Not since the writers strike last year has TV had such a problem with their scripted schedules. Turns out that people have overwhelmingly chosen to follow reality TV. But not the unreal, semi scripted, semi clad reality TV that they have created. No, Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, Desperate Housewives and Dexter, have all made way for something even more compelling.
Election 2008 has sexism, crisis, craziness, good manners, poor manners and compelling narratives. In Canada we get to watch two versions of this spectacle. We can watch the (over the top) American Version starring: a war hero, a son of a Kenyan Goat farmer, a folksy Dad, and a super gorgeous Hockey Mom. Or we can watch the slightly more sedate, but definitely quirkier Canadian version.
But the item that stands out in both versions is that both campaigns need to be followed around by a legion of media "truth squads." In other words, it seems that the average TV reality show is as honest as the average political campaign. Weirdly the product advertising that supports both these shows is generally more true, or at least less misleading (because it is required to be). Reality shows have long been known to be "fixed" and "staged" and even "total fabrications" but who knew that this method applied to "Election 2008."
If you are an advertiser wanting to sell me a toaster (or a car, or mouthwash etc.) in Canada, you have to be honest about it. There is a law. But politicians are not covered by law. They are covered by the constitution and the right to free speech. So if you are trying to sell me a Prime Minister, or a candidate, you are free to say anything you can get away with. (Clearly there are some things you can't do, witness the ignominious exit of some candidates.)
Sounds incredible, but it is true!
"Since the 1960s, advertising in Canada has been governed by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which is administered by Advertising Standards Canada (ASC), an industry association "committed to creating and maintaining community confidence in advertising."
The code declares that "advertisements must not contain inaccurate or deceptive claims, statements, illustrations or representations, either direct or implied, with regard to a product or service."
So what's the problem? Why are we still seeing political ads that seem to steer a wide berth around the truth? The answer is that The Code of Advertising Standards specifically excludes political and election ads from its mandate.
While acknowledging that Canadians are "entitled to expect" election advertising to conform to the code, the ASC argues that "it is not intended that the code govern or restrict the free expression of public opinion or ideas," and therefore, politicians are basically free to say whatever they want." CBC - There Outta Be A Law
To see the campaign of Democracy Watch check here.
It seems a similar rule must operate in the US.
But people are tuning in to Election 2008 in record numbers. Especially in the US.
It truly is an amazing race. Though apparently less believable than "The Amazing Race" or more accurately their respective sponsors.
So I leave you with perhaps one of my favourite commercials. Maybe the debates this Thursday will be this fun, or even this truthful.
K
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Too thin to be role models?
Today's blog started when I read an article on Entertainment Weekly online about the new cast of 90210. It seems they are too thin. Read Here or watch below (or both).
90210 then and now
Then I thought, hey didn't they just have a whole bunch of stuff about models being too thin and new regulations about it. Yup.
Model Controversy
The argument in the EW article is framed as one where these thin models/actresses are role models and they are not providing a healthy body image for people to aspire to. But the video about the models hints that this is not the real problem at all. Buried in the long video below (it is about 10 minutes) are a couple of disturbing statements about the way that the girls are not important at all and the designers are artists who should not be impeded in any way. See especially the comment at around the 3:25 mark. This woman is outraged that DESIGNERS are being curtailed.
What I began to find really shocking was the lack of concern for the very young, very vulnerable employees who are exposed to unsafe working conditions.
This kind of exploitation of children or vulnerable people for entertainment is not new, but it is getting more pervasive. And it is NOT about worrying if the models are setting a bad example for others. It is about worrying about the models and actors themselves. Because these things are being done for our amusement and consumption. And we are responsible for our fellow human travellers.
In the biblical story, there are individuals who have again and again tried to remind everyone of the need for justice and the horrors of exploitation. I offer the words of one such man in the Bible, Micah,
"And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron." (Micah 3:1-3)
Are we picking the flesh off of the bones of children and teenagers just to satisfy our need for entertainment or clothes-hangers?
Still in the entertainment industry, a movie theatre was fined for misusing its young workforce. Read Here
Child labour and exploitation is common through out the world. Read Here It occasionally surfaces as an issue. When it does we think of it as an over there problem, one that only affects "developing countries." But the reality is that it happens everywhere.
