the safety of the country first
because he holds one of the highest positions in the United States government at
that point in the film, which is the House Speaker of Representatives. His concern
does not only focus on his people, African Americans, but also all races and
people in the United States and the world. The following dialogue shows Allan
Trumbull capability in understanding the situation that the United States
government faces in the Korean Peninsula,
Allan Trumbull : Minister Lee is going to want you to issue a joint statement, Mr. President. Threatening military action to get the North Koreans to stand down from the border and stop their missile tests. Which I think we should give them. President Asher : Ruth? Sec. McMillan : Provided that the North Koreans are rational, which is dicey, at best. We bluff, they call it. Then what?
Allan Trumbull : Who says we‟d be bluffing?
President Asher : Personally, I like to try to avoid a war. Charlie? VP Rodriguez : I think I agree with Ruth on this one, Mr. President.
President Asher : Thank you for sitting in, Mr. Speaker. Allan Trumbull : Yes, sir. President Asher : I won‟t hold you up any longer.
(Minutes: 00:17:50)
commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id51
Figure a.2.
The dialogue of the scene above shows that Allan Trumbull concerns
about geopolitics, not racial politics. The racial politics of African American that
became the major issue in the mid 60's is no longer captured in the scene or the
entire film. The film is made in 2012 when an African American has been headed
to the president of the United States‟ post for the second time. It indicates that
African Americans are reaching to its peak of the glory in fighting for equality
and not an issue for having an African American in the highest position in the
government. After all, through the election of Barack Obama, it shows that
Americans from all races, ethnicities, or religions, are ready on making a racial
minority to be their Commander in Chief. Secondly, Allan Trumbull's position as
the House Speaker of Representatives and part of the president's „inner circle' in
this scene, put him as one of the „Olympians' of the White House. The scene takes
place in the Oval Office of the White House in July 2013. The President, the Vice
President, the Secretary of Defense, and The House Speaker of Representatives
are on the meeting to discuss the action as the response to the North Korean
troops marching to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The shot (see figure
a.2.) shows that President Asher (standing in the middle, leaning on the Resolute commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id52
desk) represents a leader and a mediator to the two sides of ideas. These two
separate ideas are represented through the people who sit on the right of the left
sofa. Secretary of Defense McMillan and Vice President Rodriguez sit on the
right sofa. They are in favor to the diplomatic approach Meanwhile, on the left
sofa, House Speaker Trumbull is sat by himself and he supports the idea of
military action. The dialogue above shows Allan Trumbull's political stance
towards North Korea's action in the DMZ by suggesting the U.S. and South Korea
to prepare for a military action, not just a mere bluff. It is quite much the same in
reality in the same year the Vice President Joe Biden states that President Barack
Obama is very serious on denuclearizing Iran. The first five seconds of the scene
(see figure a.2.) shows Allan Trumbull is one of the significant members of
President's advisors. The filmmaker captures it by using the long shot, deep focus,
and slow zooms out to get the sense that all of the persons in the frame are
essential and powerful in the country and Allan Trumbull is one of them.
B. Leadership of Allan Trumbull
A second-liner can be as great as the first-liner. In some occasions, the
second-liner such as Vice President, for some reasons replaces the current
President, can be very prominent as well. In the previous subchapter, the House
Speaker Allan Trumbull from the film Olympus Has Fallen becomes the acting
President of the United States constitutionally inspite of the color of his skin.
There is one another key factor that turns Allan Trumbull from the second-liner to
the first-liner, leadership quality. In the film, Allan Trumbull demonstrates some commit to user leadership qualities such as risk-taker, innovative leader, decision-maker, and perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id53
others. This subchapter explains the importance of the second-liner leadership in
the United States presidential system and Allan Trumbull‟s leadership qualities as
the leader and the acting President of the United States.
Sometimes the second-liner stands out and as essential as the highest-
ranking officer in the United States government. The Vice President as the
second-in-command can be a president if the current president discharges from his
duties due to death, health issue, or impeachment. Historically, there are nine
presidents of the United States who have died or resigned from the office and
succeeded by their respective vice president. Some of those replacements have a
major influence to the history of America. For example, President John Tyler, the
tenth president of the United States, replaced President William Henry Harrison
who have died during his administration in 1841. He has a major role in the Texas
Annexation. President Harry S. Truman replaced President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1945 and he ended the World War II by approving the atomic bombs to drop on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn as the 37th
President of the United States after the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy. He becomes a prominent figure in the history of African American after
he has signed the Civil Rights Act 1964 and Voting Rights Act 1965. All of those
presidents show that they can do the first-liner jobs. They are capable to make
major decisions as good as their respective predecessors. It shows that inspite of
being the second-in-command, they have a capability as a leader and the first-in-
command as well. Allan Trumbull shares the same situation and capability as a
leader with President John Tyler,commit President to user Harry S. Truman, and President perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id54
Lyndon B. Johnson. Allan Trumbull shows it through his leadership quality as the
President of the United States throughout the film Olympus Has Fallen.
Figure b.3.
This picture above (see figure b.3) represents Allan Trumbull‟s presence
as the President of the United States as well as the leader of the operation. The
concept of „power seat' is very dominant in this shot. The power seat is a concept
of where a person sits and it provides impressions or reactions to the people
around her/him. A person who sits at the end of the table symbolizes the leader,
and Allan Trumbull sits in that position. He is the most important person at the
table. The long shot also signifies Allan Trumbull‟s vast power at that time as an
acting president since he is in charge of the high ranking officers.
