Neil Postman was a famous media critic. He thought that the problem with television was not its content but its formal qualities as a medium. It presented a clear and present danger. Because of it, we were Amusing Ourselves to Death. In thinking about the role of television in contemporary politics, specifically as it is facilitating new kinds of major media events, I am struck by the fact that television’s effects may be quite the opposite, when it amuses us, it gives life. When it is deadly serious, it is just that, deadly. I am having these dark thoughts thinking about Glenn Beck, John Stewart and Steven Colbert, and their respective demonstrations on American sacred ground, the Washington Mall, between the Washington and Lincoln Memorials.
Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally, held on the Washington mall, with speakers on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial, was seen as a serious event, an abomination for those who were pained by the hijacking of the legacy of one of the great mass demonstrations in American history held on the same place, on the same day of the year, forty seven years ago, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, highlighted by “The I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. But viewed from the right, even from a skeptical conservative observer such as Ross Douthat of The New York Times, it was an encouraging development, affirming important cultural values, showing that the right was “free of rancor, racism or populist resentment, the atmosphere at the rally resembled that of a church picnic or a high school football game.” (link) Of course, on Fox the enthusiasm, the celebration, was less restrained.
Stewart and Colbert
On the other hand, the planned Rally to Restore Sanity, promoted by John Stewart, and the “counter demonstration,” the March to Keep Fear Alive, promoted by Stephen Colbert, are clearly meant to be funny, and there is truth in packaging, since both of the principals work for the cable network, Comedy Central. But it is being taken seriously. Arianna Huffington, of the famous Post, let the world know that her organization would provide free bus transportation from New York to the Rally, appropriately on Stewart’s show. (link)
And President Obama even lent his support (o.k., perhaps with his tongue strategically planted in his cheek). And the demonstration is likely to draw tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, because of a widespread sense that our politics has become insane, and there is a need to protest this.
Deliberate Consideration
These two media events show how far we have come. The boundary between entertainment and politics has never been more tenuous. But I admit. I find one of these media events encouraging for the prospects of American democracy and the other extremely dangerous, and I don’t think it is just a matter of my political commitments.
Beck has his power because he is outrageous. He receives public attention by being a provocateur, denouncing the President because he just doesn’t like white people, criticizing healthcare reform as a form of reparations, leading people to believe with absolute certainty that bizarre readings of the American constitution and American history are the truth, and getting them to cling to the constitution as the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural Revolution clung to Mao’s Little Red Book. The provocative is linked with the dogmatic on the Orwellian network that calls it tendentious news productions “fair and balanced,” and mass demonstrations are mobilized. Sometimes Beck mutes his message, as he did at the Honor Rally, sometimes he is particularly combative, but both of his faces are backed by the appearance of certainty.
Colbert and Stewart on the other hand use humor to question dogma. Their political sympathies are clear, but this doesn’t prevent them from making fun of politicians whom they admire. Stewart is outrageously funny by being outrageously moderate:
“We’re looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn’t be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it’s appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles.” (link)
The form is more important than the content, and it is precise.
Postman thought that network television necessarily needed to amuse its audience to keep its attention. He thought that “public discourse in the age of show business” (the subtitle of his book) would necessarily be un-serious and diminished as a result. I was never convinced, but I am sure that we are seeing something else, a contest, now, in which the cable news programs that preach to the converted are polarizing and atomizing our politics using a form which is dogmatic and deadly serious. In this situation, the forms of comedy, amusement and satire are life-giving antidotes, as Stewart and Colbert reveal.
Is it possible for an event to be an abomination and a serious event? My guess is that is possible. It is understandable that many people might be offended by the date and location of the Glenn Beck rally; however, I think that it would be a mistake to dismiss what happened without recognizing that something significant happened; and the event was one manifestation of the political and cultural turmoil taking place in this country.
I originally wanted to analyze the messages delivered at both the Beck and Sharpton rallies; and compare them with representations of the rallies. I never got around to doing it, but I did watch both rallies on C-Span, the only network which carried both rallies in their entirety. CNN carried some aspects of the rallies live; Fox only carried some news reports on the rallies while they took place; and I’m not sure about the extent of the coverage on other networks. Most of the coverage did not deal with the substance of what was carried.
