Wednesday, March 10, 2010

plus 3, Capital culture: Sarah Palin candidate, pundit, celeb? - AZCentral.com

plus 3, Capital culture: Sarah Palin candidate, pundit, celeb? - AZCentral.com

Capital culture: Sarah Palin candidate, pundit, celeb? - AZCentral.com

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:22 PM PST

NEW YORK - For more than a year, Sarah Palin has been one of the most famous political and cultural figures in the country. Even by that standard, though, last week was an extraordinary one.

On Thursday came word that the former Alaska governor was working on a TV series about her home state, currently being pitched by one of television's top producers. A day before that, her publishers announced she was embarking on a second book, a follow-up to her blockbuster "Going Rogue."

And a day before THAT, she was the prize guest on Jay Leno's second day back as host of "Tonight" show, along with Olympic champion Shaun White and "American Idol" star Adam Lambert. She ruminated on politics, praising the Tea Party movement, and on journalism, discussing her gig as a Fox analyst. Then she went behind a curtain and returned to perform a full standup comedy routine.

"The truth is, though, I'm glad that I'm not vice president," she said. "I would not know what to do with all that free time." Ba dum bum.

A little politics, a little journalism, and a whole lotta celebrity, all in a week's work. (Her foray to an Oscar gift suite made news, too.) But toward what end? A 2012 presidential bid? A daily talk show? An Oprah-like dominance of the pop culture sphere? Everybody's dying to know Palin's plans, and that makes her celebrity all the more potent.

But beyond that, many see her as just the most prominent example of a phenomenon that is larger than even her: the gradual blurring of the worlds of politics, celebrity and the media.

The shifting boundaries of politics and media have been apparent for some time. The networks, especially cable news, have opened doors - sometimes revolving ones - for former speechwriters and campaign operatives. More recent, though, are the trips through those doors of the candidates themselves. Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has his own show on Fox, for example.

MSNBC pundit Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman, recently decided not to run for the U.S. Senate from New York, but said he hopes another opportunity presents itself. MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews, who worked as a Democratic congressional staffer and a presidential speechwriter, has talked about a Senate run from Pennsylvania.

To analyst Marty Kaplan, who often examines the nexus between politics and culture, the phenomenon is troubling. Equal time rules don't come into play for those merely considering running.

"The question becomes, when does this turn into a conflict?" asks Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School of Communication. It's especially dicey when a former politician is using the platform to mull a re-entry into politics, he says. "The networks are in effect being used by these people to rebuild their political futures. There's enough evidence that they should be thinking twice about this."

But there would seem to be little incentive for Fox to think twice when they have a ratings draw like Palin. As for her, where's the downside? Fox gives her a platform larger and more potent than her Facebook page, with its nearly 1.5 million fans.

"I wish there WAS a downside for some of these politicians," Kaplan laughs. "But experience has shown that's not the case. There's just no downside to being famous these days."

In other words, it's all about exposure. Sometimes literally. Consider Scott Brown, the recently elected senator from Massachusetts, who as a law student posed nude for Cosmopolitan, a strategically placed magazine fold his only fig leaf.

"In the past something like that would have been a nail in the coffin for a politician," says Kaplan. "Now it's just seen as humorous and colorful." (And maybe even helpful.)

Not that celebrity has always been viewed as a strategic asset to a candidate.

In the 2008 election, Sen. John McCain and running mate Palin tried to use Barack Obama's celebrity and pop culture status - how many candidates had bikini-clad models serenading them on YouTube? - as a strike against him. In a famous ad, they interspersed footage of him speaking to adoring crowds with images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

The ad brought some ridicule, but former McCain-Palin campaign adviser Nicolle Wallace says it worked.

"That was one of our most effective ads," Wallace said in an interview. "The Obama people admitted it threw them off their game a bit. It was effective in driving the conversation." Indeed, Obama's campaign worked hard to downplay the celebrity factor at the convention later that summer.

Of course, it's not lost on Wallace or anyone else that Palin has captured her own spot in the pop culture pantheon. "She was an instant celebrity the moment she stepped on the world stage," says Wallace, who has left politics for now and is working on a novel.

For Kaplan, the cultural analyst, the melding of the worlds of politics and celebrity is a process that's gone hand in hand with a redefining of the kind of people we want our leaders to be. It used to be that we wanted a seriousness, a reserve that put a clear distance between them and ourselves, he says.

"Now, though, the quality everyone seems to want is a person we could see having a beer with," he says.

A pioneer in that regard was Bill Clinton, who readily answered the question of whether he wore boxers or briefs, and went on Arsenio Hall's talk show as a candidate to play his saxophone - a clever move that personalized him and led to a long history of candidates appearing on shows like Leno's "Tonight."

