When Politics, Media, and Vaudeville Intersect: Amusing Ourselves to Death

In 1966 Ronald Reagan explained quotPolitics is just like show businessquot It39s clear that the Democratic Party has not yet identified a candidate who can rise to the show business skills or experience of either Reagan or Donald Trump And if we39ve learned anything from the messages of Aldous Huxley39samp160Brave New World Marshall McLuhan39samp160The Medium is the Massageamp160and Dr Neil Postman39samp160Amusing Ourselves to Death it39s that politics government and public discourse have become first and foremost show businessThe high road amp8212 filled with better ideas serious issues and relevant priorities amp8212 pales by comparison to a powerful and compelling media presence It39s a historical philosophical and political mistake to believe that ideas and issues alone will win this election It39s a mistake to consider the debate stage or the primary states as where quotbetter and more issueorientedquot candidates can change minds The stage for the 2020 election is not in Iowa New Hampshire South Carolina Nevada or any of the Super Tuesday states The stage is the mediaamp160The message is the media the mediaamp160isamp160the message The winner will be determined by the media amp8212 the politician who can control dominate produce direct and be the star of the media narrative over the next eight months will win The challenge is to avoid the media39s obsession with negative campaigning and candidate vs candidate dog fights The focus on proving the ability to absorb Trumpian attacks and dish it out in equal measure is a zerosum losing strategy for the eventual Democratic candidate Democrats require a collaborative quotrising tidequot media strategy that lifts whichever candidate rises to the topThroughout the 2016 election campaign from the moment The Donald and Melania descended the Trump Tower escalator more media time was spent on Trump than all opposing candidates combined Trump39s celebrity dominated Hillary lost when her campaign discarded key voter groups and failed to control its ownamp160mediaamp160narrative Trump discards no one He entertains everyone See my 2016 preelection commentaries and warnings atamp160Mediumamp160andamp160MediaVillageamp160As President Trump controls the ondemand news cycle and has mastered social media He can only be defeated by being upstaged Democrats won39t win with sound bites and news clips or with issues and ideas alone but by capturing more social media and news attention than Trump With no candidate likely to threaten his skills at media dominance what and who is the solutionRobert McNeil the late and legendary PBS news anchor described television news decades ago quotThe idea is to not strain the attention of anyone but instead to provide constant stimulation through variety novelty action and movement Complexity must be avoided nuances are dispensable qualifications impede the simple message visual stimulation is a substitute for thought and verbal precision is an anachronismquot That39s the most apt explanation of Trump39s success that we39re likely to ever haveMy mentor and Media Ecology Professor at NYU Neil Postman in his 1985 classicamp160Amusing Ourselves to Death Public Discourse in the Age of Show Businessamp160which inspired Roger Waters39 1992 solo albumamp160Amused to Death indirectly offered a solution He wrote quotEmbedded in the surrealistic frame of television news is aamp8230type of discourse that abandons logic reason sequence and rules of contradiction In the parlance of theater it is known as vaudevillequot Donald Trump did not invent political vaudeville but he sensationalized and infused it with a new style of political show business that fulfilled the masses39 need for constant stimulation Perhaps not coincidently vaudeville originated in beer halls where the quotcoarse and sometimes obscene shows were aimed toward a primarily male audiencequot Trump39s defeat will come only when the media has a more entertaining and sustainable story that captures center stage and pushes Trump39s performance to the sidelinesamp160We can look to the death of vaudeville for answers Encyclopedia Britannica reports quotIn 1896 motion pictures were introduced into vaudeville shows as added attractions and to clear the house between shows They gradually preempted more and more performing time until after the advent of the 39talkies39 about 1927 the customary bill featured a fulllengthamp160motion pictureamp160with 39added acts39 of vaudeville The growth of radio and later of television contributed to the rapid decline of vaudeville and to its virtual disappearancequot Democrats need breakout political entertainment that dominates media attention and forces Trump to become an quotaddedactquot inside a more entertaining Democraticdominated attractionamp160While the political process will continue down its overgrown path to the final candidate39s anointment there39s no requirement that the party and candidates can39t then reinvent the process Rather than charging into a oneonone campaign unprepared and underfinanced Democrats can plan ahead and take control of the media story David Plouffe campaign manager for Barack Obama believes that by March 17thamp160there will be clarity on the candidates who have a mathematical path to the nomination and he recently urged on MSNBC that other candidates quotstep off the stagequotMy solution is just the opposite and one I expect Postman McLuhan and McNeil would embrace Postman wrote quotTelevision39s strongest point is that it brings personalities into our hearts not abstractions into our headsquot Once dominating candidates are recognized they can change Plouffe39s narrative by highlighting the accomplishments and qualifications of several of their recent opponents bringing them onstage and spotlighting them as the future of the nation39s political establishment Once clear candidates emerge they can announce proposed vice presidential partners cabinet members and close advisors shifting the media narrative away from Trump and the Trumpdominated reality show that any Democrat is destined to lose Once their candidate is finalized the Democrats can win the big award in November by serving up a large cast of political superstars in the best and greatest reality show everThrough social media advertising and search engine optimization Democrats can feed the media39s appetite for spectacle Asamp160the cast ofamp160Democrat appointees focus media attention on Trump39s revolving door of acolytes and his family Trump will inevitably demand more and more attention on him by increasing the heat the attacks the negative campaigning the lies all while Democrats deflect refocus the story arc and win Politics today requires minutebyminute media staging focused on generating TV ratings news dominance and social media impactDemocrats need to keep Trump and his team offguard bring down his collaborators and defenders onebyone and create confidence in a new cast of personalities who will take the stage in January Postman believed quotIf politics is like show business then the idea is not to pursue excellence clarity or honesty but toamp160appear as if you arequot Through the appearance of full postelection transparency more Democrats will be relevant and empowered to raise funds participate as activeamp160and investedamp160playersamp160throughout the campaign spread across the country and even the world telling their stories creating doubt about Trump39s minions and engaging with voters More importantly they will push Trump off the main stage as they feed the media39s daybyday minutebyminute demand for new and differentThe Democratic candidates and Party need to plan and begin executing their election media strategy now if they hope to compete They must control the setting and the story with a clear message and a tsunami of media noise Aamp160full Democraticamp160cast with its star at the forefront must stand together amp8212 each with their own role focused on supporting defending and justifying a new president a unified message unified government and unified nation Trump39s vaudevillian act will have run its course and will be given the hook only when the media has a bigger and better hit show over which it can obsessClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

When Politics, Media, and Vaudeville Intersect: Amusing Ourselves to Death

Author

Publish date

Channel

Jack Myers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

When Politics, Media, and Vaudeville Intersect: Amusing Ourselves to Death

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jack Myers

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

Cookies