What was originally perceived as the 2004 answer to the John Hughes era of teenage driven films has recently been uncovered as so much more by this great film critic. Offbeat, off the beaten path, and averse to corporal punishment, Napoleon Dynamite has given viewers a slice of Idaho life but through the eyes of its strangest resident and the lens of one of Hollywood’s most unique directors. The story— the tale— the misadventures of young Napoleon are reminiscent of an early Martin Scorsese picture, wholly character driven with a plot that can only be uncluttered as the film is wrapping up. Our protagonist is created immediately though his costume, face, accessories, speech, and his practice of casting a fishing lined action figure trough the window of his school bus, simply to have it flail about behind the bus. Napoleon plays tetherball by himself, he is bullied, he is distrusted, he is rude, he has chapped lips, he welcoming of minorities, he has no skills (or so he thinks) he is in summation, a loser. But we as the audience are prompted to believe that not only because of his looks and outward doofiness, but because of his character. He’s not particularly nice, he is disrespectful towards the authority of his grandmother and Uncle Rico (although in the defense of Napoleon they afford him little to no respect). He is rude to subordinates including an acquaintance that asks him what he is going to do today, to which Napoleon aggressively responds, “Whatever I feel like, gosh!” He does not come out of the gate as a character to be pitied, but he achieves redemption from his constant wish for a fresh start. As if he is aware of some of his pitfalls, but desperately wants to meet people to cohabitate that hole with. He puts his (mostly) honest self out there, the liger drawing, lack of skill lamenting, happy hands-ing goofball is out in the open, just waiting to be embraced by Pedro and Deb.
The film continues its masquerading impotence all the way up to the halfway point where Napoleon is abandoned at the school dance by a girl he thought he believed he’d won over with a hand drawn portrait of the young lady. She of course is coaxed into going by her mother, not her own desires. After abandonment he finds Pedro and Deb. Pedro graciously allows Napoleon to dance with his date Deb (even though it is ultimately her decision of course!). It is at this seminal turning point Pedro goes to refresh himself at the water fountain and sees an advertisement for the upcoming student elections, Pedro is immediately inspired to run for student body president. It went without saying that Napoleon would be his running mate and the campaign is on! They make signs, hand out keychains, all they’re missing is a political platform…
Napoleon’s search for skills continues as he and Pedro admit themselves into a milk taste testing competition hoping it will help them compete with the popularity of their opponent Summer Wheatly (it does not). Destiny promptly visits Napoleon in a thrift store. He is trying out a blade found in the miscellaneous aisle, using his belt loop as a sheath when beneath the rubble of junk he spots the video tape D-Qwons Dance Grooves. Napoleon is entranced. From what is visible beyond the ajar door, Dynamite is blowing up, busting moves, popping grooves, and galloping hooves. Election Day arrives and Summer gives her version of a speech followed by a slightly slapdash dance number to a raucous applause. Pedro is caught completely off guard as the skit portion of his presentation was unbeknownst to him. He sidles on to the stage and delivers his idea, to mix church and state via Holy Santos. After about ten seconds, Pedro finalizes his message with Napoleon’s wise words “If you vote for me all of your wildest dreams will come true” and the crowd timidly claps. Pedro, dejected, mournfully walks stage right knowing he has no skit prepared, awaiting the death of his campaign. It is at this moment the crux of the film is brought to light! A lightning bolt strikes Napoleon and he knows how to save his dear friend. Through the power of Jamiroquai’s smash hit track “Canned Heat” Napoleon is able to open up a can of heat all over the auditorium and wow the audience. The applause is thunderous with a standing ovation led by Deb sealing the deal for Pedro and his future in public school politics.