"Al Gore even appeared on Saturday Night Live' in a hot tub," says Kaplan, referring to a 2002 episode. "People said that was a sign he'd given up on politics, but I didn't think so."

Palin hasn't appeared in a hot tub yet, but her delivery of her that scripted comedy routine on Leno last week showed she's getting comfortable in such settings. In a reference to the notes written on her hand at a recent Tea Party convention speech, she promised Leno before her standup moment: "I will know these jokes like the front of my hand."

It's clear that her celebrity wattage could be tarnished somewhat if she announced she was actually planning to run. And a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found more than 70 percent of people - and a majority of Republicans - saw her as unqualified to be president.

For now, though, her lack of any concrete plans makes her endlessly fascinating to many Americans - and enervating to some - and allows her to reside in that blurry intersection of politics, media and celebrity.

"I have no idea what her plans are," says Wallace. "But clearly she's made a calculation that there's no downside to being a megastar on late-night TV. And I think she's proving to be quite good at it."

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Make My Day - American Reporter

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:43 PM PST

Make My Day
PARIS FOR PREZ
by Erik Deckers
American Reporter Humor Writer
Indianapolis, Indiana

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It was the snit heard 'round the world. The snarky, scantily-clad video response that got pundits tongues wagging about something other than politics, at least until their wives saw them. Maybe its echo has faded from the news, but it still makes me wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

Paris Hilton says she's running for President.

The vapid blond heiress and star of "The Simple Life," announced her candidacy in a spoof video on FunnyOrDie.com. Hilton said she was running because that "wrinkly white-haired guy" - John McCain, for those of you emerging from under your rocks - used her image in a television spot against his opponent, presumptive President of the United States, Barack Obama.

"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton, and I'm a celebrity too," she said without a sense of irony or shame. "Only I'm not from the olden days, and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot."

Oh man, this is really bad. I've always been a big supporter of third party candidates, but my one litmus test is whether they can even spell "candidate." And that they haven't starred in an Internet sex video/ I swear, if she wins, I'm moving to Canada with Alec Baldwin, unless he chickens out like he did last time. (Big wussy. The guy swore up and down he would move to Canada if George Bush became President, but we're stuck with him and his 17 brothers.) Still, I don't think she's got a real shot, so I'll probably be here for a while.

"But then that wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which means I guess I'm running for President," she continued. Yeah, right. By that logic, since her boyfriend used her in that sex video, I guess that would make her a slut. . .

Uh, oh. This is worse than I thought! Do they get the NFL in Canada? Can I get the Dish Network to work up there?

"So thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude, and I want America to know I'm, like, totally ready to lead."

Oh, good, as long as you're totally ready. I mean, we wouldn't want someone who was , like, only concerned about whether certain other world leaders are, like, hot, or whether the White House clashes with her outfits. She'll probably appoint Extreme Makerover's Ty Pennington the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to make sure.

"I'll see you at the White House," she concluded. "Oh, and I might paint it pink."

Looks like I've got a tough decision to make. Do I go for the big city or the small town? I've been to Toronto, and it's a nice city with a strong arts community. But if I lived in a smaller town, I'd be closer to nature and some really good fishing. Dryden, Ontario is gorgeous in the summer.

But even as I pace the floor and gnaw on my fingernails, I have to admit, her energy policy made some sense.

"We can do limited offshore drilling with strict environmental oversight, while creating tax incentives to get Detroit making hybrid and electric cars. That way, offshore drilling carries us until the new technologies kick in, which will create new jobs and energy independence. Energy crisis solved. I'll see you at the debates, bitches."

But then she, like, totally shot herself in the foot when she said she was considering Rihanna, the R&B artist, as her vice presidential nominee.

Come on! Rihanna?! Are you kidding me? Everyone knows she doesn't have the foreign affairs experience needed to re-establish the U.S. as a world leader. Plus, she was born in Barbados, so she's not a natural-born American citizen, which means she can't take on that role.

While some people would say Britney Spears, Hilton's fellow celeb and John McCain commercial target, is the emotional favorite, I think Cameron Diaz is the better choice. She can shore up the Hispanic vote and improve relations with Latin America. Of course, you'll also need Ashton Kutcher to head up the Department of Homeland Security (Hey Iran, you've been punk'd!). And what do you think of Scarlett Johansen as the Secretary of State... ?

Uh, excuse me. I don't know what came over me. If anything, I'm worrying too much about something that will never happen. Hilton is only 27, eight years too young to run for president, which means I don't have to worry about a global disaster for eight more years. But with her sordid past, I doubt she could even be elected dogcatcher of Putnam County.

