Spectacularizing Politics: Barack Obama

          

       Graeme Turner, author of “Understanding Celebrity”, maintains that the modern politician is product of a network of coaches, handlers, stylists and make-up artists who work to construct a public persona similar to that of the entertainment or sports celebrity (130). Over time, the credentials of a desirable political candidate have dramatically altered, as presentation and appearance have come to substitute policy and principle; and style has come to replace argument as a vital aspect to voter decision-making (Street, 436). This shift has marked the emergence of a new type of politician deemed the “celebrity politician”, “[one who uses the forms and associations of the celebrity to enhance their image and communicate their message]” (Street, 436). In surveying the crop of North American politicians (most notably those in the United States) it is easy to identify these celebrity politicians. However, what are more difficult to identify are the reasons for this shift in political practice that has “[marginalized] issues of political substance in favour of irrelevant gestures and superficial appearances” (Street, 439). In my opinion, one of the contributing factors to this political transformation is modern society’s fixation with visual entertainment mediums such as television, film, and the Internet. All of these visual mediums present a host of opportunities for modernizing political campaigning, as well as contribute the creation of a public image because of the sheer volume of exposure they provide. A prime example of this modern approach can be seen in the U.S. presidential campaigning of now-president Barack Obama.

            Critical theorist, Douglas Kellner, argues that modern politics are shaped by the intense competition for audiences’ attention, which demands a certain amount of sensationalism or “media spectacle” (716). “Media spectacle refers to technologically mediated events, in which media forms process events in spectacular ways” and Barack Obama built his campaign around the spectacles of hope, change, colour and youth (Kellner, 716). The primary stages of Obama’s campaign saw the birth of the spectacle, as he, the first African American candidate squared off against the first serious female candidate (Hilary Clinton). This opposition, which was heavily covered by the media, created a “clash of the titans” type aesthetic by juxtaposing two cultural minority heavyweights that both represented the promise of a different kind of future for American citizens. In this way, both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton had already achieved an “achieved celebrity” status for accomplishing something spectacular.

Barack Obama’s surpassing of Hilary Clinton, and eventually John McCain can be attributed to his employment of visual mediums in his presidential pursuits. In conjunction with multiple television interviews (on Larry King Live, the Today Show, the View, etc.), Obama’s camp also made use of social networking mediums such as Facebook, MySpace and public video-posting website, Youtube to relay their messages and establish supporters. These popular sites are powerful tools for reaching voters, however they also were instrumental in creating Barack Obama’s celebrity persona as a younger, more modern presidential candidate. True to John Street’s definition of the “celebrity politician”, Obama and his camp utilized mediums conventionally used by entertainment or sports celebrities to “enhance [his] image and communicate [his] message” (436).

Furthermore, Barack Obama had the support of many entertainment celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, Will.I.Am and Oprah. These celebrities represent certain qualities and possess large amounts of star power, which inconspicuously transferred onto the image and persona of Barack Obama. In a sense, we can compare this to the practice of celebrities endorsing products or brands, in which there is a certain level of “borrowed equity” transmitted from the endorser to the endorsee. By publicly associating himself with these celebrities (i.e. taking advantage of photo opportunities, television appearances, etc.), Barack Obama became a sort of “attributed celebrity” as he was seen through the media as an accepted member of this elite grouping.

This fabricated persona not only helped establish a following of supporting voters, but it also created a grouping of people who acted in ways similar to the celebrity fan. Some fans expressed their fixation by creating graffiti renditions of Obama in public spaces, while others conveyed their passion via Youtube. In all cases, these fans utilized new media outlets to express their fandom in a way that is usually more characteristic of the entertainment celebrity fan. These examples also demonstrate the ways in which Barack Obama’s modern media approach to campaigning reached a younger generation of voters who perhaps needed the element of spectacle to arouse their interests.

Click here to see "Obama Girl"

"Obama Will Change Everything" - Fan Graffiti

Turner cites the arguments of Richard Schickel, who claims that elections have become “a contest between personalities” and that voters are interested in the candidate’s personal appeal (130). Although Schickel is cynical of modern political practices, the sheer ubiquity of media platforms come to mandate the creation of public persona as a prerequisite for success. Barack Obama utilized different media platforms as facilitators of media spectacle that helped establish his image as modern, youthful embodiment of hope for the future. In modern times, society is fixated on the visual and being entertained, and so politics has catered to that aesthetic in order to remain relevant. It is my contention that the politicians like Barack Obama, utilize traditional celebrity mediums as a means of gaining public attention to proliferate compelling media spectacles, and because of this, the media attributes them with the same status as entertainment celebrities. In response to Dr. Quail’s question (“do you think politicians need to become celebrities in order to be successful?”), Barack Obama is proof that being a “celebrity politician” wins elections.