The
Republican presidential primaries for the 2012 presidential elections have seen
near every candidate utilize a similar set of ideas; the claim that America is
broken, that government is too big, that Obama is bad for the country, and that
they are best able to restore America to greatness. The candidates frame the
problems facing the country through public speeches, written pieces, and
debates. Yet the most useful tool for framing both the problems in America and
how one is competent to fix them is through video. Not only does one have the
ability to carefully craft a message through edification, but they can also
edit in video clips, voice-overs, and music to evoke a significantly more
powerful emotional response that cannot be done independently by language.
This paper will analyze some of the
political videos released by the numerous candidates over the course of the
campaign. These political videos and commercials allow the candidates an
effective means of framing the problems facing the country, his or her
opponents, as well as his or herself for its duration of the video. What
follows will analyze the main themes that are brought forth from these videos
as well as analyze how they attempt to frame themselves as the most able to fix
the country.
With the rise of video, specifically
television, politicians were given a new medium to win over the electorate.
Yet, this new medium also gave politicians a new means to lose the support of the
voters. The most prominent example of this is the first presidential debate of
1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. “People draw a multitude of
inferences from human physical appearance and movements… Many people infer
personality characteristics from human physical features” (Druckman,
561). This implies that those viewing the debate on TV could develop a
different opinion of the candidates than those listening to only the audio
through radio.
The first Kennedy-Nixon debate was
the first televised presidential debate. Upon conclusion of the debate, those
listening via the radio felt that Nixon had proven to be the best candidate,
whereas those watching the debate on television felt that Kennedy had done so.
One of the reasons for this was, as Frank Staton, president of CBS at the time
said, “Kennedy was brozed beautifully … Nixon looked like death” (Druckman,
563).
How one looks on camera is one of
the most basic components of imagery. By failing to take into account the
imagery of one’s appearance, they risk undermining the message the candidate is
trying to communicate. An example of failing to take into account one’s image
can be noted in Herman Cain’s “Now is the
time for action!” video which is hosted by Cain’s chief of staff, Mark
Block. The video’s unflattering altered contrast ratio and close-up shot
highlights the age of his skin. Block is
backed into a corner on the street, reminiscent of where those peddling
questionable products often sell their wares. Meanwhile, you hear planes flying
overhead and cars driving down a nearby street, giving the video an amateur
feeling. Most bizarre is towards the end of the video where Block is shown
smoking a cigarette and then blowing it into the camera. The video is concluded
with an enlarged frame of Cain sternly staring at the camera before smiling,
reminiscent of a sleazy businessperson or mafia kingpin.
While Herman’s appearance at the end
of the video was questionable, what was targeted by many is Block’s smoking of
a cigarette and blowing smoke at the camera. While this could be seen as an
attempt to show dissent towards the “liberal nanny-state” which opposes tobacco
use, it came across as bizarre and even offensive as without addressing why he
was smoking in the video, it could be interpreted that he promoting tobacco
use.
When
creating this video, he and the producer obviously did not take into account
the frame that has been strongly developed over the past few decades with
regards to smoking. Cigarettes have been framed by health groups and generally
by the media as “bad”. Often directors will show the “bad guys” smoking in
their movies, utilizing the established frame that smoking is bad in order to
reinforce a particular character is a “bad guy”. By having Block smoke in the
video, they evoked this “bad guy” frame which has been established, a frame
which could be seen as having compromised Cain’s campaign.
One of the primary themes of the
Republican presidential primaries has been that America is broken. In Herman
Cain’s campaign video, Mark Block declares that he believes that his candidate
“will put United back in the United States of America”. In Rick Perry’s video “Champion”, he talks about how someone
needs to “let America be America again”, saying that currently Americans are
not free. Rick Santorum’s dramatic “Only One” video, it talks about how the “American
innovative spirit is broken”, and how individual freedom has been replaced by
“increasing government dependence”. Mitt Romney, while not as blunt in his
declaration that America is broken says in his “Restore America’s Greatness” video that the next election is about
“saving a vision of America… Restoring the principals that made America Great”.
The
idea that America is broken implies that America was once good, and that
something must change in order to take it back to how it once was. The
candidates do not always name President Obama as being the cause of “breaking
America”, yet it is subtly implied[1].
With this premise established, the candidates go on to frame themselves as the
only individual who can save America.