Allan Trumbull from the film Olympus Has Fallen is portrayed as an
African American, and Barack Obama is the first African American President in
the history of the United States. The question is: Does he possess the same
leadership quality as President Barack Obama? Taken from chapter two of this
research about the leadership quality, Victoria C. DePaul provides some
leadership qualities based on Barack Obama. Situational analysis, innovation, commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id55
intrapreneurial leadership, risk-taker, and empowerment are five out of eight
leadership qualities of DePaul‟s theory that represented throughout the film.
Moreover, vision is one leadership quality that is included by both Victoria C.
DePaul and Michael Siegel in their leadership theory and presidential leadership
respectively. In addition, based on Michael Siegel‟s presidential leadership theory,
Allan Trumbull possesses two more leadership qualities: Focus on few major
goals at a time and decision-maker.
a. Situational Analysis
As the President, or the acting President of the United States, Allan
Trumbull serves as the ultimate decision-maker. Allan Trumbull makes at least 15
decisions throughout the film. Most of his decisions are ended up with positive
results. This part focuses on Allan Trumbull‟s actions the moment after his
appointment as the Acting President of the United States.
Figure b.4.
When Allan Trumbull is inaugurated as the acting President of the United
States, he becomes a situational leader (see figure b.4). Constitutionally, Allan
Trumbull has the obligation to becommit in the toposition user of acting President under the 3 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id56
U.S. Code § 19. In the field, Allan Trumbull uses the situational analysis in order
to provide effective decisions to the missions, as DePaul says, “SITUATIONAL
ANALYSIS: The ability to analyze and evaluate data independently in order to
make effective and accurate decisions,” (2009, p. 23), which in the case of this
film, the missions are to save the President and to defeat the terrorists.
After his appointment as the acting President of the United States, Allan
Trumbull shows an early positive attitude or action as a leader by listening
attentively. The dialogue below occurrs right after Allan Trumbull‟s inauguration,
Ray Monroe : Sir, North Korea is denying any involvement in the attack. General Clegg : We‟ve secured the perimeter of the White House and cleared a 10-block radius. Lynne Jacobs : Sir, they‟ve also assassinated the South Korean Prime Minister. (Minutes: 00:46:37)
Figure b.5.
The filmmaker uses the head shot to capture Allan Trumbull‟s reaction as Deputy
Director of NSA Ray Monroe, Army Chief of Staff General Clegg, and Secret
Service Director Lynne Jacobs brief Allan Trumbull about the situation before
them (see figure b.5). Allan Trumbull‟s facial expression shows worry and commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id57
cautiousness because the terrorist whom they face tries to kill the president and
his staffs. Moreover, his calm presence without a single line in this bit of the
scene shows that he is very discreet and uses his situational analysis skill to
evaluate the information from his advisers. It is important as a situational leader to
know what kind of situation that the leader faces, and listening attentively is one
of the DePaul‟s theories of positive actions before the leader decides which step
s/he must choose (2009, p. 47).
Allan Trumbull‟s skill in situational analysis kicks in when the situation is
getting worse. The scene takes place when the U.S. government finds out that the
terrorists has hacked into the anti-nuclear missiles protocol called „Cerberus‟. The
Cerberus is protected by three codes. Each code is kept by three different people.
One of them is President Asher who apparently becomes a hostage. Below is the
dialogue of the scene,
Allan Trumbull : Α Cerberus cοde has been entered. Mike Banning : What's Cerberus? General Clegg : Τhat's classified.
Mike Banning : Classified? Really? Well, right nοw l think l haνe the prονerbial „need-tο-fucking-knοw‟.
Allan Trumbull : Cerberus is a highly-classified military prοtοcοl. Α 3- prοnged fail-safe in the case οf an inadνertent nuclear launch. lt allοws us tο access the self-destruct mechanism
in οur ICBΜ's in-flight. Mike Banning : So eνen if οne οf οur nuclear warheads was launched and
we wanted tο abοrt... Allan Trumbull : Cerberus is the οnly way tο stοp it frοm reaching its target. Nο οne persοn has all three cοdes. lt's parceled οut
tο the president, Secretary οf Defense, and the Chairman οf the Jοint Chiefs. Αll οf whοm are in the president's bunker right nοw.
Lynne Jacobs : With thοse cοdes, they can destrοy any lοng-range nuke that we fire.commit Αnd thatto user wοuld make Αmerica νulnerable tο a nuclear strike. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id58
Mike Banning : Sο, change the cοdes. Ray Monroe : We can‟t. Cerberus was designed as a self-cοntained
tοtal-isοlatiοn system. Τhe οnly way tοchange the cοdes is physically οn the cοmputer itself, which is lοcated in the president's bunker.
Mike Banning : Sο, nοw we knοw why they wanted the president's sοn. Allan Trumbull : Τhe president will hοld οut as lοng as he can. But if they
get his sοn, if they hurt him, well, nοbοdy cοuld hοld οut under thοse circumstances. Sο, find Cοnnοr. Get him the hell οut οf there. Mike Banning : Yes, sir! (Minutes: 00:55:14)
Allan Trumbull analyzes the situation in order to keep the president holds the
code from the terrorists. They have to save the president‟s son, Connor, out of the
White House before the terrorists caught him first and torture him in front of his
father. Allan Trumbull orders Mike Banning, the only living agent inside the
White House to find and save the president‟s son. The scene is edited using the
eye-line match technique. Once again, the filmmaker tries to capture the image of
cautiousness of Allan Trumbull. Allan Trumbull analyzes his followers‟ inputs
and knowledge about the situation. The back and forth cut or the eye-line match
editing capture Allan Trumbull‟s body language of paying attention. Moreover, he
realizes by saving the president‟s son will make the situation easier for the U.S.
side and later on they can focus on the main priority of the operation, saving the
president. As the result of Allan Trumbull‟s decision, Connor is saved by Mike
Banning.
