Adam Parker's Assignments

Unit II - Causal Argument Portfolio

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Final Draft-Essay II- Television and Politics

The art of swaying public opinion has been used since words and images could first be printed on paper. Martin Luther used the invention of the printing press in 1439 to his advantage with a barrage of propaganda to alter the opinions of the masses. Any position of power in the world takes public acceptance, and for the public to accept you, they must know you and your cause and have reason to be behind it. Television made all of this even easier. Now, not only could you get information to the public, but you could do it quickly with the use of video and music. However, elections themselves, and politics in general, became less about politics and more about popularity and the candidate’s ability to grab and hold the voter's attention.

Politicians not only campaign, but they form advertisement campaigns. They come up with an issue that will get the public's attention and go after their opponent for not agreeing with them, all over the television.

In the 1960 election, the first televised debate was held between presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Kennedy, a young and good-looking democrat (not unlike Obama), went up against an old and normal looking Nixon. What is interesting is that in a debate completely about politics, the looks of the candidates were actually more important to many people. Although people listening to the radio say that Nixon had beaten Kennedy in the debate, those watching on television believed that Kennedy had actually won. So, America was saying that although one man may be more intelligent about political matters, we would rather have a president that is young and good looking.

The election that is currently going on is a perfect example of each party trying to gain more popularity and attention through their backgrounds and looks rather than their political abilities. Obama is running as the first black president, and to catch up, McCain chooses a woman running mate. It's no longer about who has the best mind to do the job, but who has the best face to represent the country. Media follows the president wherever he goes. It has gotten to a point where he is more like an actor than a president.

This has even gone further than simple ads put on television by each party. Clothing brands now use their fan base to promote candidates. Urban Outfitter stores have been selling shirts and other products featuring the face of Barrack Obama. Politics seeps into the fashion industry, which is a business that makes it's money on telling people what is "cool" and then providing it to them for a very high price. So the candidate becomes the next "cool" thing among teenagers, and those young voters are swayed to vote for the man even though they may have no idea what he stands for. Democrats have a history of making their candidate seem appealing to the younger voters by choosing young, attractive males. The easiest way to get younger people's attention is through television, and now even websites such as Myspace. It is easy to place the candidates picture near images that are "cool" to the younger generation and play "cool" songs behind his videos, and this seems to be enough to gain the vote of much of the youth.

Of course, as Election Day grows closer, the television ads become longer and more frequent. Obama’s campaign has spent a lot of money on television advertising, even giving him a prime time special that ran as a 30-minute campaign advertisement. His friendly voice and calm, confident attitude in the video, as well as the images and clips that he shows makes it easy to feel like he is a worthy president. However, this is all just an act. It is being filmed in a studio where he is being told what to say and how to say it. The images and music are chosen to bring the emotion in the audience. In a sense, none of it is real.

It has always been strange to me how television news stations only focus on the two major candidates in the election. There is never anything about independent candidates that are running. It may be because no one really wants to know about them, or it may be because the Republicans and Democrats have the money to pay for the publicity. It makes sense that even the elections in our country are based around money.

The show has been going on for so long now that it has taken over all aspects of politics, making everything that happens in our country seem more like a movie than real life. A good example would be the "Mission Accomplished" fiasco with Bush. Despite the fact that the mission was not actually accomplished, the whole dramatic scene with the banner is like the ending to a war film. Without press coverage and cameras on scene, nothing this extravagant would have happened. Bush did this for the people of the country to see.

Another example is the fact that Oliver Stone has made a movie about George Bush and family, titled W. Stone does not think that Bush makes a good president, but rather a good character for a movie. The trailer is a little bit embarrassing to our country. What is worse is that it looks like it may actually be a good movie. It just shows what people think of our country's government. The media plays reality like a movie, and so the material makes a great film.

There is no way around this act. Candidates will always put on the performance for the cameras because that’s what they need to do to win attention and elections. There is no way of knowing exactly what a person is going to do once they are the president, and trusting a person simply because of the character they play when they are in front of the cameras is ridiculous.

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