Besides, I'm hoping Lindsey Lohan will be out of rehab and ready to run for Senate by 2016.

Copyright 2010 Joe Shea The American Reporter. All Rights Reserved.

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Missing the beat: DanceWorks Showcase pleases audience with pop ... - Daily Orange

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:50 PM PST

The bright stage lights began to dim. The scene was set. The audience looked upon the huddled shadows of figures in squat chairs with books in hand.


Suddenly, a faux-schoolroom was illuminated onstage with a burst of light as the song "Dance Anthem of the 80s" whispered softly and then rose louder over the Goldstein Auditorium speakers. Colored tissue paper was ripped out of notebooks as dancers bounced around the stage like teenage girls from a Cyndi Lauper music video.


This pop-influenced performance would characterize the 24th annual DanceWorks showcase, held Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This year's theme was "Rocking Syracuse," but by the responses of members of the audience, the event sported more pop and hip-hop music than classic rock.


"For a while it had been about hip-hop and contemporary," said Catherine Mehta, a sophomore cultural anthropology major.


Maggie Gleason, a junior art history major, has been to the past three DanceWorks showcases. "In staying in correlation with a theme, it always kind of tends to stray," she said.


The straying theme included songs from such pop music artists as Beyoncé, Jason DeRulo, Leona Lewis, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. The closest rock representation came from mash-ups like Aerosmith and Run-DMC's collaboration in "Walk this Way" and a mix of Trick Daddy and Ozzy Osbourne in "Let's Go on the Crazy Train."


The DanceWorks board members choose each year's theme. Andrea Blunda, a senior social work major, DanceWorks co-director and a member of the board, said, "We don't necessarily pick songs that go along with our theme. We pick songs first and then the theme second."


Although the theme did not directly correlate to the songs, most members of the audience said their expectations were met. "DanceWorks is better than Christmas," said Caitlin Guthoff, a senior television, radio and film major. "It's the gift that keeps giving."


Casey O'Brien, a sophomore advertising major, had positive reactions to the event. "I think it was great," she said. "There were a lot of girls in my sorority in here, so I came to support it. They did a really good job," she said.


O'Brien said she thought the Britney Spears piece was especially entertaining, referring to the "Kill the Lights" performance of the second act.


The dancers were decked out in red tops with black pants for the routine. "Kill the Lights" quickly rolled to "Circus," where the dancers bounced around stage with candy canes and then to "Slave," in which performers swayed their hips in sultry choreography and dancers crawled through open legs. The most enduring image from the piece was the ending. As the song "Oops!...I Did It Again" blared the lyrics "I'm not that innocent," up from a crowd of kneeling dancers emerged two female performers with guilty expressions on their faces.
However, the choreography was not without its critics. Audience members panned some dances for being off-beat, though they still felt the event as a whole was successful.


"There are some acts that were a little sloppy here and there," said Griffin Bohen-Meissner, a sophomore English major. "People were a little off-beat. Everyone's doing a great job, but there's still room for improvement." Bohen-Meissner said he felt that "Between the Lines," a slower-paced ballad song, did not have a clean-cut execution of the moves, referring to the performance as "iffy."


Blunda said that performing on stage is harder than it looks.


Marisa Campbell, a choreographer and sophomore public relations major, said there is a lot of pressure on dancers for the opening performance.


O'Brien said that she felt that the performances had a lot of energy.


The audience certainly responded to that energy. After every dance, high-pitched, primarily female, screams would leap up from the audience in praise of the performances. There was also the occasional "I love you" cheer from the audience in the lapse between pieces.
"Magic," a mash-up of "Whatcha Say," "Tik Tok," "3" and "Bad Romance," elicited some of the loudest applause of the night.


But into the confusing mix of high-energy songs were low-energy, reflective and thoughtful dances. One of these was "Belief," a song passionately dedicated to those who have fought breast cancer and those supporting someone with breast cancer, according to the program.


"I thought it was good of them to put it in, especially because Relay for Life is coming up this month," Mehta said.


Audience members disagreed that the performances did not fit the theme of Rocking Syracuse, but overall many enjoyed the event due to the passion and energy that was exhibited on stage.


Juliana Potter, a choreographer and senior public relations major, said everyone in the show had a great time. She said though there are always going to be kinks in the show, she thought the dancers and choreographers did a wonderful job.


"Honestly, what dancing is about is showing yourself off," Potter said, "and showing your personality through the art of dance."


ajswab@syr.edu

 

 

 

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Freddie Prinze Jr. interview on George Lopez March 9 - Monsters and Critics

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 09:03 PM PST

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