By listening attentively, Allan Trumbull indicates that he has a capability
in situational analysis. His situational analysis is proven to be effective as he
provides the idea of saving the president‟s son to prevent the further terrorists‟
progress in tearing the country apartcommit by exploiting to user the anti-nuclear code. Using his perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id59
situational analysis, Allan Trumbull makes an accurate decision as the president‟s
son saved and it buys some amount of time to save the president from the hostage
situation.
b. Innovation
The positive action that Allan Trumbull takes by listening attentively to
his advisers‟ information will bring up the idea to solve the problem as the
situation follows through and turns him as an innovative leader.
A leader has to provide her/his own options and to make some decisions.
In other words, a leader has to be innovative. The dialogue below this paragraph
takes place after the terrorist demands the United States Government to recall the
Seventh Fleet and to order the United States troops to leave the DMZ. The
Seventh Fleet is the strongest naval force of the United States and covers a very
vast area in the Asia Pacific,
“The 7th Fleet‟s Area of Responsibility encompasses more than 48 million square miles (more than 124 million square kilometers)-- from the
Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south, and from the International Date Line to the 68th meridian east, which runs down from
the India-Pakistan border. The area includes 36 maritime countries and the world‟s five largest foreign armed forces -- People‟s Republic of China, Russia, India, North Korea and Republic of Korea. Five of the seven U.S.
Mutual Defense Treaties are with countries in the area -- Republic of the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Japan, and Thailand.” (Retrieved from http://www.c7f.navy.mil/about.htm).
It will give the advantage to the North Korean troops to mobilize beyond the
DMZ with South Korea as the closest target. In this scene, Allan Trumbull
decides to refuse the terrorist‟s demand. Instead, he swiftly orders his followers to
accomplish some objectives to anticipatecommit theto user further advantage of the terrorist. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id60
General Clegg : If we recall the Fleet, and leave the DMZ, Seoul and all of South Korea could fall within 72 hours, sir.
Lynne Jacobs : But if we do nothing, they kill Asher, the Vice President, and his entire National Security team, and Connor, if he‟s in there.
Allan Trumbull : Mary, get me some coffee! Half-and-half, three Sweet N‟Lows. In a real cup, not one of those paper or styrofoam
things. All right, lets secure all nuclear sites. Get me our expert on North Korea. Then I want to speak with the Premiere of North Korea on a secure line. After that I want to speak with the Russians, the Chinese, the British, and the French. And set up the press conference. In that order. (Minutes: 00:50:53)
In this scene (see figure b.6 and b.7), the filmmaker tends to highlight
Allan Trumbull‟s capability as the innovative leader. When his followers only
provide some worst-case scenarios, Allan Trumbull comes up with a list of
objectives to weaken the terrorist and also to make sure that the people know that
their government is fully operational. As Masciulli, Molchanov and Knight say
about innovative leader, “Innovative leaders frequently demonstrate exceptional
(„charismatic‟) leadership which seems to emanate from the personality of a
leader.” (n.d, p. 9). The head shot is clearly captures the gravitas or the
authoritativeness of Allan Trumbull as he breakdowns his instruction to his
followers (see figure b.6). Moreover, the moment when Allan Trumbull asks his
assistant, Mary, to make him a cup of coffee, it shows his charismatic leadership,
and it is parallel with the characteristic of innovative leader. He realizes at that
moment, it is going to be a long night and he needs a coffee, while his followers
seem fine with their tap water (see figure b.3).
commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id61
Figure b.6.
Figure b.7.
There are some instructions that Allan Trumbull provides to save the
President, the entire country, and allies. Allan Trumbull knows the importance of
the security of the U.S. nuclear facilities. There are 90 nuclear facilities in the
form of power plants across the country and mostly located on the eastern
seaboard (http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/). Allan Trumbull tries to
prevent the terrorists to sabotage U.S. nuclear facilities. In order to prevent the
war against North Korea for the sake of the safety of the South Korea and the
United States, Allan Trumbull gives an idea to have a diplomatic call with the
North Korean government with the assistance of the North Korea experts since the
North Korean government deny their involvement to the White House attack. His
next instruction is to have a discussioncommit towith user other superpower country leaders perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id62
(Russia, China, U.K., and France). It has to be done due to the impact of United
States government‟s maneuvers that may influences their security and stability.
Moreover, the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the strongest force in the Asia Pacific, may be
recalled if the situation escalates. Finally, holding a press conference is the way of
the United States government to give official information to the media and to the
people around the world about the situation in the White House and Washington
D.C.
Allan Trumbull‟s abilities in analyzing the situation, creating ideas, and
making decisions in his first few hours as the acting President of the United States
indicates his capability as an innovative leader. Making the decision in such
extremely urgent circumstance like Allan Trumbull faces in the film is very hard.
