Politics as Media Spectacle - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California recall election gubernatorial victory demonstrates the
increasing collapse of the boundaries between entertainment and politics in an era of media
spectacle.
Over the past decades, major struggles around politics, race, gender, and sexuality have
played out in the media. In the 1990s, the O.J. Simpson trial, the Clinton sex scandals, and
the proliferation of tabloid journalism made serious political issues and conflicts the stuff of
popular entertainment and culture.
Moreover, presidential politics on the level of campaigns and governing have also exhibited
a growing politics of the image and spectacle. In our media-saturated society, politicians
become celebrities who fine tune their image through daily photo opportunities, spin out
their message of the day, and, like celebrities, employ image management firms to make
sure that their performance is playing well with the public.
In an era of media politics, celebrities can become politicians and take on increasingly
political roles. Hollywood stars of film and television were prominent opponents of the
Bush administration’s 2003 Iraq war, while teams of celebrities were employed by both
sides in the California recall election.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had a familiar role to play in the California recall election scenario.
The people were angry at higher taxes, energy costs, and what appeared to be a deteriorating
economy and were looking for a savior. Arnold presented himself as the hero on the white
horse who would ride into California and solve the problems.
His “Rescue California” ...
... middle of paper ...
... how the
media present his policies, actions, and colorful past. Schwarzenegger has allegedly paid
over a million dollars to purchase the original and outtakes from his 1976 film Stay Hungry
that allegedly has him singing “Springtime for Hitler” and prancing about in Nazi regalia
and poses, and there are Nazi poses of Schwarzenegger floating through the Internet. In an
era of political spectacle, image is all and negative images can produce critical views of
politicians and their policies as George W. Bush is learning from images of daily carnage
and mayhem in Iraq that put in question his foreign policy decisions. Schwarzenegger too
will become an important part of the spectacle of contemporary politics and what role he
plays will be determined by his policies and politics, the media, and how a volatile and
fickle public perceives him.
Stephen Skowronek writes about political time and how one can determine the legacy president will leave behind at the time their presidency is done. The president has immense powers when he comes to office but the challenges they each face vary depending on the time they take office. Skowronek analyzes and demonstrates that the most essential factor for a president to attempt to legitimize his actions and orders will be the actions of the president before him. According to the actions of George W. Bush is how we can determine where Barack Obama falls under and following the chain the next president. If Hillary Clinton were to win the 2016 election she would fall under the politics of articulation and Barack Obama would fall under the politics
"Conservative, n. and adj.". OED Online. December 2013. Oxford University Press. 14 February 2014 .
politics. The recent historiography of the incident provides us with a complex, evolving web of
On November 8, 1966 California voters elected Republican candidate Ronald Reagan as the states 33rd Governor. Reagan defeated then two-term Governor, Democrat Edmund G. “Pat” Brown. This would be the first elected political office Ronald Reagan would hold in his long public career. Reagan would serve two terms as the Governor of California before going on to achieve greater heights serving as a two term President.
cents” (Morris 23). According to this information, urban sprawl is costing tax payers in areas of
As with most major metropolitan areas urban sprawl has become an issue with Irvine, California being no exception. Byproducts of sprawl include an increase in jobs, increases in population density, increased traffic, and increased housing costs. I selected the affordable housing policies of the City of Irvine in my paper. Due to the high cost of housing in Irvine, the city has faced lawsuits and other challenges in providing housing for low income earners.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be defined as having repetitive, unwanted, urges and thoughts that raise the need for excessive amounts of time or energy spent on the unwanted urges. OCD typically involved ritualistic like tendencies that result in two types of characteristics, obsessions and compulsions. Obsession can be characterized by the actions and thoughts that intrude one’s mind. As well as the uncontrollable and irrational impulses one must face with OCD. Compulsions can be defined as the act of doing excessive things related to behaviors. People feel the need to act on these compulsions for the sole purposes of releasing the anxiety they feel by the compulsive and reoccurring thoughts. In essence,...
Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) has been in existence for many years. Debilitating it’s sufferers from partaking in activities they may enjoy because of both the sufferers obsessions and compulsions causing them to feel somewhat outcast from their fellow members of society. In this essay symptoms of OCD will be outlined; also the most empirically researched method of treatment Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), along with the process involved in treating a patient with this kind of therapy. The mistakes made by practitioners in the implementation of this treatment will be addressed. Also, pharmacotherapy will be briefly analysed as a means of improving efficacy. It will be concluded that Exposure Response Prevention treatment in adults is proven to be the more effective method of treatment according to empirical research despite some of the minor pitfalls.
“Watergate” is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. Underlying
The decay of social elements of urban areas is one of many factors that has led urban developers to pursue a new strategy known as urban infill development. Urban infill development seeks to create more sustainable urban areas by both halting the expansion of suburban sprawl and revitalizing urban centers by redeveloping previously developed sites (http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/RFF-DP-10-13.pdf). Successful infill development can increase density, enrich the physical appeal of the area, heighten the perceived sense of safety in urban areas, and, of course, build community. However, infill development faces challenges...
Liberalism, formed in the latter part of the 18th Century from opposition to existing political monarchies in Europe, was based on rights of individuals and the responsibility of government to protect those rights. Conservative philosophy was born as a reaction to dangerous tendencies detected within the liberal movement toward excessive governmental control. While conservatives form the base of their beliefs on traditional values, respect for authority, and maintaining custom, liberals fought government tendencies to diminish, ignore, or abuse individual human rights. Both beliefs balanced each other until liberalism shifted its emphasis from protecting individual rights from government to using government as a source for supplying basic life necessities. The modern liberal agenda began as President Johnson's Great Society to wipe out poverty and enhance the quality of life for all Americans.
Throughout the nation catastrophes occur on a daily basis; however there are a few catastrophes that have taken national precedence and left a traumatized nation. Most usually these catastrophes are an act of terrorism. Michael Nelson (2010) describes the nature of such terrorism catastrophes as disconcerting, unanticipated and that unnerve “the country’s sense of safety and identity” (p. 20). When such “a traumatic event results in the death of civilians” and “calls the nation’s institutions or values into question” the nation as a whole looks to their leader, our president, to offer solace and calm through a responsive speech (Campbell and Jamieson, 2008, p. 102). In Presidents Creating the Presidency, (2008) the authors have labeled these speeches as a national eulogy in which they usually occur at the sight of the
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disease that a lot of people suffer with in society especially young adults. While it is not a disease that is deadly, it does affect the victim in every day aspects of their life and can ultimately control their lives. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as, “… a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over”. The thoughts that individuals have when suffering through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder cannot be restrained and really can disturb the individual. Thoughts or actions that people may have can range from worrying about daily occurrences, such as washing their hands, to having thoughts of harming people that are close to them. People tend to have these reoccurring compulsions because they believe by doing them or thinking them, they will either prevent something bad from happening or because it eliminates stress that they have. This disease can last a lifetime and can be very detrimental and disabling to how one lives their lives. Individuals can start to see signs of OCD in either late adolescence or even early adulthood and everyone is susceptible. When it comes to classifying this incurable disease, there is much debate on whether or not it a type of anxiety (Abramowitz, Taylor, & McKay, 2009). It is important to be able to understand this mental disorder since so many people are diagnosed with it. While there are treatments for OCD, there are no cures yet. Treatments could range anywhere from taking prescribed medication to just going to therapy and counseling fo...
Aquaponics produces the biggest, best, and most diverse fruits and vegetables in the smallest amount of space. Unlike normal gardening and farming, Aquaponics is not limited to seasons or climate, which means all types of fruits and vegetables can be produced year round. When farmers can produce any plant, any where, at any time, the produce can be picked at the peak of its ripeness, which is when it looks and tastes the best, and since farme...
“Vyasa means “compiler” or “arranger,” indicating that he was probably no more than an esteemed editor of the poems” (Patterson, pg. 954.)