There are some signs of an acknowledgement of the problem in the fashion industry. But, it also gives me one more very good reason not to watch and support 90210.
K
90210 then and now
Then I thought, hey didn't they just have a whole bunch of stuff about models being too thin and new regulations about it. Yup.
Model Controversy
The argument in the EW article is framed as one where these thin models/actresses are role models and they are not providing a healthy body image for people to aspire to. But the video about the models hints that this is not the real problem at all. Buried in the long video below (it is about 10 minutes) are a couple of disturbing statements about the way that the girls are not important at all and the designers are artists who should not be impeded in any way. See especially the comment at around the 3:25 mark. This woman is outraged that DESIGNERS are being curtailed.
What I began to find really shocking was the lack of concern for the very young, very vulnerable employees who are exposed to unsafe working conditions.
This kind of exploitation of children or vulnerable people for entertainment is not new, but it is getting more pervasive. And it is NOT about worrying if the models are setting a bad example for others. It is about worrying about the models and actors themselves. Because these things are being done for our amusement and consumption. And we are responsible for our fellow human travellers.
In the biblical story, there are individuals who have again and again tried to remind everyone of the need for justice and the horrors of exploitation. I offer the words of one such man in the Bible, Micah,
"And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron." (Micah 3:1-3)
Are we picking the flesh off of the bones of children and teenagers just to satisfy our need for entertainment or clothes-hangers?
Still in the entertainment industry, a movie theatre was fined for misusing its young workforce. Read Here
Child labour and exploitation is common through out the world. Read Here It occasionally surfaces as an issue. When it does we think of it as an over there problem, one that only affects "developing countries." But the reality is that it happens everywhere.
There are some signs of an acknowledgement of the problem in the fashion industry. But, it also gives me one more very good reason not to watch and support 90210.
K
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
a little tlc for the lhc
Okay - I just love this.
watch it again and again until you are gradually sucked into the black hole created by the collision of youtube and science
Or something like that.
The real story is pretty interesting and points out that our human quest to understand and appreciate our world continues. Click here to go to one official site with reasonably intelligible explanations of this stuff. Frankly it is all pretty complicated and I am probably only getting one fact in ten - but wow. How cool is this stuff.
The main reporting around this story has been the creation of microscopic black holes that will eventually do us in. I think this is in part a reaction to the complexity and abstract nature of the work being done. But at least we understand what black holes look like because we have watched Star Trek and other similar shows/movies over the years.
But that is not what the main story is here. The main story is the phenomenally complex and amazing universe of things that we can't see and don't know about. Since it is so hard to understand, and so complicated, it can become cumbersome and get in the way of appreciating what we are trying to understand. One answer, according to Arthur Zajonc, is the ancient practice of contemplation. Click here to go to a podcast of his ideas.
Science, as an image, implies a lab full of test tubes or a book or some other such tangible thing. And yet, really most of science is thinking and questioning and being full of wonder.
Ultimately we are all beings of wonder. Whether we are religious, spiritual, or atheist we wonder about our world. And this story reminds us of what connects all of us: our world, our universe, and our small place in it. In a divisive time it is good to hold onto that truth.
Peace and Wonder to you all.
K
watch it again and again until you are gradually sucked into the black hole created by the collision of youtube and science
Or something like that.
The real story is pretty interesting and points out that our human quest to understand and appreciate our world continues. Click here to go to one official site with reasonably intelligible explanations of this stuff. Frankly it is all pretty complicated and I am probably only getting one fact in ten - but wow. How cool is this stuff.
The main reporting around this story has been the creation of microscopic black holes that will eventually do us in. I think this is in part a reaction to the complexity and abstract nature of the work being done. But at least we understand what black holes look like because we have watched Star Trek and other similar shows/movies over the years.
But that is not what the main story is here. The main story is the phenomenally complex and amazing universe of things that we can't see and don't know about. Since it is so hard to understand, and so complicated, it can become cumbersome and get in the way of appreciating what we are trying to understand. One answer, according to Arthur Zajonc, is the ancient practice of contemplation. Click here to go to a podcast of his ideas.
Science, as an image, implies a lab full of test tubes or a book or some other such tangible thing. And yet, really most of science is thinking and questioning and being full of wonder.