Allan Trumbull quickly creates four ideas to keep the situation in control while
his advisers only whine about the negative outcome if they fail. As it mentioned in
the second chapter about leadership quality in terms of decision-making, every
toughest decisions, whether they are domestic or foreign affairs, they all landed on
the President‟s desk (Beckmann, n.d, p.5).
c. Intrapreneurial Leadership
Allan Trumbull shows his intrapreneurial leadership through the scene of
his speech during the press conference. The presidential press conference has
already been held since the President Woodrow Wilson administration in 1913 to
this day (Kumar, 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/presidentialcommit to user-press -conferences). Martha Joynt perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id63
Kumar, a professor in the Department of Political Science at Towson University,
explains* the purpose of the presidential press conference,
“The sessions have survived because reporters found them useful for
developing information, citizens saw them as valuable for making judgments about their chief executives, and presidents and their staffs saw
them as a primary strategy for explaining their policies.. Press conferences give the public the best opportunity to see what presidents know (and don't know), what makes them angry, what makes them laugh, and what their brand of leadership is.” (2011, Retrieved from http://www.whitehousehistory.org/presidential-press-conferences). As the main core of the intrapreneurial leadership, understanding the condition of
the people, the government, and Washington, D.C. during the terrorists attack is
what Allan Trumbull does in the press conference speech scene.
The press conference is one of Allan Trumbull‟s ideas as the United States
government reaction to the terrorist‟s demand. The scene takes place in a hospital
where all of the people in it watch Allan Trumbull‟s speech on television (see
figure b.9). Allan Trumbull addresses that the government and the president
remain survive despite the attack on the White House. Below is the speech of
Allan Trumbull at the press conference,
Allan Trumbull : l want tο reassure all Αmericans and eνeryοne arοund the
wοrld that despite tοday's eνents, οur gονernment remains 100% functiοnal. We knοw that the president is aliνe. Το οur friends, we are grateful fοr yοur lοyalty and suppοrt. Αs
a natiοn, we are neνer strοnger than when tested. We will remain united and strοng. Gοd bless yοu all and Gοd bless
these United States οf Αmerica. (Minutes: 01:06:57)
commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id64
Figure b.8.
Figure b.9.
On the aspect of Intrapreneurial leadership, Allan Trumbull and Barack
Obama share the same sense of understanding about the condition of the people
and give them hope through speech. The success of Obama‟s campaign is due to
the fact that Obama understands of what the condition of the people and stay
focuses to that matter instead of attacking his opponent (DePaul, 2009, p. 20).
Allan Trumbull also shows his intrapreneurial leadership by making a press
conference as the response to the terrorist attack. The speech creates a connection
between the government and people. The most similar thing that happens to
Olympus Has Fallen that occurrs in the real world is Obama‟s speech during the
press conference about the Boston Marathon Bombing.
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There are two aspects of Obama and Trumbull‟s speech that serve the
same purpose. First, President Obama and Allan Trumbull show their appreciation
to the authorities, who help the victims,
“Boston police, firefighters and first responders as well as the National
Guard responded heroically, and continue to do so as we speak. It’s a reminder that so many Americans serve and sacrifice on our behalf every single day, without regard to their own safety, in dangerous and difficult circumstances. And we salute all those who assisted in responding so quickly and professionally to this tragedy.” (President Obama on explosion in Boston, 2013. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x- VKqe4cvA) “Το οur friends, we are grateful fοr yοur lοyalty and suppοrt.” (Allan Trumbull, taken from Olympus Has Fallen film.) Second, President Obama motivates the people in order to keep them stay strong
despite the tragedy,
“Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people. I’m supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other, and move forward as one proud city. And as they do, the American people will be with them every single step of the way.” (President Obama on explosion in Boston, 2013. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x-
VKqe4cvA)
“Αs a natiοn, we are neνer strοnger than when tested. We will remain united and strοng. Gοd bless yοu all and Gοd bless these United States οf Αmerica.” (Allan Trumbull, taken from Olympus Has Fallen film.)
These two aspects solely show their understanding of the people‟s problems.
President Obama‟s salutation to the Boston policemen and firefighters are
reflected in Allan Trumbull‟s gratitude to the authorities who help the people
during the White House attack. It is fit to the scene in the film when the camera
pans to the medical staffs in the hospital who, in some other scenes, show how
hard they work while the hospital filled with injured people (see figure b.10). The commit to user filmmaker also makes a perfect frame when Allan Trumbull addresses his perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id66
gratitude by putting Allan Trumbull‟s broadcast on television as the focus point of
the frame. It depicts the television that broadcast the press conference was
surrounded by medical staffs to show to the audience of the film that people like
the medical staffs in this scene deserve an appreciation from the president (see
figure b.9). The dolly zoom towards the television from the scene (figure b.9)
draws the depth of the speech and makes the nuances to make the audience
support of what Allan Trumbull and the United States government do in that dire
situation. Moreover, hospital as the place where all of the injured people on the
street are taken to, is a great choice of setting to this scene, since Allan Trumbull
also motivates the people as to Obama to the Bostonians.
Figure b.10.
Allan Trumbull‟s sensibility towards the people by initiating the press
conference to make sure their government and the entire nation to be united and
stronger to face the tragedy is the realization of his intrapreneurial leadership. The
positive initiative by motivating through speech is one of the ways to keep the
people away from the negative impact of the tragedy, and that is what Allan
Trumbull as well as President Obama done because “understanding that positive
results depend on the ability to understandcommit to userthe human energies of people within perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id67
organizations. The results of any organization (human energy system) depend on
whether people and teams are operating on positive or negative human energy.”
