In light of our discussions about the inevitable collapse of
the political and entertainment worlds, I thought it was important to take note of a recent news headline that only
further reinforces Toby’s Miller’s idea that the lines between
“citizens” and “consumers” are “less sharply drawn than ever” (Miller 30).
Of course, President Obama’s appearance on the Funny or Die
show “Between Two Ferns” caused a major ruckus, once again sparking a debate on whether or not there should be a tight barrier between politics and
entertainment. The Obama administration’s most recent maneuver, which aims to
promote the new law for healthcare to Millenials as the March 31 deadline
approaches, only seems to further the notion that these once separated spheres
may not have so much distance between them after all.
Mike Judge’s Idiocracy
obviously shows the worst possible outcome of a marriage between politics and
entertainment, where the two smash messily into one another and turn, as Van
Zoonen puts it, “responsible political participants” into “mindless
followers of heroes.” But as Sarah mentions in her post, there is always a possibility that the collapsing of these two
worlds may not always lead to such
horrendous results.
It seems to me that we now live in a day and age where these
once-thought-to-be entirely different spaces come together almost inevitably.
The target audience, at least in this particular case, is the Millenial generation—a
massive not to mention highly influential group of young and hard-to-reach
individuals whose short attention spans may sadly only be caught if such seemingly ‘desperate’
advertising strategies are used.
This latest campaign has the White House recruiting the mothers of celebrities like Adam Levine,
Jennifer Lopez, Jonah Hill, and Alicia Keys to come together to praise and get
people excited about Obamacare. The Hollywood moms push a new slogan, "#YourMomCares," emphasizing that one thing all mothers should not have to put up
with is their children not having healthcare. “We nag you because we love you,”
say Michelle Obama.
It really is interesting how intertwined politics and
entertainment have become, isn’t it?
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