John Dewey was very concerned with the state of our democracy in the early 20th century. Our population has exploded and the country had expanded its geographic borders. Not only that, but millions of immigrants with differing thoughts ideas and cultures were pouring into the country. Gone were the days of the small tight knit community. Gone were the days of the homogenized culture. He knew that for democracy to exist we needed to create a unified community. That community was created through the shared symbols of communication. These images would help define a genuine shared interest that would lead to desire for a consequence, a result of action for change. That desire would lead to an action and in that action community would be formed. However, there is a problem, Walter Lippmann posits that people don’t naturally share the same symbols. We all have a pseudo-reality, populated by images that we create to manage the size and complexity of our world. Since our pseudo-realities are constructed individually, they are unique. He says that all of us live in the same reality but think and feel in different ones. When Dewey speaks of habits of thought being the obstacle to communication and thereby community, it is related to these images or pictures in our heads. Lippman says that Democracy’s failures are due to a mismanagement or misunderstanding of the pictures in our heads. Dewey says that the exploiters of sentiment are appealing to habitual thought processes. Ultimately then, the means of communication (mechanisms) are the limited by our minds and the pseudo-environments in them, and exploited by those who wish to maintain the status quo or further their own ambitions. Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” demonstrates this quandary through its cynical portrayal of a newspaper man exploiting the pseudo-environment for personal gain.
When we are introduced to our protagonist, Chuck Tatum, we see him utilize shared symbols to manipulate the owner of the Albuquerque Sun-Times into hiring him. In the various exchanges he has with the employees of the paper he indicates his ability to appeal to the intellectual habits of the public to create a consensus, or in reality a perceived consensus. This is important as those abilities will be used to full effect as the plot unfolds.
When Leo is discovered trapped in the cave, Tatum, is veritably salivating over the possibilities of personal gain, by exploiting this situation. He looks for an angle. This angle is a means of planting an image in the pseudo-environment that will be fleshed out lead to action based on that false image. Important to that environment is that we populate it with heroes and demons. There is little interest in making a cave a demon, so panders to superstition. He angles the story with the legends of the vengeful spirits of the native tribes jealous of the poor Leo searching for pots. The public have their villain, their demon, to ascribe the evil of the situation to. Then he sets up the heroes. First and foremost is himself. He establishes a relationship with Leo and with his family. He does a few ostensibly helpful things e.g. calling authorities, arranging for the rescue crew. He maintains that image by daily descending into the mine to talk with Leo. These few acts appear heroic, sacrificing self for someone you hardly know, risking life to visit. The people place the picture of Tatum in their pseudo-environment and finish their image of him with the holy qualities of heroship. They come to worship him, but due to the picture in their head, and not the reality which is far from anything heroic.
He sets up other heroes: the small-town sheriff doing what’s right for one of his own, the old contractor willing to drill all the way through the rock just to save one man, the suffering wife bravely waiting and praying for the one she loves. Each of these presentations are placed in the pseudo-environment and fleshed out with what ought to be according to each person. They become the symbols that create the shared interest to join these brave souls in the effort to save Leo. That shared interest leads to that desire to save which leads them to action. The people come together and offer love and support (though also a deranged sort of curiosity). They act as Dewey says and that leads them to become a community. That community shares the values and desires and efforts all due to that shared picture in their heads.
The tragedy of the film is the tragedy of democracy. When the public has its habits, its pseudo-environment, exploited for personal gain what can only lead to disappointment and disillusionment. The heroes are, in reality, shadows. the Sheriff is not selflessly serving his constituency, he is using this image for his reelection. The contractor is not doing everything he can to save a man, he is doing publicity for his business. The wife is not bravely suffering, she sees it as an opportunity to gain financially and escape. And Tatum is no hero, his risk taking and pro bono service to the family is all calculated to benefit him financially. Nevertheless, these shadows produce a very real and emotional response in the public. They love them and come together and work together for this cause. These false heroes are the symbols that they look to to unite them together. But shadows cannot bind and the community founded on the pseudo-environment collapses, being a pseudo-community. Instead of creating democracy it breaks down and we are left to mourn, not just the death of poor Leo, but the failure of true community in the face of the pictures in our heads.