(DePaul, 2009, p. 19).
d. Risk-taker
Most Allan Trumbull‟s decisions in the film are very risky. The safety of
the President, the country, the allies, and the whole world are depend on his
decisions. Relying on only one agent to infiltrate the White House, sending troops
to protect the U.S. anti-nuclear code, and granting the terrorists‟ ransom as the
Trojan horse in order to save the president are some of Allan Trumbull‟s hard and
highly risk decisions.
Allan Trumbull shows his risk-taking quality for the first time when he
uses the main protagonist in the film, Mike Banning, to infiltrate the White House.
Mike Banning is the only living agent within the White House when the terrorists
takes over it. The dialogue below shows that Allan Trumbull will do anything to
guarantee the safety of the president and the country by counting on Mike
Banning‟s expertise,
Ray Monroe : Can we trust him? Lynne Jacobs : Banning was one of our best agents.
Ray Monroe : Mr. Speaker, I just have to say, this is Mike Banning. The same guy that was removed from the president‟s
detail after the accident when we lost the first lady. How do we know we can trust this guy? Lynne Jacobs : Banning is ex-special Forces, Ranger Battalion. He will
move mountains or die trying. I know him. Allan Trumbull : Does anyone else in this room have any intelligence coming out of the White House?
(SILENCE) Then we havecommit no choice.to user (Minutes: 00:47:57) perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id68
Based on the dialogue above, Allan Trumbull trusts in his subordinate‟s
judgment in analyzing the situation. According to DePaul, risk-taker leader is a
person who “Comfortable with risk, the Intrapreneurial Leader works to create an
environment that is safe for others to take calculated risks based on analysis and
sound judgment. All new thoughts, growth, and ideas can only originate within
the context of risk” (DePaul, 2009, p. 8). Allan Trumbull‟s trust in Lynne Jacobs‟s
judgments about Mike Banning is not because Lynne Jacobs is an African
American. It is due to her position as the Director of the Secret Service and Mike
Banning was used to be a Secret Service agent. Moreover, based on Lynne
Jacobs‟s description of Mike Banning‟s experience, Ranger Battalion is the elite
force of the U.S. Army,
“Each of the four geographically dispersed Ranger battalions is always combat ready, mentally and physically tough, and prepared to fight our country's adversaries. Their capabilities include conducting airborne and air assault operations, seizing key terrain such as airfields, destroying strategic facilities, and capturing or killing enemies of the nation.” (http://www.army.mil/ranger/).
Mike Banning‟s skill as an ex-ranger and his experience as an ex-secret service
agent who knows every single part of the White House provides the advantage for
the U.S. side since their lack of resource within the White House at that moment.
In summary, Allan Trumbull trusts in Lynne Jacobs‟s sound judgments in Mike
Banning and later on he uses Mike Banning as his only eyes and ears in the White
House. It is due to the fact when Allan Trumbull asks about any intelligence that
the U.S. has besides Mike Banning and it is answered with silence by all of the
people in the crisis room. Allan Trumbull‟s decision is the most sensible yet risky
commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id69
to trust Mike Banning as his „pawn‟ to infiltrate the White House and to save the
president.
Figure b.11.
In the other scene, Allan Trumbull shows that he understands with the risk
when he decides to use the U.S. Navy SEALs to attack the terrorists from the air
due to Mike Banning‟s slow progress to infiltrate the president‟s bunker to save
the president. The mise-en-scene shows that General Clegg sees the opportunity to
counterattack the terrorist airborne. General Clegg‟s judgment makes sense to
Allan Trumbull because it is based on the satellite vision. There are few numbers
of terrorists guarding the White House rooftop. The dialogue below shows the
sequence when Allan Trumbull takes a risk to send the SEAL team to the White
House,
General Clegg : Lοοks like there's οnly fοur sentries οn the rοοf. With the Αir Defense grid gοne, they're νulnerable tο an aerial
insertiοn. Mike Banning : Wait. Let me get there first and check it οut.
General Clegg : We're nοt waiting. Allan Trumbull : We haνe tο secure Cerberus. Mike Banning : Oh, fuck.
Allan Trumbull : Send in the SΕΑLs, General. We're gοing thrοugh the rοοf. (Minutes: 01:19:55) commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id70
The scene shows that Allan Trumbull is a risk-taker for the sake of quick progress
for the U.S. side. He buys General Clegg‟s suggestion to attack the terrorists from
the air. The sequence of the scene is similar to the scene when Allan Trumbull
trusts in Lynne Jacobs‟s judgment in the previous scene. From figure b.11, as
Allan Trumbull (right) stands beside General Clegg (left) on the foreground, it
shows that Allan Trumbull is ready to take a chance on General Clegg‟s opinion.
On the other hand, the audience still can see Lynne Jacobs far in the background
that symbolizes, at that moment, Allan Trumbull‟s favor in General Clegg‟s way
rather than Lynne Jacobs and Mike Banning‟s. Allan Trumbull is comfortable in
taking risks by changing the plan in order to gain the result that he wants. It is 180
degree changes of plan for him from covert operation using Mike Banning to open
battle against the terrorist. Allan Trumbull does not scare to do a new approach as
long as it based on analysis and sound judgment.
