They've All Come to Look For a Community

Probably the most talked about campaign ad in this area has been Bernie Sanders' "America". The minute-long ad, released in January, features scenes of urban and rural American life, then transitions to shots of roaring crowds at Sanders' rallies. "They've All Come to Look For America" by Simon and Garfunkel plays in the background, and does not feature any talking. Aside from some text reading "A future to believe in" at the end, it does not feature any slogans; no mentions of free college, universal health care, or even feeling the Bern. Instead, like so many of the advertisements featured in "The Persuaders," it tries to give a sense of community. No one is ever alone in the ad; all but a two scenes show people together, and even those that do not feature farmers with their cows, with the animals presumably being Bernie supporters as well. At the beginning people appear engaged and happy, but it is not until they come together at the rally that they appear truly joyful. Having found their smiling candidate but perhaps more importantly each other, they beckon to others to join the movement; whatever it is must be great if it makes people feel this way.

Although I am not a Bernie supporter, I must say this ad is pretty effective. It does not make me think that Bernie Sanders would make a better president than I otherwise would, but it is not supposed to; it just makes me want to be for Bernie. Its portrayal of the Sanders campaign as a sort of bigger movement fits well with the message Sanders has been sending for months now, and being part of a movement is an appealing thing. It does an excellent job playing on his ethos; his smile and happy interactions with supporters paint a picture of a kind, caring man who will unite people with his character as much as his policies. The ad makes you want to like Bernie Sanders as a person and become part of the joyful group of people who feel the same, and those are both things that probably make you more likely to vote for him.

My Relationship with Media

My relationship with media has evolved quite a bit over the years. My preschool did not allow media-related clothing, so as a little kid I came to understand media as a vaguely negative term for movies and TV. Flash forward to today, and one of my biggest challenges in writing this blog is the media that surrounds me, so I supposed my attitudes have changed a little. Although the kinds of media I learned to see as bad do not play a much bigger role in my life than they did back then--with homework and the end of Downton Abbey I rarely watch TV--the internet has become a major part of my existence. I almost instinctively grab my phone and check Instagram and Snapchat when I do not have anything else to do, as well as sometimes when I do have other obligations. Checking ESPN and a variety of track and field related media outlets has also become a routine, even when nothing I care much about is going on. The internet is not my only source of media, however; for years, part of my morning routine has been reading the Sacramento Bee sports pages, and I usually take a look at the opinion articles in the New York Times at some point during the weekend.

Like many people in today's world, I am unsure what to make of the amount of time I spend consuming media. I certainly appreciate the amount of information that the internet makes easily available; in I like to know things, and it seems like expanding one's general knowledge is not a bad thing. On the other hand, the constant stream of information the internet is all too happy to deliver inevitably ends up being too much to process, and I wonder how much I am taking in, and whether or not I can muster a thought-out opinion on what I do take in. As for Instagram and Snapchat, I like being able to communicate with my friends when I am not in the same place as them and I do not think it cuts down on my face to face social interactions, but most of the time I find that social media is not very social. Of the time I spend using it, more is just looking at pictures people took, filtered, and posted than actually communicating with people, and I have a sneaky feeling that looking at those pictures is not really improving the quality of my life.

With the endless stream of media I encounter every day, it sometimes seems futile to bother thinking about it. However, things always come back to remind me that media is not a necessary part of life, nor is it impossible to diminish or amplify its effect. Last summer, I went to Yosemite with my family, stayed in a cabin with no wifi or cell service, and although I did not have access to as much information as I would have liked, I do not think I was less happy for it. Going back even further, my media-free preschool was not a bad experience. Hopefully through these blogs I can make some progress in figuring out what the effect of the media I consume is, and how I really feel about it all.