Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Debate Reveals More about CNN than Candidates

I did not watch the whole debate.  I forgot about it until there was only 45 minutes left.  Bachmann has clearly gained ground from it, and Romney held place.  That opinion is based on the assessment of others.  I didn't focus enough on content to come to any determination.  I was distracted.

I was distracted by the moderators ridiculous questions.  As they would cut to commercial, CNN would show questions from viewers on a screen in the hall.  Those questions deserved answers.  They were insightful and important.  The moderators questions were shallow and juvenile.  Answers didn't matter.

I was distracted by the camera angles. 

Tim Pawlenty's camera angle was designed to emphasize his forehead, make his chin look smaller, and his hair look poofy.  The overall effect was that he displayed a recessive gene from an alien as a close relative, the cosmic kind, not illegal.

Michele Bachmann's camera emphasized the fact that she was shorter than the men in a way that suggested dwarfism. They also managed to light her clothes so that what was clearly an expensive suit looked like a threadbare, clearance-rack special from Target.

Mitt Romney, was given the best treatment, which makes him the loser in my book.  If CNN makes him look good, he must be the liberal favorite.  He will not be mine.

Rick Santorum was half in the dark.  Maybe they were running out of fresnels.  It seemed obvious they didn't think him important enough for proper lighting.

Also poorly lit was Herman Cain.  They seemed to want to shoot his angle as straight on as possible to make him look like a cranky bulldog.

Newt is Newt.  They didn't have to mess with his camera.  All he needs is a microphone.

The recipient of the worst treatment of the night by the camera crews was Ron Paul.  They shot him at an angle that left one with the distinct impression of a small deformed troll with crazy eyes. He looked a little hump-backed. His eyes seemed to wander.    It would not have been surprising to hear him say, "Who's that walking on my bridge?"

Having seen all of these candidates when the cameras are kinder, I can say that none of these impressions hold true for the candidates as a whole.  What does hold true is that the liberal media knows that we react to people.  Our assessments are usually based heavily on appearance.  If they can make the field look its weakest, they can weaken our resolve to get Obama out of the White House.

So who won the debate?  The cameras.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The medium is the message" has a lot of truth in it. We have been beguiled by form over substance and the manipulators of perception use their power to promote their own views and agendas, often, as you so wryly observe, in subtle but underhanded ways. I gave up listening to public debates decades ago because the quality of those debates was so poor. We live in the shallow end of the pond these days.

Appleton Waterproofing said...

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