And so, Allan Trumbull is a risk-taker leader due to his trust in followers‟
judgment to the situation. His calm presence gives a sense of liberty in the
followers to speak their mind and provide the ideas to solve the problem. The two
scenes from this discussion are two different approaches of Allan Trumbull in
solving the problem: One approach using a covert operation using Mike Banning
as his pawn within the White House while the other one with open battle outside
the White House. It shows that Allan Trumbull is open for any approach that his
followers suggest, as long as it is based on the sound judgment.
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e. Empowerment
Allan Trumbull as the President of the United States shows his leadership
to followers‟ empowerment. DePaul says that empowerment is about “instill the
vision in all members of the organization” (2009, p. 67). In one scene, Allan
Trumbull shows his gravitas as the leader who can instill his vision to his
followers in order to solve the issue.
From the same scene (see figure b.7) in innovative point, the scene when
Allan Trumbull provides the list of four objectives that his followers must do as a
response to the terrorist‟s threat is the representation of the leader‟s empowerment
to the followers. The focus of the camera to Allan Trumbull‟s face captures the
importance of Allan Trumbull‟s objectives to the plot of the film. Moreover, the
filmmaker tries to capture the charisma and authoritativeness through Allan
Trumbull‟s expression and the tone of his voice. In addition, the absence of the
nondiegetic sound or score when Allan Trumbull delivers the objectives enhances
the audience‟s attention.
Figure b.12.
The shot after the scene when he gives the objectives is the part that shows
Allan Trumbull‟s empowerment. Based on the picture above (see figure b.12) the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id72
wide shot shows the magnitude of Allan Trumbull‟s ability in empowerment. His
followers are instantly spread out in a rush in order to accomplish the objectives.
The interesting part of this shot is how the lights beaming down to the long table.
The table is full of high ranking officers. Each of them has their own followers.
Those people are led by none other than the man sitting at the end of the table,
Allan Trumbull. He is the Commander in Chief who instills his vision using his
ideas and objectives in all of his followers. Moreover, the paper works and
documents that fill the table indicate tons of works and assignments of Allan
Trumbull‟s followers. Although, Allan Trumbull can manage them to pay
attention to his orders and to execute the orders immediately.
f. Vision
Vision is the most important leadership quality since it sets the main goals
of a leader, and Allan Trumbull provides it in the film. Aforementioned in the
second chapter, both Victoria C. DePaul and Michael Siegel include this
leadership quality in their theories. It indicates the significance of a vision for a
leader. Allan Trumbull shows himself as a visionary leader in his capacity as a
House Speaker of Representatives and later on as the acting President of the
United States.
Allan Trumbull shows his ability as a leader with vision when he appears
for the first time in the film. The meeting scene in the Oval Office shows that
Allan Trumbull has his own vision to end the situation in the DMZ between the
North Korea and South Korea. DePaul says that vision is about the objectives that
have to be accomplished with disccommitipline to anduser prioritization (2009, p. 9). Allan perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id73
Trumbull offers the objectives that will help the United States to end the conflict
by issuing a joint statement with South Korea, threatening the North Korea in
order to make them stop march toward DMZ and stopping their missile test.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Defense McMillan and Vice President Rodriguez
prefer a diplomatic and peaceful way to solve the issue. The filmmaker uses the
scene to set the political stance of Allan Trumbull to other United States leaders
such as the Secretary of Defense, the Vice President, and even the president
himself and also to show that he has a leadership quality of vision his current
position as the House Speaker of Representative at that time.
Figure b.13.
Figure b.14.
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The camera movement in this scene separates Allan Trumbull‟s vision to
the other President‟s advisers‟ vision. The camera pan to Allan Trumbull from
right to left (see figure b.13) indicates that he is a man of action who will do
anything to accomplish the goals and objectives by any means in order to serve
the main priority of the country at that time in protecting the ally country from the
imminent threat. On the other hand, the static medium shot captures the Secretary
of Defense and the Vice President who oppose Allan Trumbull‟s vision. It
indicates the neutral way that Secretary of Defense and the Vice President choose
to end the conflict by avoiding war and using diplomatic approach.
Allan Trumbull shows that he is a visionary leader by organizing his
followers in order to save President Asher during his short term as the acting
President of the United States. Allan Trumbull serves what DePaul says that
vision is about accomplishing the objectives with organization (2009, p. 5). Taken
from the same scene from the innovative quality before in point b, he creates four
objectives or goals as the early effort to save the president from the hostage
situation while his followers only throw the worst possibilities or consequences
instead of ideas or walkthroughs.
Figure b.12. Taken from page 71. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id75
Allan Trumbull shows as a visionary leader as much as President Reagan
and President Kennedy like what Michael Siegel says about U.S. President‟s
vision in the history. The picture above (see figure b.12) is the shot after Allan
Trumbull produces the four objectives. The long shot of the reaction to the Allan
Trumbull‟s objectives captures the dedication of his followers to accomplish the
objectives. It is similar to Michael Siegel‟s example, when people rally behind
President Kennedy in sending people to the moon and use all of the resources the
country has to accomplish it. Allan Trumbull‟s followers rally behind him in order
to save the president. Allan Trumbull has enough power and resources in the crisis
room because the director of Secret Service, Army Chief of Staff, deputy director
of NSA, and other high ranking officers are on his side to accomplish the goals.
And so, Allan Trumbull shows his quality as a visionary leader during his
work as House Speaker of Representative and the president of the United States.
