Pop Culture Element

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J. Edgar

Pop Culture Element
J. Edgar

Richard Miranda
Leadership Development - AEC 3414, Section 0482
Professor Stedman
June 11, 2012

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J. Edgar
J. Edgar
In 2011, Clint Eastwood directed a brilliant ensemble of actors, including Leonardo
DiCaprio in the lead role, in a biopic film titled J. Edgar about the life of one of American history’s more curious leaders: J. Edgar Hoover. The film is made fascinating by Eastwood’s

courageous spotlight on not only Hoover’s strengths but also his flaws which center on a peculiar personal life (for the era) and a fixation with celebrity and his own personal legacy. Although some uncorroborated liberties were surely taken by the writer for dramatic effect, the end result
of
213). It is made known throughout the film, and even verbalized in one scene, that he has only ever had three relationships—his mother, his lifelong secretary, and his Assistant Director, Clyde Tolson. What’s worse, Hoover wielded strong

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coercive power over everyone around him, further damaging any hope for the establishment of meaningful relationships inside or outside his agency.
Under his direction the FBI employed surveillance and wiretapping and even placed hidden recording devices in the homes and hotel rooms of many public and private figures. The list of those targeted by Hoover, according to the film, included John F. Kennedy, Lyndon
Johnson, Richard Nixon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., members of congress, and many others.
This information was allegedly kept in secret files in Hoover’s own office and used to coerce and blackmail his way through the decades. It is even implied that it was the secret files he kept on the six Presidents under which he served that kept him from being fired and replaced.
The final flaw in the FBI founder’s leadership is seen manifest towards the end of the film. Hoover reveals himself to be amoral, unethical and dishonest. During a
I believe honesty, integrity, morality, and ethics are all values a leader must possess, embrace, and practice throughout the entire span of career. J.
Edgar Hoover seemed to require the highest standards and values for his FBI agents, but fell short of practicing them himself.
Leadership is carried out by human beings; I am under no illusion otherwise. Insofar as we are all flawed, all we can do is learn what it means to be a good leader and do our best. One way is to model our leadership processes after leaders we admire. Equally, we can learn from leaders who fall short of the idyllic model. Watching this film has afforded me the opportunity for both. In Hoover I learned the value of self-confidence, vision, motivation, and drive. I admire those qualities he displayed throughout his career to fearlessly pursue his ideas and implement the changes needed in the milieu of criminal investigation. On the other hand, I learned from his shortfalls in the area of authentic leadership as it pertains to affective awareness, relationship building, and ethical steadfastness. I think Hoover could have accomplished much more if he had cultivated friendships and allies throughout his