The Onion News Network jokingly calls it War for the White House. It's tongue-in-cheek, but is coming closer and closer to reality. Video and television campaigns sponsored by presidential candidates are more of a competition of whose video can slander the opponent the most. This particular ad in support of Mitt Romney does provide facts about Obama's faults, but it is the production of the video that really drives his point home. At the beginning of the video, Obama is giving a speech in Denver; strangely enough, I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. This is because in the background, the cinematic music overshadows everything he says. Imagine every shocking movie trailer (M. Night Shyamalan especially) - the thundering drums, the slowly-rising synthetic sound that chills your spine and forces you to anticipate a horrible climax, the fast-paced percussion after the climactic point. All of these are better suited to the unsuccessful film The Happening than a Mitt Romney support ad.
At one point, I went back and listened only for what Mr. Obama had to say. What I heard was astonishingly positive. He talks about democrats having a different view of progress, that they "measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage. Whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma." What about this relates to chaotic tension that one would find in a thrilling film? I understand that Romney and his staff are trying to show that Obama is not living up to his promises, but the music is more fit for the actual facts than what Obama promised. In general, the ad is really trying to pose Obama as a tyrant, an antagonist, a deceiver. There is a bit of transfer/association used by showing images of North Carolina, probably to make residents feel sentimental towards their state. The images are coupled with the gestalt of rapid motion and frame changes, creating unanswered questions, like "what happens next?" or "what can we do to stop this bad man?" The writers assume you can make the connection between cinematic cliches and politics, but the message is a bit lost.
After the rising action, the ad tries to win the audience over with some facts and figures regarding Obama's failure to make his promises, specifically in North Carolina. It mentions that N.C. is where Obama and friends will be having their next meeting; the ad is most likely directed towards voters in that state. The ad makes a case that Obama has wronged North Carolina, with facts showing the state's bad conditions. But like in every other political ad, there is no evidence to show that Obama is the cause of these bad trends. It could very well be fallout from Bush's ineffective presidency; there is no way to tell with no information.
The final message on the screen is OBAMA ISN'T WORKING.COM; below that are the words "Paid for by Romney for President, Inc." I'm sorry Romney, but if you are trying to appeal the working class, one of the worst things you could do is make your campaign into a corporation. And what's with the 19th century image of people waiting behind an unemployment sign? I don't care whether Grover Cleveland's citizens were unemployed; I would much rather talk about the present. In addition, your color scheme needs work. If you're going for "American," the country wants red, white, and blue, not red, grey, and aquamarine. Just a few suggestions.
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