He has his own vision to take down the North Korea to keep the safety of the
South Korea, provides goals and objectives to save the president from the
terrorist, and organizes his followers in an effort to back him up to achieve the
main goal. Allan Trumbull‟s line near at the end of the film sums up his vision as
the Acting President, “We are talking about the security of the President of the
United States!” (See figure b.15). It is a very clear vision of a leader and his job to
lay the idea to his followers that makes them support his vision for the sake of the
whole country. The shot represented in the figure b.14 is the filmmaker‟s way to
show the genuine reaction of Allan Trumbull‟s followers towards his list of
objectives. It is very straightforward to DePaul theory that vision is about commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id76
accomplishing objectives with organization and prioritization. He organizes his
followers by providing the objectives and they accept the objectives as much as
President Kennedy has done when he plans to send people to the moon based on
Michael Siegel‟s example of the President‟s vision.
g. Focus on Few Major Goals at a Time
Allan Trumbull shows that he is an organized leader as he takes the
method of providing few major goals at a time. Michael Siegel implies that it will
be easier to handle and to accomplish fewer numbers of goals, at least most of
them at the end of the day. The filmmaker captures Allan Trumbull‟s step by step
goals during his role as president in the film up until the end when they
successfully defeat the terrorist and save President Asher.
Allan Trumbull provides four major goals that need to accomplish by him
and his followers: accomplishing the list of the four goals as the response to
terrorist‟s demand, saving the president‟s son, securing the Cerberus using the
SEAL helicopters, and finally saving the president. These four goals are done by
Allan Trumbull one by one with both success and failure outcomes in the process.
Michael Siegel says that even President Reagan with three to four major goals, he
accomplishes a large part of his goals, not all of them (Fox, 2012).
His first major goal is already mentioned in the point b and e of this
subchapter that relates to the Allan Trumbull and U.S. government‟s reaction to
the terrorists‟ demand. This series of objectives is one example of Allan
Trumbull‟s approach to achieve the goals that include both foreign and domestic
affairs. He concerns about the relationcommit with to theuser North Korea and the ally countries perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id77
through his order to make a contact with them as well as the people of the United
States via the press conference. Allan Trumbull lays the broader range of his first
goal as a foundation for his next and more detail goals. It is unclear whether all
the four objectives are accomplished or not since the film does not provide most
of the scenes that indicate those situations until Allan Trumbull appears in
television for the press conference.
The next goal that he provides is to save the president‟s son. It is his
second major goal that Allan Trumbull has during the film that has already been
mentioned in the point of situational analysis in this subchapter. Saving
president‟s son makes an advantage for the U.S. and avoids the terrorist to use
him as a torture weapon for President Asher. By ordering Mike Banning, the U.S.
government successfully saves the president‟s son (see figure b.15). This is the
second consecutive successful goal of Allan Trumbull and his followers. It shows
that by focusing on a few major goals at a time is proven to be an effective
approach at that point of the film.
Unfortunately, much like what happens to President Reagan, there are few
parts of Allan Trumbull‟s plan that falls apart. The U.S. NAVY SEAL helicopters
attack fails to secure the Cerberus code. This scene has already been mentioned in
the risk-taker point of this subchapter.
The last goal is the ultimate goal of Allan Trumbull‟s career as the acting
President of the United States: saving the president from the terrorist by
depending on one field agent, Mike Banning (see figure b.16). It sounds
impossible in the reality, even in a work of fiction; this is a very tough and risky commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id78
objective or goal to accomplish. At the of the day, Allan Trumbull‟s trust in Mike
Banning is paid off as Mike Banning and President Asher comes out of the White
House alive and kills the terrorists in the process.
Figure b.7. Taken from page 61.
Figure b.15.
Figure b.16.
commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id79
The way the filmmaker captures how important the scenes above are very
interesting. The filmmaker somehow compliments the Michael Siegel‟s theory of
focuses on a few major goals at a time. Most of the scenes (especially three
successful goals) use the same close-up shot of Allan Trumbull in setting up the
goal (see figure b.7, b.15, & b.16) to express how big and important the goals are
in the situation that Allan Trumbull and other characters as well as to the plot of
the film. The focus of the camera on Allan Trumbull‟s face draws the audience
attention to Allan Trumbull‟s goal(s), as much as Allan Trumbull does in the film
in terms of his focus on his goals. Moreover, the low angle, especially based on
picture b.16, signifies that he is the man in charge as the President of the United
States. Taken from the scenes above, it also shows that Michael Siegel‟s theory
about this leadership quality is used effectively by Allan Trumbull because of the
results that he gets with three major successful goals out four major goals.
h. Decision-maker
Allan Trumbull shows himself as the ultimate decision-maker in a short
amount of time as the President of the United States. Michael Siegel explains in
detail about a leader, or in this case, the president, as a decision-maker is about
how a president makes a decision not only based on his own judgement but also
people around him such as his followers, “To create the conditions for effective
decision-making, it‟s important for a president to select people who are not only
“yes men and women,” but who exhibit characteristics of the “courageous
follower,” somebody who is willing to tell the boss the truth.” (Fox, 2012). There
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are two scenes that show how Allan Trumbull makes two decisions based on his
followers‟ suggestions.
