Monday, May 19, 2008
John McCain Speaks to Democratic Voters
This is interesting on a few levels.
1) It is pretty funny to be honest, in light of what is happening in the Democratic party, and
2) It strikes me as odd that the political arena and the entertainment arena would be mixed so blatantly, especially in an election year.
What do you guys think? Is this appropriate at any time? Is it appropriate in an election year? Shout it out.
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2 comments:
Are you referring to this one event? Or are you referring to the overall, total integration of politics and entertainment? And by that I mean not only entertainment playing host to politics, but also politics as entertainment.
Politics and entertainment have probably always been linked, for better or for worse. Satire comes to mind. And I would argue that satire is as important to politics—to democracy—as a free press.
However, I do think that the extent to which the two have become so indistinguishable lately is a little scary because it runs the risk of treating politics as a game without real consequences. We already pay more attention to the horse-races than we do to the issues. I think we're all guilty of that.
But when politics becomes completely enveloped by entertaining narratives—when we focus more on the sensational than the real—it begins to register at about the same level as reality television. People root for this or that contestant, but that's all there is. There's no real investment and no real concern that larger issues are at stake.
Some of that seems to have changed this year, but forces are pushing back. Reporters are talking about crazy preachers, flag-pins, and pantsuits. Some politicians are casting horror movies while others are fighting over who gets to play Rocky. It's all great fun, but in the end what have we solved?
Now John McCain's appearance on SNL might not have been the quintessential example. In and of itself, I think it's pretty harmless. But it does facilitate the degradation of our political system by simply playing along.
"it does facilitate the degradation of our political system by simply playing along."
That's what I was referring to. I think political satire is essential, but should probably be left to satirists. The election cycle itself has become little more than, like you said, another reality television show that people tune in to in order to root for their favorite contestant.
This appearance has the feel of being a simple cross-promotion, in the same way that you might see Harrison Ford making appearances on SNL and other programs in the week preceding the release of the new Indiana Jones movie.
Certainly I don't think McCain's appearance on SNL signals the downfall of the political system, lord knows there are plenty of other things wrong with it. But I do think that it is in bad taste to some extent on the part of McCain. The weight of the entire bid for the presidency seems to have been lifted and turned into little more than a funny little game. I appreciate humor but something like this probably doesn't have a place in an election year.
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