I must admit, I was surprised by the Beck rally. It had elements of a religious and cultural revival; and politics appeared in it only indirectly. People that attended the rally were promised a life changing experience. A very large crowd came, and most of these people seemed engaged with what was offered: themes of a return to God (or some higher ethical principles for agnostics and atheists); a call for taking individual responsibility; and an emphasis on various aspects of faith, hope and charity.
On stage a racially, ethnically and religiously diverse group of speakers and performers were represented including, many examples of people who had done meritorious things in these areas. Individual and collective stories were used.
Part of the atmosphere for the event was established through patriotic music as well as gospel type music. (At the beginning of the event, a broad range of religious representatives were on stage, including Christians, Jews and Muslims).
Many of the people at the event seemed genuinely engaged. Anytime a group as large as the one assembled is engaged and no disturbances occur and the entire site is left free from litter, this is an indication that something notable has occurred; and may provide insights into the larger cultural turmoil, and its political implications.
It is also worth noting that Beck raised about 5.8 million dollars in the months leading up to the even t for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The funds go towards supporting the families of fallen and wounded special operations personnel, including financial assistance and scholarship grants and various forms of counseling. The net amount is still being calculated. http://www.specialops.org/news/49088/Glenn-Beck-Rally-Raises-5.8-Million-for-SOWF.htm
I think that it is important to recognize that something significant is happening, and try to understand what it is. Many of the elements of people at the rally involved the principles of associating and contracting, principles that have been recognized by a number of theorists.
Michael, I think you are right, and the aspects of the rally you highlight are indeed very important. I think something unusual, interesting and significantis happening in the tea party movement and the movement of followers of Beck, which are probably not the same thing. One clearly is grass roots, the other is constituted through and then covered by a media organization. We do need to pay attention, but I feel I also the need to critically appraise its meaning. The dogmatism whether it is denouncing progressives in excessive terms, or is earnestly religious and moral, concern me. That is why the media created Colbert Stewart mass event seems to me to be a much more positive development. But clearly both are events need to be carefully appraised, indeed, deliberately considered. They have deep meaning as you very nicely develop in your thoughtful and informed response. Still the power of fake news and pseudo news organizations are worrisome.
I really enjoyed this article Jeff. It is critical, and yet broadly accessible which seems to be the overall goal of the site. I like how you introduced a mainstream academic figure, Neil Postman, as a sort of framework (which you wound up turning upside down) for thinking about the Beck and Colbert/Stewart rallies. Your observation of the rallies was fairly objective by my account, and I enjoyed your critical take on both the rallies and Postman’s idea of modern media “entertaining us to death.” I agree that political entertainment can be both encouraging and damaging for democracy, and indeed Glenn Beck (damaging) and Colbert/Stewart (positive) exemplify this. This is a good example therefore of how entertainment can actually bring life to the political realm (and indeed I think it does as witnessed by the high ratings all of these shows receive). The articles as a whole did a great job of balancing the critical with the publicly accessible — in a small amount of space — and left the reader with an open invitation to engage in this topic as well. Well done!
Great. I’m not sure if I usually agree with these comedians but the rally they did last weekend was pretty awesome to witness.
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I have read many posts but not had time to comment. This reminds me of MK’s “The Joke”— once we no longer have irony and satire we really don’t have any room to move outside of dogmatism.
I cannot, however, drink scotch (or wine, my preferred drug of choice) and watch GB because, well, I am not distanced enough. I have friends who can laugh uproariously and nervously at his pathological rants but I cannot. I know too many people who take him seriously. And believe he presents real arguments. When I hear and see this, I think we really do live in the land of make believe and there is no tether to any form of truth or reason (in any meaningful sense of the word). He — like Rush— represents a very passionate strain of conservative thinking and attachment that reaches far beyond a few zealots. He, again like Rush, gives voice and power to the paranoid fears of the right.
If Obama is a Nazi or people believe he can be we have a real issue with the defining and framing of reality.