@polcomprof argues againts "pissing off" politicians

The @polcomprof Ralph Negrine from Sheffield addresses us in the final key note of the international week at the San Pablo university in Madrid. He researches the relation between politicians and journalists, which Negrine calls a marriage – working together towards the same goal. We see an old film clip from the 1949 in which journalists and a politician are best buddies. What a difference with nowadays, where journalists are called ‘unruly’ and consider this a badge of honour. Channel 4 anchor man Thompson says: “we exist to take on the powerfull and piss them off”. The media seems to be out there to destruct in stead of inform. This approach does not offer politicians the opportunity to develop a coherent argument. In interviews an argument is a starting point for the interaction. Ralph Negrine makes a case for a proper discussion between journalists and politicians, in which our political leaders have the space to inform us about their difficult job. Also see the prof on Twitter

Protest in Barcelona

Social actors in political protests are the decision makers (politicians), the operationals (police), and the public (who create their own media). Stuart Price took his mobile phone to observe, film, and shoot pictures in Barcelona before, during, and after a protest rally in February. It’s theater, after the play the barriers are taken down and streets are being sweeped. Close circuit TV cameras, mobile phones, cameras, all create media. But we think we get the picture because the camera never lies – a person is being brutalized by the police – but there could be other legitimate reasons for things that happen. Be aware, we do not have the entire picture. Media have to look at differerent aspects of power when doing research: hierarchy, time, space, prepresentation, capital. How can researchers remain neutral? Stuart and his co-workers are on the side of the protesters generally, and they make that clear in their research plan and question. The techniques they use are neutral though.

Speaking through images

Italian professor Vittorio Montieri from Padova enlightens us about visual syntax,speaking through images in advertising and media. A simple matrix with the dimensions of the topic can start of the creative process. Talking about Italian crime? Der Spiegel simply put pasta and a gun together. Not a very impressive example; Vittorio’s students created images that merged images and looked more natural. My favorite is a fork with pasta tomato sause, oh wait, it’s blood! More examples follow, merging two objects. A gondolier on a poster was wearing a cowboy hat to promote an American film festival in Venice. Two soccer players are entangled in…. a tango pose on the field, on a poster to promote a cup in Argentina. I will remember the Filled Silhouette technique, filling the shape of one object with another object – even though the professor doesn’t think much of it.

Hooked by the worlds heaviest teenager

A television documentary very much relies on a MIQ, a main intention question. Will they find each other? Will the operation be a success? We see an example from a documentary about the worlds heaviest teenager. How on earth did he get this big?? We see the mum who is overweight herself, and waiting on her son. Hmm, clue… On TV the makers need to grab the audience in the first minutes, so a documentary needs a ‘hook’. This could be an explicit MIQ, showing the end, or a sort of trailer with all the highlights. We are shown another beginning of a documentary showing a plane that is about to crash. I guess the hooks worked, for now I’m frustrated that I will not hear the story told and questions answered. Tristan Tull from Regent’s College London grabs his student audience with a clip about Real Madrid’s trainer Jose Mourinho. The editors showed his character by filming him meeting the crew and being in control already.
What sort of types are the documentary makers? No more are they behind the camera, directing the story from a distance. Micheal Moore is one of the Nouvelle Egotistes, while Louis Theroux is Faux Naïf. My personal favorite is Louis by the way. Tristan showed a piece of an interview with Eugene Terre Blanche. The filmmakers were late, and Terre Blanche had waited for them – desperate for the coverage – and complains and mutters and so revealing he is a pathetic bully. After that terrible man we have a laugh with Borat exposing British snobs. The ending is a happy one, like all documentaries want to offer, or at least an open ending that answers the main intention question and brings closing. Thank you Tristan.

Dracula’s myth in cinema

The classroom is dark, and Van Helsing and Count Dracula are fighting in black and white in a 1931 movie classic. Dracula is a supernatural heor. The fact that European Van Helsing is in the plot is an example of the American melting pot. In a later movie Dracula is sick and in need of a virgin’s blood. In the Andy Warhol version he is human like, and the people are bad for him (none of the girls turns out to be pure). Lecturer Paola della Torre says “poor Dracula”. Movie maker Coppola introduces Dracula as a lover: Mina falls in love with him and changes his soul. So there is as complete transformation in cinema from a bad character to someone we can love, from monster to man. From here it is an easy step to the last image of Dracula: Edward in Twilight, young, romantic, handsome. And his love Bella becomes a vampire because that is better than being a human. Fellow lecturer Claudio Siniscalchi adds drama to the presentation by reading from the original story. The myth is an American one. I have recently seen the cartoon movie Hotel Transilvania – Dracula is funny and a loving father. The transformation is complete.

The CNN Effect Theory

Polish lecturer Jakub Zurawski enlightens us about the effect of news coverage on politics. Politicians are influenced by media coverage in making disisions. Other scholars state that news coverage does not influence choices, but is needed to gain public support. The big question is: does media follow policy or does policy follow media? Media generaly promote policy if the political elite agrees on the course of the policy. Indecisive politicians open up activity from the media – the media so pressures the politicians to act. This is the CNN Effect. There is also a weaker CNN Effect, where the media speed up the political process that would take place anyway. General McCristal being released of his job in Afganistan after an interview in Rolling Stones Magazine, is the case study in this presentation. President Obama sent him packing within 40 hours after reading the tekst that showed disrespect. Jakub states that the media took an active part in the political game, by pressuring the president. Obama was shown as a weak leader and he was forced to show he was not. My question to Jakub was about his personal opinion. Is it right or wrong that media can have this effect? The answer was clear: it is wrong, for the democraticaly elected institutions should have most power.

Scandals in Madrid

This week I’m attending the international week of the Universidad San Pablo in Madrid. Which means a nice break from the snowy cold weather at home. We are guests of the School of Humanities and Communication Sciences. Out of my first student group, one student had been to the Netherlands as a tourist. To Amsterdam obviously. Before venturing into my major topic ‘knowledge sharing using social media’, we talked about the Netherlands. What is the audience’s general impression? Coffeeshops, or Frau Antje and tulips? The images on the powerpoints caused a lot of giggles, which probably answered that question…

After my own appearance I stayed to listen to André Haller from the Bamberg University in Beiern, Germany. What is a scandal? Käsler: “a social significant event which causes public offence”. It needs an outrage after disclosure, and the players are a scandalised person or institution, the public, and scandalisers like the press. Britney showing her panties were a transgression of values, while the News of the World transgressed the law. André did research about intentional self-scandalisation. A striking example is the campaign from a political party in Switzerland aiming to ban ‘black sheep’, “no, we don’t want to throw out all foreigners, just the criminal ones”. On the poster a black sheep was kicked over the border by white sheep. An outrage followed! The party didn’t back down but designed a game in which the goat (symbol of the party) kept the country save by kicking the black sheep out. More outrage forced the party the take the game offline. Haller’s theory is different from the traditional theories on mediated scandals, because it is planned within the political arena and it would be initiated even without press coverage. The scandalised are also the scandalisers – why would you scandalise yourself? It certainly gains public attention and mobilises supporters.