From:
slider@anashram.com
Stripped of a baying crowd and with strange choices of backdrop, the
gathering of the Republicans had a frighteningly odd air
Two weeks ago, Mike Pence did something weird. Every day brings with it an opportunity to be freaked out by something new, so you have probably
forgotten all about this by now, but what happened was the US vice
president took to the podium at a Farmers and Ranchers for Trump rally in
Iowa and started talking about meat in a loud, expressionless voice. “I’ve got some red meat for you,” he intoned. “WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS CUT AMERICA’S MEAT,” he shouted, opening his mouth wide in that startling way of his, where the whole top of the face stays
utterly immobile, eyes dead, and the lower jaw unhinges itself.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/27/donald-trump-convention-republicans
It was a noticeably strange scene, and I’m sure people would have been
taken aback even if safety concerns due to the pandemic hadn’t meant Pence was addressing a vastly reduced crowd. Pence’s cadences and rhythms, his habit of looking around in belligerent appeal while rocking himself
backwards and forwards using the lectern as a support – these methods are suited to large, appreciative audiences whose cheers go at least some way
to masking the outlandishness of what is being said. The way it usually
goes with these things is Mike Pence or whoever says something
unintentionally hilarious about cutting America’s meat, and the roars of
the crowd make it clear that he is telling his audience what they want to
hear.
These speeches are meant to have a long afterlife, full of soundbites
intended to be endlessly replayed on news shows. You’re meant to watch
these clips and add “red meat” to the list of things that are apparently a huge deal in the upcoming American election. Look at all those people
clapping and screaming away, you’re meant to think. None of them seem even slightly alarmed by this. But without the sorely needed buffer of an
audience, however, a very different picture presents itself.
All this wild talk of America’s meat was instead met by nothing more than
a few concerned boos and some scattered applause. Every Donald Trump
campaign event is tinged with a frighteningly odd air, but it’s even
weirder now. No colourful balloons descending from the ceiling, no cues in
the form of cheering, no idea how any of this is being received by anyone
else. Just a very strange, very powerful person, standing in front of a
bank of flags, telling lies.
This issue goes a lot deeper than Pence and the farmers and ranchers, of course. Around the world and across the political spectrum, politicians
are trying and failing to sound persuasive as they deliver speeches and
give press conferences in front of small groups of people with at least 2 metres between them. It is always very hollow and unconvincing, so that
you are forced to spend long hours contemplating the meaning of the phrase “political theatre”. They look so lost up there, rocking backwards and forwards on their lonely lecterns, trying their best to bring down the
empty house.
Speeches streamed from living rooms or empty classrooms are not much
better, as last week’s Democratic national convention made clear. Even someone as charismatic as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could not quite pull it
off, looking more and more worried as she delivered a brief speech full of soundbites, still pausing at all the bits where a crowd would usually
cheer. This is not to deride her efforts, or to suggest that someone else
might have risen to the occasion, because there is not a politician alive capable of delivering a truly memorable speech over Zoom. The medium
simply does not permit the possibility.
Watching the clips from the DNC, though, it was clear that the whole thing
was undergirded by the attempt not to appear too strange. This attempt was
not necessarily successful, but you could see they were trying hard. The general idea seemed to be that there was no point pretending that a
conference held mainly over Zoom was an ideal situation, so best to at
least tacitly acknowledge this fact. Best not to give any speeches in any
large empty halls, screaming at no one, etc.
For once, the Trumps are only the Republicans' second most dysfunctional
family
But no such brief made its way to the people in charge of the Republican convention this week. Again, there is a gauzy film of unreality hanging
over every thing these people say or do, and that would have been the case
had they been delivering their lines in a packed convention centre. They
were not doing that, though. Instead what they did was stand in cavernous
halls that looked computer-generated despite allegedly being real, and
simply freestyled. Or bellowed out stuff about the best being yet to come
while the camera cut to a shot that emphasised the emptiness of the room.
Or talked about Trump’s victory in 2016 being “one of the great evenings” to the accompaniment of individual stressed-out cheers and moans of
approval. Or stood outside what looked like an extremely shoddy 3D
rendering of a log cabin, but was in fact a real building. Or were Donald Trump’s shiny adult children standing near Greek Revival columns, sweating under the lights as they told lies about their dad. Pausing expectantly,
again and again, for applause that was not coming.
It turns out that the balloons and the crowds acted as an even more
effective buffer than I would have guessed, in terms of lending even the thinnest veneer of credibility to these events. Without them, it is much
easier to size up the situation for what it is and always has been: just unwarrantedly powerful person after unwarrantedly powerful person,
standing in front of a bank of flags and lying.
### - lol well what a completely boring day 3 that was then eh? the extra supply of popcorns & cola wasted and remaining mostly unconsumed, plus
yeah, as this particular reporter lucidly mentions/points out: it's not
really coming-across too well in an empty hall at all is it hah, that it
all rings-hollow and studied (read: scripted) when not actively backed-up
by the regular amount of loyal baying & cheering crowds (and balloons heh)
to fill-in all the gaps?
and that: "Without them, it is much easier to size up the situation for
what it is and always has been: just unwarrantedly powerful person after unwarrantedly powerful person, standing in front of a bank of flags and
lying."
and coz lol ain't THAT the truth! haha :)))
gud :)
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)