The Way You Look Tonight

As I was flipping through the channels on my TV the other night, my family stopped to watch a press conference with President Obama about the ebola crisis in the United States.  As we watched him speak on the subject, I noticed just how tired he looked.  I remember canvasing for Obama back in 2008, and the now worn and tired president is not the same young and spirited man he was when he first ran for office. 

 I thought back to many history classes that I have taken in which we discussed the question whether or not Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be elected for office if he ran today.  If we think of solely his politics, it is easy to think that he would still be voted into office by Americans today.  However, we must also consider his physical condition.  A victim of polio as a child, FDR was weak in his lower body and used crutches and a wheelchair.  When he gave speeches, he leaned against the podium for support.  If television had prevalent in American homes at this time, would people have still voted for him, seeing that he was physically weak?

                








 Personally, I do not think that America would have elected FDR into office.  This was an era before television, an era before the majority of Americans could judge a public official based on their physical characteristics.  The first television was introduced to the American public at the 1939 World's Fair at which FDR gave a speech to welcome all of those in attendance.  It wasn’t until the early 1950s, however, that more than fifty percent of Americans owned TVs.

                 
  Television has influenced politics and increased the importance of the public image.  Before television, people could listen to politicians on the radio or read about them in the news, but there was no way in which the masses could observe the actions and the physical appearance of a person and make judgements about him.  With the invention of the television came the importance of having a presentable image.  Politicians are constantly under public scrutiny, for there are always fans, interviewers, or paparazzi waiting to film or take a picture of a public personality.   The public image has become so important in today’s society.  The body language and physical appearance of a politician suddenly became much more important to the public once the masses were able to watch a public figure live on TV.

                                                                               
                                                                              VS.

The importance of the public image adds a whole new element to politics.  Because of the influence of television, politics are no longer mainly based on what the politicians believe or what they promise their constituents, but instead on the way a politician looks.  America aims to vote for someone who looks strong, friendly, trustworthy, and like they will be able to protect America in a time of crisis. 

Screenings

So tonight, I decided to go with a few of my friends to see some of the thesis screenings at 7:00. I have to say, overall, I was pretty impressed. I know people take a lot of time on these projects, but in some of them, I really saw that hard work and energy shine through. They were pretty creative and different from each project, and I like the way they formatted the screening. It wasn't documentary after documentary or short film after short film; there was a mix.

One of my favorite films of the night was the documentary City Under Siege, the documentary that highlighted the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. This was a documentary that the producers began the semester before taking senior media thesis. They began the project during their doc studies class where they accumulated footage and interviews from the aftermath of the hurricane from people living on Staten Island.

The film opened with interviews from President Obama and other notable politicians as well as footage of the storm itself. They then moved onto the following days, using voice overs and b-roll of the neighborhoods closest to the water. After that, they did interviews with families about the hard times they went through. It first harped in on the lack of attention the government, FEMA, and the Red Cross was giving the population. From there, they highlighted the help of the volunteers and how much they contributed to the clean up of the areas. One of the saddest portions of the film was the interview they did with the family whose house burnt down. They evacuated their home and travelled to Pennsylvania, and as they watched the news, they watched their own house burn down. The producers stuck with the family as they searched through the rubble and found items that survived the flames such as a box of old pictures. They then finished the film with the extreme weather that has occurred over the years and how global warming is a problem they are dealing with.

The documentary, I think, was one of the best shot projects of the evening. It made the audience feel like they knew the people in the story and helped the audience relate to them in a struggling time. I also really enjoyed how they included their own footage as well as footage from other new sources, which added a great effect to the film.
 

Jenna, Kelly and Leah's Golden Doorknob Idea

Hi! My name is Jenna and I am in a group with Kelly and Leah.

Our idea:

We open with cutaways of different people at different locations watching the biggest news story in history. President Obama’s daughter has died due to severely hitting her head on the doorknob in her room. He has declared that all doorknobs be replaced with child friendly door hinges. These doorknobs are soft, squishy and will not hurt someone if they bump into it. The International Locksmith Association will go door by door across the U.S. changing the locks until the project is complete. We then focus on a group of college kids waiting for the locksmith association who will be arriving soon. The group waits together as the locks in their homes are changed. Once the locksmiths are finished with the job they yell up that they are leaving. The kids try and get out of their rooms but the doorknobs are too soft to open and they discover they are trapped. At this point a news story comes on saying that everyone in the country is stuck because the new doorknobs won’t turn. The end.