Politics, that’s what it all comes down to. Jared Hess the director is simply not well known for his politically charged films, of course at this point in his career there was not much to base this off of. Nevertheless, the stance in which Napoleon Dynamite takes is up there with the films of Oliver Stone and John Sayles. So now that we are caught up on the characters and plot allow me to explain why this is one of the best and most unbelievable political satires of all time. Napoleon Dynamite is a political mastermind, not necessarily in the way of a Sheev Palpatine, more in the way of a Jar Jar Binks, there is no appearance of cunning, forethought, or intelligence of any kind, yet the man gets results. He won back a girlfriend that believed he wanted her to take natural breast implants, he was slick enough to get his Uncle to move back out of his home against his grandmothers wishes, and he single handedly, got his friend to become school president, beating out the schools most popular student. So how did he do it? Napoleon uses entertainment, brute force, and manipulation, all fabulous tactics in any successful politicians tool belt. Beginning with Deb, she hated Napoleon, surely the reasons seemed implausible, but they had not known each other for a very long time and the moments they shared together could have emboldened him to bring out his true nature and send her the Bust Must Plus flier. Deb is not a very confident person, if I can extrapolate a little bit I may say her mother passed away (which is why she took such offense when Kip said “Your mom goes to college” and since then her father has had to work overtime to support them. Of course he took to the drink to help him relax from the double shifts down at the mill and cope with the passing of his dearly departed. Often times when he is in one of his embittered rages he lashes out at Deb because the sight of her reminds him of his deceased wife whom he loved. The love turns to rage as she unforgivably left him too soon and Deb is there to pay the price. Deb is forced to hold two entrepreneurial jobs as a trinket saleswoman and a photographer to help put herself through college. When she meets Napoleon and Pedro it signifies a new life for her and then to have it all taken away when Napoleon supposedly believes she needs to change her body, it must have been devastating. Much like the devastation the American people face day after day when they see their taxes go down the drain and promises from politicians drift away as if they were never made. So what do they do to distract us and make us forget about such depressing notions? Movies, TV, I guess radio! Entertainment! Napoleon’s Iconic dance at the end of the film represents the politicians use of the entertainment industry to keep the masses happy and settled while the powers that be resume their seedy practices. The dance scene in Napoleon Dynamite is so strong in its political commentary that it comes with another layer. It is no coincidence that it takes place at the end of a debate, that it wins back a friend, and that the skit was the most important part of the political show anyway. Both Summer’s and Pedro’s speeches were considerably shorter than the time allotted for their skits. This could be written off as a chance to give high school children a forum to express a practical creativity, but I am much more comfortable saying that it is a deliberate detail by the filmmaker to showcase how elections are won on the song and dance. Hess is saying that policy has no bearing on the winningness of a candidate, what matters is their great skills that they can flaunt. Summer Wheatly’s speech may have been generic, but what is generic if not the voice of the people? Summer promised new pop machines, glitter dispensers in the girl’s bathrooms, new cheerleading uniforms, and a banning of chimini-changas. Are the the type of changes a Thomas Jefferson would have been proud of, certainly not, but she is bringing something to the table. Her campaign crumbles when her ill rehearsed skit was rewarded with an enthusiastic applause, but only Summer’s boyfriend Don was willing to warrant it the standing ovation Napoleon’s achieved with ease. Sure Summer was the favorite going into the election and she blew it to a guy who would not appear to have a chance card’s chance accidentally placed in the community chest pile, and I suppose that could warm your heart. But is it heartwarming to know that your school president was voted in on his running mate’s dance ability?
Let’s move on to Napoleon’s more aggressive side, citing his brawl with Uncle Rico. It is clear that Uncle Rico has abused Napoleon through his stay with the Dynamite boys. He tosses him out of the living room when Napoleon voices disapproval of Rico’s football video tape, he throws Kip’s steak at Napoleon’s best friend’s face, he tells his prom date’s mother that Napoleon wets the bed, and of course he spreads the herbal enhancement papers using Napoleon’s word as a broker. This is what brings Napoleon to his breaking point. Before this he tried lying to Uncle Rico, stating Grandma had asked him to leave, Rico assures his nephew that she never informed him of the changed plan. Napoleon quickly comes back with the legal grounds of trespassing, Uncle Rico uses the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner literally and stands his ground. Napoleon finally threatens to call the cops, and Rico immediately calls his bluff without a flinch. Anyone in this escalating situation would naturally think to use some physical force, (when nothing else works) politicians are not different. When all else fails, war has been the go to resolution for any country of military means, the president is in fact the commander in chief. Napoleon, being the gifted politician he is knows this and fires the first shot with a grapefruit thrown at his Uncle’s windshield. This begins a vicious battle, Napoleon is armed with a second orb of citrus and thrusts it into the hip of his avuncular opponent. Uncle Rico goes for the grapple, they end up on the ground, Napoleon drives an elbow into Uncle Rico’s lower chest, and Napoleon escapes victorious. This proves what type pf leader Napoleon would be. Not one to simply call for a skirmish and leave his peons to fight for him, Napoleon Dynamite would be the front man on the line charging into the chess board of war risking his life in the name of leadership. In relation to the greater political themes of the film this skirmish is quite interpretable. It could be said that Napoleon is a better suited running mate because of his combative tendencies, rather than the actual man in charge. However, I think it is an unveiling of what is to come for Napoleon. Once Pedro wins, there is no way of knowing the continuance of Napoleon’s scheme. Yet his fight with Uncle Rico illustrates a shift in power. Napoleon is not meant for subordination, he has long been the lowest man on the totem pole of Kip, Uncle Rico, Grandma, and will withstand it no longer, so he goes to war. Napoleon gathers that he would have very little chance winning the presidency against Summer, but by attaching himself to Pedro with his sweet bike skills, cousins with all the sweet hook ups, and the drive to run for the presidency, it puts him one position away from power. During Pedro’s term there is no telling what Napoleon could conjure to place himself in Pedro’s authoritative seat and if his bout with Uncle Rico is any insinuation, Pedro should spread the word about his secret service, or maybe bring in the second cousins.
