Posted on 09/01/2012 12:15:23 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Politicos and policy wonks have been parsing every major speech offered at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, each with his or her own lens. (The exception is MSNBC, which apparently declined to parse several speeches by ethnic minorities.) Some have commented on the gender-war content of Ann Romney’s statements; some have focused on the deep policy weeds of Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan.
But the most transformative moment — in its way, the most redolent of the Tea Party revolution — was Clint Eastwood’s conversation with an empty chair in which President Obama was not sitting.
One of the clearest tidbits recalled from my playwright studies was a device that effectively made a murder victim present on the stage. On a set of his house, during an interview scene with family members, the script called for the actor playing a detective to lean his hand on the dead character’s favorite rocking chair and “inadvertently” set it in motion.
What Clint Eastwood emphasized, with his seemingly improvised chat with the invisible Obama was the absurd notion of having a man-to-man talk with the Vogue-interviewee president. Eastwood was a real celebrity expressing common-man ideas to a celebrity commander in chief.
Even more, Eastwood’s fame is founded in his being a character actor whose chief characteristic is to cut through nonsense. Tough and real; doing what needs to be done.
Viewers who found the speech peculiar (mainly those in academia, entertainment, and media, I’d wager) may have done so because Eastwood used a theatrical device in the service of the wrong script… from their point of view and according to their expectations. As a thought experiment, they should imagine some other actor’s using the exact same gimmick at the Democrat National Convention, with a non-present Mitt Romney.
To be sure, an invisible, unapproachable businessman would be much more to type than a “populist,” progressive community organizer, just as the Occupy movement is much more in keeping with the established images of grassroots activism than the Tea Party.
Beyond the screen writer’s flair, though, the feel of Clint Eastwood’s convention speech was not of soaring political rhetoric, but of a movie awards ceremony, as if he were speaking to an audience of peers. And there again is the unique character that he has been in the public imagination, as if we the people are his peers, not the glitzy stars. He introduced himself to the GOP audience as a “movie tradesman.”
What Eastwood did, with his extemporaneous air and unfilled chair, was to call bull**** on the increasingly untenable narrative that the Left has been weaving through all of the public institutions that it has spent decades infiltrating. He elevated to TV Land the shocking breach of story line and etiquette that hit YouTube years ago when angry citizens shouted down their Senators at town hall meetings.
The speech may not be a pivot point to a new reality in Hollywood, and the political side it serves may not win the day in November, but to the guardians of the elite, it was definitely a statement new, even though to the rest of us it was a very familiar sensation.
His likely reason for the perceived caving is simply that he couldn’t understand what he saw.For him and scores of others, including many many Freepers, it made no sense. To declare there was something wrong about it was a matter of perception.
He took seriously what was a joke. His expectations were for normalcy, for ordinary convention speak. The demented old man act could be taken as reality on one level and as an elaborate comic relief joke on another.
To have achieved both reactions is a tribute to a masterful piece of theatrics. Shakespeare himself would be proud of Clint
He came to kick a$$ and chew bubblegum...
And he was fresh out of bubblegum.
:)
I thought it was a fantastic visual.
The empty chair represented to me the fact that
normal-thinking Americans have been ignored
for nearly 4 years.
The empty chair has ignored us regarding
obamacare, illegals, gay marriage, etc.
and all the while telling us to go
_____ ourselves (through surrogates
and in-your-face EOs).
Clint talked back to it and ridiculed it for us.
It was brilliant and I adore him for doing it.
bookmark
Sorry watching that repeatative stupidity on twitter is of no interest to me.
Excllent post, HoG!
wait for the inevitable “me too” moment at the DNC
MRomney will be ‘featured’ in an empty chair numerous times. maybe other right leaning types as well
They should have put CLIDE in the chair!
VERY GOOD!
That is the key point to both parties (and to all politicians) “GET THE JOB DONE”
I believe most all the people(voters)are wanting those elected “TO JUST GET THE JOB DONE”
and the stupid threesome on Fox this morning, Clayton Allison & what’s his name just made fun of it.
I guess they are too young to be smart.
I don’t understand why they just can’t report the news and shut up!
Why do they have to give their own analysis, which is usually WRONG!
Everyone who watched Clint’s presentation can remember 99% of everything he said with little effort. This is what they strive for in the world of advertising but seldom achieve.
Effective? Absolutely! Pretty good for a crusty old man, I’d say. The rambling stammering, stuttering and incomplete thoughts and sentences were intentional. (Obama without TOTUS) Brilliant!
That empty Ogabe the Communist chair should appear on stage at every Romney Rally between now and election day, and should be featured in every GOP TV ad.
It is a potent symbol of the Resident Nobody. When Eric the Red and Big Sis launch the False Flag DHS Crisis Sept or Oct Surprise, the Empty Chair can be asked to explain why is the desperate Omullah again attacking American citizens, freedoms, and institutions.
I agree Eastwood was incredibly effective. I enjoyed it.
Just the empty chair sez it all
Empty seat for Mr. EmptyHead-
Obummr the Rotten Egghead
"Just being fair and balanced," etc.
The campaign has mentioned that Mitt was a youthful prankster and Ann says he made - and still makes - her laugh, but we haven't seen that humanizing side. The jokes don't have to all be great. Poor ones are more likely to be reported - and to remind us of cringeworthy ones our own fathers made. So long as he doesn't pull an Akins there's little downside. Everyone knows he's serious enough when necessary, but more need to connect with him.
Then, when the schtick starts to become old they put a baby's high chair on stage.
"He had a tee time, so sent the understudy."
"Just being fair and balanced," etc.
The campaign has mentioned that Mitt was a youthful prankster and Ann says he made - and still makes - her laugh, but we haven't seen that humanizing side. The jokes don't have to all be great. Poor ones are more likely to be reported - and to remind us of cringeworthy ones our own fathers made. So long as he doesn't pull an Akins there's little downside. Everyone knows he's serious enough when necessary, but more need to connect with him.
Then, when the schtick starts to become old they put a baby's high chair on stage.
"He had a tee time, so sent the understudy."
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