The Theatricks of Politics

The Theatricks of Politics Gautam Dasgupta In this year of presidential elections, one cannot fail to notice to how large a degree political campaign strategies are indebted to the theatre. For the most part, the strategies employed fall into two distinct categories. On the one hand, there are the candidates themselves who, during the course of their stump speeches, seek out "photo opportunities." On the other hand, there are the spots on television created for the candidates by advertising firms. In the interest of most effectively conveying their client's political message to the electorate, these commercials rely heavily on proven theatrical (and marketing) techniques. Actors are utilized to portray fictional characters, or else backdrops are re-created to show the candidate in a "correct" setting. This is, in itself, nothing new. Salesmanship is certainly part of the electoral game, and there is no turning the clock back. But until quite recently, whatever shape or form these sales pitches took, their intent was clear. The product being peddled, be it the candidate or his or her message, was assured an effective and moderately fair hearing. Viewers were allowed a glimpse into the actual substance of who or what was being displayed. To achieve their goals of maximal efficiency, the political strategists would employ a vast array of theatrical skills, mostly of a technical kind. Today, while the purveyors of mass consumption (which is what our political strategists have become) continue to draw upon these same skills, something else has occurred that, I feel, bodes ill not only for our time but 77 for our theatre as well. Since that fateful day in 1980 when we ushered an actor into the White House, an all too easy alliance has emerged between politics and theatre. Whereas once aspects of theatricality were applied to enhance political expediency, since Ronald Reagan took office the exercise and implementation of politics has become inseparable from the theatrical act itself. Before I proceed, let me clarify the distinction I wish to make between theatre and what I consider to be aspects of theatricality, as they relate to political practice. We know from Thucydides, for instance, that Pericles was a great politician; he was also a great orator. His oratorical prowess was but a tool which he wielded to prevail over the Athenian masses and to consolidate his political strength. At the other end of history, there is the unsavory example of the Nuremberg rallies that coerced a nation into crime through both oratory and bewildering displays of technical wizardry. These I consider to be aspects of theatricality employed for the sole purpose of political aggrandizement. Such tactics are not dissimilar to the current uses to which actors and stage managers are put in this age of video politics. Under Reagan's stewardship, however, and particularly in the months prior to his inauguration, there was a veritable shift in the makeup and approach to political campaigning. Despite his tenure as Governer of the State of California, I like to think that he was chosen to represent his party precisely because of his experience as an actor. Even though this particular asset of his may not have been recognized as such by the Republican Party at the time of his announced candidacy, it soon turned into a big plus for him and for his political base. Here was a man who, I suspect, was convinced of the potency of theatrical powers of suggestion. He would take on a role-that of the presidency-and invest it with a bravura and substance that is the actor's stock and trade. Let me interrupt myself at this point. Is it fair to speak of the office of the presidency as a role? And if so, how did that come about? Part of the reason for such a mutation, I believe, rests with the overt theatricalization of society and culture at all levels. Starting with the sixties and on until our own time, we have been witnessing the narrowing of the gulf that separates our private selves from our public lives. Today, we have come perilously close to the point where the private self is virtually in danger of extinction. We are...