The first scene is when Allan Trumbull decides to put his money on
General Clegg‟s idea to secure the Cerberus code by using the military force. This
scene is already mentioned in the risk-taker point. Both Allan Trumbull and
General Clegg are in the crisis room when General Clegg analyzes the situation
and then he suggests to attack the terrorists from the air (see figure b.11). This
scene shows that General Clegg is a courageous follower and he wants to get the
job done quickly as much as Allan Trumbull. As the decision-maker, Allan
Trumbull decides to green light General Clegg‟s way to solve the problem.
Figure b.11. Taken from page 69.
The filmmaker captures a great shot in the film to represent Allan
Trumbull‟s decision in using military action to end the problem. The picture from
b.11 shows how the cinematographer focuses in the shot to Allan Trumbull and
General Clegg and blurs the other characters on the background. It shows Allan
Trumbull‟s side to finish the job at that time. Allan Trumbull leads the operation
and he is backed by General Clegg. In addition, the high angle shot from this
scene signifies the vulnerable of the position of the U.S. governement as the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id81
terrorists gets the second trigger code to the Cerberus missiles and they need a
quick progress on defeating the terrorists and saving the president.
In this second scene, Allan Trumbull decides to trust his follower on the
field, Mike Banning. After the failure of the air attack, Mike Banning is the only
hope for Allan Trumbull to save the president and defeat the terrorists. Below are
the dialogue from the scene between Mike Banning and Allan Trumbull,
Allan Trumbull : Μr. Banning, are yοu there? Mike Banning : Υes, sir. What's the plan? Allan Trumbull : We're recalling the Seνenth Fleet pulling οur trοοps back frοm the DΜZ and giνing them the helicοpter. Mike Banning : Sir, yοu cannοt dο that. Υοu cannοt giνe this guy what he wants. l'νe dealt with these types οf men befοre. Giνe me sοme time. Let me flush him οut. Allan Trumbull : We are talking abοut the safety οf the President οf the United States! Mike Banning : We're talking abοut a hell οf a lοt mοre than that, sir. With all due respect, yοu're acting president nοw. Αnd l'm the best hοpe yοu'νe gοt. Allan Trumbull : Okay, Μike.Υοu'νe gοt 30 minutes. (Minutes: 01:28:01)
This scene is exactly like what Michael Siegel describes in his theory,
where Mike Banning is not just a „yes man‟ type of person who influences Allan
Trumbull‟s decision. When Allan Trumbull says that all about the safety of the
President of the United States and then Mike Banning reacts by saying, “We're
talking about a hell of a lοt mοre than that, sir,” shows that Mike Banning gives
the revelation to Allan Trumbull that the stake is higher than the president‟s life, it
is the life of the whole people of the United States and the world. The other scenes
show how the security of the world becomes unstable due to the event of the
White House (see figure b.18). commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id82
Figure b.18.
Figure b.19.
The sound aspect in this scene is important to the representation of
decision-maker quality of Allan Trumbull. When Allan Trumbull says, “Okay,
Mike. You‟ve got 30 minutes,” the line is edited in the form of the sound that
comes out from Mike Banning‟s earphone (see figure b.19). It symbolizes that
Allan Trumbull‟s faith in Mike Banning and his final decision in using Mike
Banning‟s service in effort to accomplish the goal. Allan Trumbull passes the
baton of his trust from General Clegg‟s fiasco plan to his only field agent, Mike
Banning. Mike Banning is an example of a follower who is willing to tell to his
leader the truth and to provide a different perspective to his leader, Allan
Trumbull, to take a more effective decision to accomplish the goal. On the other
hand, Allan Trumbull shows that he is a leader with the quality of decision-maker commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id83
who is willing to listen to his follower‟s suggestion and making an unselfish
decision.
However, there is one moment in the film that shows Allan Trumbull as a
strong decision-maker. The scene takes place when Allan Trumbull is having a
strong argument with General Clegg in ordering Mike Banning to stand down
after the failed attempt to raid the White House from the air. Below is the dialogue
from that scene,
General Clegg : Τhis is General Clegg, Αrmy Chief οf Staff. l am οrdering yοu tο stand dοwn. Mike Banning : Remονe yοur οnly eyes and ears frοm the grοund? Τhat's fucking brilliant. General Clegg : We need tο pull yοu οut οf there befοre we lοse anοther hοstage! l am giνing yοu a direct οrder. Mike Banning : Newsflash, asshοle. l dοn't wοrk fοr yοu. Allan Trumbull : General Clegg. l'm the Cοmmander-in-Chief. lf l didn't absοlutely need yοu, l wοuld relieνe yοu right nοw. General Clegg : l will nοt let this asshοle blοw up Αmerica, sir! Allan Trumbull : General, l dοn't wanna hear anοther wοrd οut οf yοu unless l ask yοu a questiοn! (Minutes: 01:27:28)
Figure b.20.
Allan Trumbull‟s disagreement with General Clegg indicates that Allan Trumbull
is a strong leader who comes up with his own solution in certain situations inspite commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id84
of his openness to listen to other‟s opinion in other occasions. This scene (see
figure b.20) shows his tough decision-maker side of him who strongly rejects
General Clegg‟s way in solving the problem. The figure b.20 captures Allan
Trumbull‟s rage in General Clegg for trying to overpower Allan Trumbull as the
president of the United States. The low angle and the deep focus indicate how
powerful he is as the leader. This figure also shows that Allan Trumbull reaffirms
and reminds General Clegg that he is the ultimate decision-maker, and not just a
leader who buys whatever his followers‟ suggestions.
commit to user