Ultimately we are all beings of wonder. Whether we are religious, spiritual, or atheist we wonder about our world. And this story reminds us of what connects all of us: our world, our universe, and our small place in it. In a divisive time it is good to hold onto that truth.
Peace and Wonder to you all.
K
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Elections: Entertainment, Issues and Faith
The US Election is in full swing. Barack Obama and the Democrats had a big party last week and the Republicans are back in party mode today (now that the threat from Hurricane Gustav has abated). All of this conventioneering is the high point in a US election season that has seen many historic decisions and twists. In fact, more people watched Barack Obamas acceptance speech than watched the Oscars or even (gasp) American Idol! It was enough to give Canadians election envy.
As always, be careful what you wish for. It looks like we are going to go to the polls in Canada after all. Soon election ads will be all over our TV screens, invading our radio waves, lurking in our mailboxes and plastered all over the local paper. Perhaps they will be something like this....
Rocky and Bullwinkle Election Ad
note: this does not open in a separate window so you will have to punch the back button to read the rest :)
Perhaps they won't.
Some people don't like elections. They don't bother to vote because - "hey, my vote doesn't matter." Maybe they saw the video below and just gave up...
But in spite of the inherrant showmanship of an election, the tendancy to over the top attacks and counter attacks, and a deepening sense of ennui among the electorate, elections do matter. So learn about your candidates and the issues and vote whenever you get the chance. (We always drag our kids to the polls because we want them to see their parents voting, modelling good behaviour and all that.)
But what of the faith connection?
In the US there seems to be a much tighter connection between faith and politics than here. In Canada, we tend to regard our faith as a private matter separate from politics. However, it has been gradually affirmed that our experiences do matter, our personal stories are also political ones, and our particular voice is important. So, if you have a religiously based faith life, a set of beliefs, or a system of guiding principles, it is important to take them on the election trail and into the ballot box.
I have posted two examples below. The first is an interview with Bill Blaikie, an ordained United Church Minister and a (retired) MP. The second is a very helpful voting guide from a US organization, Sojourners. The slant is obviously a little bit towards US issues (though we share many of them) but of note is a particular way of using a set of guiding principles based on faith to make decisions. They also offer some very helpful suggestions on what participatory democracy looks like. Even if neither of these is exactly to your tastes it might help to inspire you to create your own guide for the coming election. What are the principles you honour? What are the most important values arising from your faith or ethics? And finally, which candidate/party most embodies those things?
Interview with Bill Blaikie
Principles and Policies for Christian Voters
Happy Voting
K
As always, be careful what you wish for. It looks like we are going to go to the polls in Canada after all. Soon election ads will be all over our TV screens, invading our radio waves, lurking in our mailboxes and plastered all over the local paper. Perhaps they will be something like this....
Rocky and Bullwinkle Election Ad
note: this does not open in a separate window so you will have to punch the back button to read the rest :)
Perhaps they won't.
Some people don't like elections. They don't bother to vote because - "hey, my vote doesn't matter." Maybe they saw the video below and just gave up...
But in spite of the inherrant showmanship of an election, the tendancy to over the top attacks and counter attacks, and a deepening sense of ennui among the electorate, elections do matter. So learn about your candidates and the issues and vote whenever you get the chance. (We always drag our kids to the polls because we want them to see their parents voting, modelling good behaviour and all that.)
But what of the faith connection?
In the US there seems to be a much tighter connection between faith and politics than here. In Canada, we tend to regard our faith as a private matter separate from politics. However, it has been gradually affirmed that our experiences do matter, our personal stories are also political ones, and our particular voice is important. So, if you have a religiously based faith life, a set of beliefs, or a system of guiding principles, it is important to take them on the election trail and into the ballot box.
I have posted two examples below. The first is an interview with Bill Blaikie, an ordained United Church Minister and a (retired) MP. The second is a very helpful voting guide from a US organization, Sojourners. The slant is obviously a little bit towards US issues (though we share many of them) but of note is a particular way of using a set of guiding principles based on faith to make decisions. They also offer some very helpful suggestions on what participatory democracy looks like. Even if neither of these is exactly to your tastes it might help to inspire you to create your own guide for the coming election. What are the principles you honour? What are the most important values arising from your faith or ethics? And finally, which candidate/party most embodies those things?
Interview with Bill Blaikie
Principles and Policies for Christian Voters
Happy Voting
K
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