Mediacologyputting the 'eco' into media ecology and open education (and other tangential meditations)

The first rule for reading propaganda is to assume that whatever the propagandist says is the opposite of reality. So if Ronald Reagan pontificates that America is a beacon of freedom for the world, what he really means is that he is selling arms to Iran’s Mullahs and Saddam Hussein, and is training the future leaders of Al Qaida in Afghanistan. Likewise, when controversial Tea Partier Christine O’Donnell says in the above ad that she is not a witch, she is actually practicing black magic. Not to denigrate the honorable profession of witchcraft, but we have to deal with the phrase on her terms, which means the cartoony, TV babe version that completely misrepresents the arts, turning it into a tool of manipulation and control of the pettiest kind. What O’Donnell may not be aware of is the prime directive of the arts: what goes around comes around. Be careful of the kinds of spells you cast.

I don’t know O’Donnell, but judging from the various video clips that have surfaced from her past, she strikes me as a true believer that will dabble in just about anything, the kind of turncoat cultist that can easily switch from Krishna to Christianity. Don’t be alarmed if at some point she calls herself a Marxist. Unfortunately, it would be too simple to dismiss this campaign as the kind of conjuring practiced by shopping mall goths. There is too much big business at stake.

What inspires today’s blog screed is the slick salvage job the Republicans are making to shore up their million dollar electoral investment, one that will pay big time dividends to the uber-rich if the Republicans re-take control of the Senate (and can further delay climate change action). Is rehabilitating a religious fanatic as simple as donning some pearls and conservative black business suite while delivering an anti-corruption pitch layered with a bit of Holiday Inn lounge music? What about declaring with the best coached smile and earnestness money can buy that, “I’m nothing you heard, I’m you”? Here she deploys the Charlie Brown theory of cartoon psychology in which you draw something with as little detail as possible so as to make it easier for people to project their own fantasies.

I don’t know anyone in Delaware, so I honestly don’t know how on target O’Donnell is when she declares, “I am you.” If this is the case, maybe this is more the desperate cry of someone who will do and say anything to be popular. That is certainly the case with most Republican politics.

The above clip is just one of many samples in which Sarah Palin, a master manipulator of the first order, can turn ignorance into an attack. I call this the cartoon theory of politics. Scott Mccloud in Understanding Comics argued that cartoon characters with little detail (such as Peanuts) are attractive to younger kids because they allows kids to fill in the empty space with their own imagination. Less imaginative and older kids dig action comics that are filed with detail because they don’t need space to project a sense of play.

In our atmosphere of infantile politics driven by mass mediated imagery and high fructose sound bites, Palin is perhaps the best example of a caricature of the American political system. She is vague and folksy enough to mask her true beliefs and worldview to allow an uneducated, media saturated public to project their desires, wishes and hopes upon her, just as kids do with simply drawn comics. So in her cartoonish way, she can seem like an innocuous working class girl who hunts moose on the weekend, yet because she is a true political animal and opportunist, she readily serves the interests of her Republican mentors (if you don’t believe me, read Rolling Stone’s demythologization here). In her crafty way she (and her handlers) have figured out how to tap the general anxiety people have about East Coast media elites (as they should), to portray herself as a victim, when in fact she is the perfect (willing) tool of a nefarious fascist agenda. Genius is all I can say. Sleazy, but Genius.

PS

It may seem like I don’t respect Palin as a self-made person. I believe she willingly chooses her beliefs based on a desire to have power over others. We all know and have had relationships with these kinds of people. They are toxic. So though I call her a tool and instrument, I say this with the awareness that social climbers are very good at telling people what they need to hear, and often mirror back to them their desires for the sake of power. I don’t think Palin is a bimbo. A skilled emotional predator is a better description. Thus, I consider her a highly dangerous politician. Watch your back, my friends. Watch your back.

WIth eyes set on Obama, how far will this argument go?

I know I was a bit harsh on the last Obmama video that hit the circuit, so I’m please to share a stranger, freakier video that better suits my personal tastes. You can guess who the target audience is for this one, and it ain’t so-called Reagan Democrats.

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