Manipulation is everywhere, it could be your dog pretending to have to relieve himself outside, but really only wanting to play, someone asking what you’re up to only to request a ride somewhere, or a politician outwardly lying to you. Think of Napoleon Dynamite as the politician. In a calculated move, Napoleon calls Pedro the night before the election to make sure to tell the voters that if they vote for him, their wildest dreams will come true. This is a magnificent and broad promise to make for someone whose idea of change was to post Catholic portraits around the halls of the school. Pedro obliges and sure enough, he wins. Summer Wheatly wasted her time preparing a speech and platform that she believed in when all her speech needed to do was make an empty promise to an auditorium of entrusting youths. It can be argued that the lives of our main characters improved since Pedro’s speech, but did their wildest dreams come true? Grandma recuperated (though that was bound to happen anyway), Kip marries LaFawnduh (even though their relationship was already rapidly progressing because of Kip’s persistence in the chat rooms, and Uncle Rico appears to get back together with his ex Tammy (but we all know his wildest dreams were to be put in the fourth quarter and make it pro). All this being said, we know next to nothing about the majority of all of the students’ lives within Preston High School, except for Pedro that is. He is seen having a spectacular celebration with his family and the wide grin on his face because his wildest dreams came true. The filmmaker is obviously making a point that as long as the politicians get elected they are happy, they will say whatever they have to to stay there, because it makes them happy. I believe Pedro had the best of intentions, but like many politicians running and winning could be the acts of two sides of the same individual. The Pedro that ran for office had hopes of making the school safer yet the Pedro that won seems to be primarily focused on the win, but of course he is but a pawn in the nefarious game Napoleon Dynamite plays and should not be faulted too terribly. Napoleon will let the power go to Pedro’s head and assume a takeover once the public (school) realizes Pedro is unfit to lead and he is not meeting their needs. How do I know this? The final scene, one that upon one viewing would lead us to believe is a nice ending. One where Napoleon finally found his skill in dance, which leads him to a girl, the sex attracted to those with great skills. Yet through the eyes of the dastardly Napoleon this scene plays out completely differently. He won his political gambit with an enterprise that includes overthrowing Pedro and to rub salt in the wound, he steals his girlfriend Deb. As far as Pedro knew Napoleon was dating a model in Oklahoma (one of his many lies that outline his sociopathic tendencies). He allows Napoleon to dance with Deb under these pretenses, because he is kind, and maybe he felt since Napoelon knew her first, they should share a dance. Never could Pedro have foreseen the theft that would take place at the end of the film. Of course Deb is an independent woman, but her falling for Napoleon was a carefully crafted agenda construed by Napoleon to win her after feeling betrayed by a Pedro who was under the impression Napoleon was spoken for. You could even make the case that all of Napoleon’s “help” was thrusted into reality as revenge for Pedro taking Deb away from him, but I already wrote all of this and don’t feel like changing the thesis.
Napoleon Dynamite is a ruthless individual, I for one am glad to say that there was no sequel and for the purposes of this argument the television show is non canonical because I would hate to see just how far Mr. Dynamite would have taken his legacy as a tyrannical overlord. I hope this abundance of evidence has satisfied the case and convinced you of the merit to which Napoleon was not what he seems, but much more than what met the four eyes. However, if it is not enough, I leave you with one last nugget of detail… HIS NAME IS NAPOLEON. Named after the French Emperor and potentially a distant relative. If you believe Napoleon was simply given this name by the filmmaker because it was funny, I refer you to the scene where Napoleon calls Pedro’s house. The phone rings at Pedro’s home and a girl thought to be his sister answers, she informs Napoleon Pedro is absent and when our protagonist asks her to tell him Napoleon called she is in disbelief and asks again to confirm his identity. Napoleon is insulted and answers with an aggressive Yes (of course my name is Napoleon. I may look gawky and have the voice of a raspy buffalo, but if I were not in character my very being would astonish you to the point of voluntary servitude to my unflinching will). Napoleon Dynamite is a political mastermind.
