Constructing the Reality of Politics: The Campaign

Constructing the Reality of Politics: The Campaign Politics in Film Joe Braunwarth

Bob Roberts • Intended to be a Satire • Pre-Movie bullets: • Why the documentary format/reporter? • How prescient is this movie? Have events overtaken the movie? • Note how the news media cover the campaign. • Note how the campaign is presented through other media • Note background and image of Roberts • Why the construction of an image around family values and national pride? • Why does the “take, make, and win” theme resonate with those who can’t?

Mediated Campaigns • Campaigns are dominated by media events • Ads • News (featuring staged Photo-Ops) • Talk Shows • Debates • Think about how are these depicted in the films we see here?

Roberts and the News Media • How does the media cover the Roberts’ campaign? • Present material from official sources without question or commentary (Wag the Dog) • Why don’t they pick up on the misleading aspects of the Roberts’ campaign? • Norm of objectivity • Emphasis on what people want to see rather than what they need to know (Network) • Emphasis on scandal even when proven to be false • Emphasis on the Horse Race of the campaign • Think about these topics in the context of Postman and Network

Roberts and the Media • Through what other media does Roberts present his campaign? • Ads, songs, videos, debates guest appearances • How would you describe Roberts’ campaign ads? • Misleading and lacking specificity • What is the significance of Roberts’ folk songs and music videos? • Songs are all old liberal folk songs with the words changed • Rather than attacking racial injustice or fight poverty and war, is a full frontal attack on 1960s idealism: attacks the poor and homeless, anti-war activists, hippies, drugs • Note the opposing view presented on “Cutting Edge” and by Buzz the Reporter

Roberts and the Media • Note the different rhetorical style of the debates, which one plays better? • Why is it important for Roberts to appear on the comedy show? (this was originally written as a short subject for SNL) • Increasingly important to appear on these types of shows

Campaign Necessities • Must have the “fire in the belly” to put up with the long duration and intense scrutiny of the campaign • This deters otherwise qualified candidates • Money is a necessary but not sufficient ingredient for electoral success; Must either have it or be able to raise it • Whom does this exclude? • Third Parties, Working Class advocates, etc. • How is this reflected in the films we are going to see?

Image • What is Roberts’ background? • Wealthy and Well-Connected (Almost universally necessary for major political office) • What kind of image does Roberts construct? • Sincere believer in restoring intangibles like national pride, family values, etc. • Consider why these things are stressed over more substantive policy positions • Are widely valued but unspecific • Reflects the emphasis on image>substance in contemporary campaigns and politics in general

Saffell Article • What are the three primary factors that determine for whom people will vote? • party identification, issues, and personal characteristics of the candidates • How is this reflected in the movie?

Prescience? • How was this movie prescient? • Prescient satire of how a relatively small portion of the voting public makes a Roberts’ phenomena possible • Predicts the appeal of an ultra-conservative political and economic policy even to those who have nothing • Note the parallels between the first Gulf War and the recent one as a source of generating fear, etc.

The Message • One review calls this film “a scathing critique of the views, motives, and effects of conservative, populist politics in America” • How so? • Audiences negotiate the media • Can you see other interpretations of this film? • Does this seem so “scathing” today? • Or has political debate moved to the right?

Mockumentary • Why the documentary film (Note the use of hand-held cameras, etc.)? • Interesting narrative device, vehicle by which to see the reality behind the image of the candidate • Somewhat falls apart under the weight of the melodrama toward the end • What is discovered about Roberts’ character by the documentary film maker? • Somewhat cynical and vengeful • Why use a reporter? • Common tool to present political information, we’ll see this used in other films • Also emphasizes the potential for a watchdog rather than a lapdog press • Why is Buzz not taken seriously? • Again image, etc.

The Candidate • Story of a brash, young, idealist who gets involved in politics in order to get his liberal message out • Can say what he wants because he can’t win • What happens when winning becomes a possibility? • Why does this happen? • Does it necessarily have to happen; “Maybe there are questions that can’t be raised in a political campaign?” • Why the emphasis on image>substance?

Politics is Bull***t • Why does the race becomes more about politics than the message? • When he has a chance of winning, he gets swallowed by the political machine • How is this demonstrated in the movie? • The laughing fits, the skewing of the stump speech • In the final scene, when his father says, “you’re a politician now,” what does he mean? • That politics is not noble civic virtue but about manipulation • Is it necessary that politics be manipulative? • Would this manipulation be necessary if the media provided more substantive information and the voters were better informed?

Politics is Bull***t • What would happen to a candidate who ran a substantive campaign on specific issue proposals? • How does this film relate to the Braunwarth media reading (reader) • Emphasis is on packaging the campaign; spin>substance • Would this campaign be possible in a typographic age?

What do we do now? • What is the answer to the “what do we do now?” question? • Emphasizes the disconnect between the campaign and the need to govern and the concern that success in the former doesn’t necessarily mean qualifications in the latter • Is this message accurate in your experience? • Is voter cynicism justified? • What role does the wife play? • She figures out the game early on • Does your opinion of the candidate change when he and the woman leave the hotel room?

Constructing the Reality of Politics: The Campaign