In chapter 9 of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman speaks about how television has turned politicians into celebrities:
“Just as a television commercial will use an athlete, an actor, a musician, a novelist, a scientist, or a countess to speak for the virtues of a product in no way within their domain of expertise, television also frees politicians from the limited field of their own expertise. Political figures may show up anywhere, at any time, doing anything, without being though, odd, presumptuous, or in any way out of place. Which is to say, they have become assimilated into the general television culture as celebrities.” (131-132)
I completely agree with what Postman is saying. Viewing former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin giving a campaign speech on television is not the problem; viewing her speak about her pregnant daughter and her love for hunting on television is. Other examples of politicians becoming televised celebrities are when Barack Obama’s trip to a fast-food restaurant and when Bill Clinton’s infidelity are broadcasted. I agree with Postman that on television, politicians should keep to politics and not have their personal affairs publicized on the evening news. Why some politicians would even endorse the broadcasting of their personal affairs is a mystery, but serves to show that they seem to crave the spotlight more than the votes of the people. For those politicians that seem to crave celebrity more than Capitol Hill, they should have gone to Hollywood rather than to Harvard.
Has television really caused politicians to turn into celebrities? Or is Postman just making a fuss over it?
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You're right. Television is a leading factor in why politicians have become more like celebrities. Postman is making a fuss of it, but because it is true. Many politicians are well known a lot more now because of the broadcasting on television and it seems entertainment is becoming more important than politics.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't have to do with what Melissa is saying but it does pertain to entertainment becoming more important then politics. I was watching a show yesterday and they were talking about how Obama was supposed to have a press meeting at a certain time and 'Americas Got Talent' was coming on at the same time, so they pushed his meeting to a new time just so we don't miss that show.
It's interesting how people are more absorbed in entertainment than hearing the president talk about health care.
I think that when you put yourself in a situation for people to judge you or to know your name nowadays, no matter what you do even if it is the most simplest of activity, like going to the store to buy milk, people will make a big deal out of it no matter what it actually may be. Many politicians have become more like celebrities because the media and paparazzi follow them everywhere they go to see if they do anything wrong or unusual and dig into their past to see what they used to be like. Postman is fussing over the fact he wants us to realize that just because they stand out in the world does not mean we actually have to care for them, just their policies and how they want to run our government.
ReplyDeleteTo me it must be hard to go on and have people not only judge you as a politician but as a person.
I agree that it is a bad thing that politicians are becoming more like celebrities and having to worring about their public appeal more than the policies that they need to be focusing on. Sure i can see the media making a big deal about politicians that break the law by either having call girls of misusing their power, but we really dont need to know about their family vacation to Florida. The politicians that are only in their position to be in the lime-light are obviously doing the job for the wrong reason. I think its more of the society we live in today that idolizes people with more money or power than them that causes the politician's personal lives to become public. The point is they're not celebrities, but politicians that should be more worried about their actual jobs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this as well, but sometimes it is not really the own politicians who set their status to "celebrity". There are people who dedicate their lives to gaining any type of entertaining juicy gossip or pictures of the president on vacation, people like "paparazzi". It is hard to be the president or someone known not necessarily having to be a celebrity or entertainer because now-a-days any type of publicity is an enabler for someone to become famous. For example a very close to home example of someone who is now a "celebrity" on accident, President Obama, he is a regular person trying to do his job which is to of course lead the United States, he too like almost everybody has a family who would like to live a normal life. A secret getaway to Florida will appear on the media immediately the next morning not because he recorded his trip and sent it to TMZ but because people want to be nosey and somehow find it very special and interesting if Obama is at the beach with his family compared to a regular family on the same trip. Politicians, authors, entertainers, directors, teachers, mothers, by standers at a live crime scene, anyone who is on television might as well be called a celebrity now a days. Others though do take advantage of their jobs and turn to caring more about being famous than what they are really there for.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that politicians have become celebrities. We don't need to know what kind of dog Obama has or what pants he is wearing. I think it's ridiculous that the public know more about our presidents daily activities rather than what he plans to do with our immigration problems and our soldiers being stuck in a foreign country.
ReplyDeleteThese are hard times for our economy is very low and I have no idea how they are still able to have a fabulous Easter party at the White House. I want our politicians to make their term worth their while.
However, I do not think that it is ONLY their fault that their life is broadcast nationally, but also our gossip hungry public. The paparazzi need to buckle down and stop distracting the Public with the politicians fasion faux pas. Instead, they should relay the important bills the are working on and such.
I agree with Ashley in that not all of the politicians want to be so publicized. (I sincerely doubt Bill Clinton slept with Monica to be on the news.) It just happens. The media fixates on certain people, especially those with any type of power. Politicians often don't go out of their way to be in the lime-light. Some do, but that doesn't mean we should condemn the whole lot of them because some TMZ cameraman decided to follow them around and put it on TV.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this. It just goes to show how entertainment is sucking in the topics that we should care about, such as politics and crimes that is happening around us everyday. Entertainment (or in what Melissa says, 'television') is making politicians look like celebrities in unpredictable and unexpecting ways. For example, gossip that spreads around makes politicians look like celebrities more than how they look advertising the things that we like, such as newest technology and food from popular restaurants. I don't want to point people out, but some of us care about what is going on with politicians' personal lives than the things that are important to us, such as Obama's plan for health care and mortgages.
ReplyDelete