Rick
Santorum declares this bluntly in his “The
Only One” video where he lists off his track-record as a fiscal
conservative concerned with government reform and fighting against a woman’s
right to choose. He highlights his service on the Armed Services Committee and
the writing of “critical legislation that protects America from its sworn
enemies” (as an image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is displayed). This
is followed by the narrator declaring that Santorum is the only candidate who
“wrote the bill that ended partial-birth abortions forever”. This abides to
George Lakoff’s “strict father model” that he says Republicans subscribe to; a
model where conservatives act as a strict father who can “protect the family in
the dangerous world… and teach his children right from wrong” (Lakoff, 7).
Santorum’s serving on military committees attempts to frame him as a leader who
can protect America, and his pro-life stance is his way of imposing his set of
morals on all Americans in an attempt to teach them what he believes is right
from wrong.
Michele
Bachmann’s “Courage” video opens with
the statement “I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling”. Being a
‘Tea-Party’ candidate, Bachmann talks of fiscal conservatism and small
government as being the ‘right’ path for America. Her statement that running
deficits and borrowing more money runs “completely contrary to common sense”
implies that the American government is broken. She then declares herself as
having the will and the courage to seeing this through.
This
idea that America is broken ties in with a constructed mythology in America
with regards to “the good old days”. A time when government was small,
individuals could pursue their full potential, and Christian values were
prevalent. Of course they fail to recognize that a lack of regulations due to a
small government was one of the causes of the Great Depression, that
African-Americans were not given equal rights until 1964, and that the United
States was founded on the basis of being a secular nation. Despite this, the
candidates try to evoke positive emotions in the viewers by referring to days
that have past.
Conservatives have tried to
construct a myth that America is great because of conservative values. When
referring to Conservative values, they talk as if all Americans subscribe to
this ideology, and that those who don’t are not true Americans. This creates an
insider-outsider dynamic which frames progressives as having values that are
un-American. Yet, if the American people are by nature conservative, one could
ask how Barack Obama was elected as president. Rick Santorum addresses this in
his “Finish Strong” video where he
declares that “somewhere before 2008 conservatives lost their way… The American
people responded, and they weren’t happy”. This explains the loss to Obama as
being the fault of conservatives for not sticking to their conservative roots;
that they were not conservative enough. He goes on to say that “history teaches
us that conservatives principals always win… We know that when we stick to
these time tested conservative values, Americans prosper and freedom grows”.
Again, this frames conservative values as being inherently American, and that
the United States is best under such principals.
In an attempt to try and evoke
feelings of “the good old days”, the candidates often make reference to former
President Reagan. His administration has been hailed by the Republican Party as
being the frame of what conservatives should be. This is an established frame
within the Republican party, and candidates know that evoking the memory of
Reagan can prove beneficial to their campaign. Ron Paul’s video “Trust” opens with images of Reagan and a
voice-over saying, “the establishment called him extreme and unelectable”,
followed by a transition to a picture of Paul and Reagan where the narrator
says Ron Paul was one of the few congress people to support him. By
highlighting that Paul supported Reagan early in his campaign, and that Reagan
was considered by the party “extreme” just as many consider Paul to be, it
attempts to give Paul increased credibility. Rick Perry’s “Champion” video starts with an audio-clip of a Reagan speech, again
harkening back to “the good old days”. This shows an attempt to play utilized
the established myth in the Republican Party.
The campaign videos released by the
candidates in this year’s Republican presidential primaries has seen the
utilization of themes and established mythology. The primary theme or problem
that the Republicans candidates have referred to is that America is broken, and
each candidate has framed why they are the best or only candidate who can fix
this problem. To influence voters to
support them they utilized an established mythology of America being once
great, and that it is conservative values that can restore greatness; that
Christianity and hard work are central to the American identity. They attempt
to utilize an established mythos in America that things were once great for all
and that they are able to restore this greatness. Referencing Ronald Reagan’s
time in power has become central to the Republican Party’s myth of America
being greatest under conservative principals, and we have seen current
candidates utilize this throughout the campaign. Upon the selection of the
candidate who will run against Barack Obama this year, while their positions
will likely become more moderate, we will see the same utilization of this
myth; the myth that America was once great, that it is now broken, and that it
is only conservative values that can repair the United States of America once
again.
[1] an
exception being Rick Santorums “The Only One” video where a voiceover narrates,
“we blinked, and the America we knew changed forever”, all while a video of
lightning clouds and thunder plays with a picture of Obama over it.
Works
Cited
Druckman,
James N. "The Power Of Television Images: The First Kennedy-Nixon
Debate Revisited." Journal
Of Politics 65.2 (2003): 559-571. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
Lakoff,
George. “Don’t think of an Elephant.” Chelsea Green Publishing. (2004): 7.
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