Here is a picture of former presidential candidate John McCain. The picture was taken of him looking down at a Sharpie marker, and bold white letters run across the picture that say, “Man, I miss clay tablets.”
This political art makes a humorous statement toward McCain’s age. The words “clay tablets” have an ancient connotation. The audience for this political message would most likely be young voters. The fact that the picture was found on the internet shows that it is aimed at younger voters as seen in how Henry Jenkins describes the internet as a “pull medium (which serves those with an active interest in seeking out information on a particular topic)”.(pg 213) Voters look for many qualities in a presidential candidate, and a younger candidate may give a better impression of strength and vitality. Although John McCain’s long life has made him a war hero and an experienced politician, the creator of this photo was trying to show McCain’s age as one of his weaknesses. According to Jenkins, a political photo is one way to, “pump up the negatives of a rival candidate” (pg 209). The overall message is that if you are too old you cannot adapt to change. Who knows if messages like this and others helped sway voters to support Barrack Obama to his election in 2008?
Grocery Store Wars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E
Grocery Store Wars, a creative video parody of Star Wars, uses different organic vegetables to represent Star Wars characters. These veggie characters include Cuke (Luke), Obi-Wan Cannoli, (Obi-Wan Kenobie), the farm (the force), Princess Lettuce (Princess Leia), Darth Tater (Vader), and many others. Along with iconic characters, the parody includes many original lines and scenes from the movies. The video even uses original music and noises from the films; a trend common in fan created Star Wars films according to Jenkins: “amateur filmmakers often make use of commercially available costumes and props, sample music from the soundtrack album and sounds of Star Wars videos or computer games”. (pg 146) This video is likely targeted toward Star Wars movie fans, since many the puns would go over the heads of people unfamiliar with the movies. This video’s main purpose is to be humorous and clever, although the parody also makes an argument supporting organic vegetables. The non-organic foods are portrayed as being part of the evil dark side. The main villain Darth Tater is described as being “more chemical than vegetable”. There are even comically exaggerated scenes of vegetables being radiated along an assembly line, dosed with chemical pesticides, and injected with large needles. Grocery Store Wars is a great example of fan participatory culture because it draws content from “commercial culture” and makes something new that other fans can appreciate.
The caption, “Man, I miss clay tablets" does exemplify how old really McCain is. Like you said, it does affect the voter's choice (especially young people) of who they will pick as president. Aside from the caption, the picture itself shows a story. McCain's face expression is simply priceless. Although not intended for “Man, I miss clay tablets" statement, the way that McCain’s face is perceived can also affect the voter’s choice. McCain’s face expression shows confusion to “what” the Sharpie is. By showing this face expression, he tells the viewers (voters) that he is NOT connected with today’s world. A question –is he too old that he doesn’t know what a Sharpie is? –might pop up in the viewers’ (voters) mind.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of McCain is pretty funny. It amazing how easy it is for this political photoshopers to point out candidates flaws. I agree McCain's face is priceless although it is ridiculous to believe that "Man I Miss Clay Tablets" is going through his head. No matter what it is Star Wars/Star Trech fans always find ways to relate everything to their favorite movies.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the picture of McCain was really funny. I like how it displays how he is so old that he lived when they used clay tablets. We all know he is not that old though so to some people it might seem a little dumb. And the Star Wars spoof of the veggies is really funny becuse of the setting and the way the makers do the spoof. Good Job
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