Symbiosis
Coach Ray posted an interesting (albeit brief) piece on the Great Chimpanzee Cartoon Controversy making an analogy to the caricatures of Dubya. The point is well taken, though there is a certain amount of racial baggage associated with portraying a black person in a simian fashion. I posted a comment over there but then on further reflection I realized we both missed the point.
The point is the NY Post and Al Sharpton need each other. Badly.
The Post needs to create controversy to survive. It is certainly not known for serious journalism. What it is known for is sensationalism and populism, and the fact that many folks who are seemingly anti-populist are running to the paper’s defense is ironic, isn’t it? Well, if you’re going to stake your claim on that turf, you’d better have content providers who are willing to create controversy but even more importantly you need a constituency that will respond to said controversial content.
Enter Reverend Al. The Post provides the controversy, Al gets his name out there again and gets folks to rally ‘round him and more importantly, donate money to the cause. As I noted in my comment to Coach Ray, it beats working for a living.
Of course, you could reverse the roles and the game is played exactly the same way. Sometimes Al provides the content and the Post responds to it and rakes in the money. The important thing to remember here is they all rake in the money.
Let’s take another issue of the day: climate change. Mainstream scientific thought seems to say “yeah, the climate is changing”. Different constituencies have differing theories as to why. Everyone choose sides! Environmentalists, you go over there with Mr. Gore and set up “Green Businesses” and start raking in the dough. Pro-business types, you go over there and set up your “Climate Change Debunking” think tanks, make your “Inconvenient Truth” rebuttal documentaries and rake in the dough from the oil companies, Crichton-ites and other like-minded folks. Everyone gets paid. Time is killed writing angry screeds one way or the other. Books are sold. TV time is filled. The rest of us enjoy the show while the planet does what the planet does. What curious creatures we humans are! A wonder of evolution to be sure…or of God’s making, (wouldn’t want to ruffle any feathers, especially not those attached to Bible holders).
Ah, but DC, every protagonist needs an antagonist or so the literary rule goes. I guess that’s true. I think I’ve antagonized enough in my life, though I’ve yet to figure out how to make a buck off it. I suspect it’s because I’ve been cursed with a lack of perspective, an inability to align myself with some soul-enriching and more importantly profit-reaping cause.
But back to Reverend Al. I knew a guy who worked in production once upon a time and he was assigned to a news crew covering one of Al’s marches over the Brooklyn Bridge. He said Al was actually a kind and genial fellow, very polite, introduced himself to everyone covering the event (and full disclosure, this friend of mine was white) and making small talk before the event got underway. Well, the time to start the march had come and gone and a few of Al’s associates had yet to appear. Al impatiently looked at his watch and said “What are we, running this thing on CPT or something?”
I will not tell you what CPT stands for. You will have to figure it out for yourself. Let us just say it’s the sort of phrase that Al might’ve protested had someone else said it. My friend insists he heard this with his own ears so this isn’t some third-hand shaggy dog Internet story. And really, it’s not a big deal since people are generally allowed to make racist jokes about their own race if you go by the rules of society. It’s just a little glimpse behind the curtain of showbiz, which ultimately is what just about all of this stuff is. Bread and circuses. So you there on the right and you there on the left, keep fulminating. Keep the outrage coming. Maybe it’ll get the economy moving again.
The point is the NY Post and Al Sharpton need each other. Badly.
The Post needs to create controversy to survive. It is certainly not known for serious journalism. What it is known for is sensationalism and populism, and the fact that many folks who are seemingly anti-populist are running to the paper’s defense is ironic, isn’t it? Well, if you’re going to stake your claim on that turf, you’d better have content providers who are willing to create controversy but even more importantly you need a constituency that will respond to said controversial content.
Enter Reverend Al. The Post provides the controversy, Al gets his name out there again and gets folks to rally ‘round him and more importantly, donate money to the cause. As I noted in my comment to Coach Ray, it beats working for a living.
Of course, you could reverse the roles and the game is played exactly the same way. Sometimes Al provides the content and the Post responds to it and rakes in the money. The important thing to remember here is they all rake in the money.
Let’s take another issue of the day: climate change. Mainstream scientific thought seems to say “yeah, the climate is changing”. Different constituencies have differing theories as to why. Everyone choose sides! Environmentalists, you go over there with Mr. Gore and set up “Green Businesses” and start raking in the dough. Pro-business types, you go over there and set up your “Climate Change Debunking” think tanks, make your “Inconvenient Truth” rebuttal documentaries and rake in the dough from the oil companies, Crichton-ites and other like-minded folks. Everyone gets paid. Time is killed writing angry screeds one way or the other. Books are sold. TV time is filled. The rest of us enjoy the show while the planet does what the planet does. What curious creatures we humans are! A wonder of evolution to be sure…or of God’s making, (wouldn’t want to ruffle any feathers, especially not those attached to Bible holders).
Ah, but DC, every protagonist needs an antagonist or so the literary rule goes. I guess that’s true. I think I’ve antagonized enough in my life, though I’ve yet to figure out how to make a buck off it. I suspect it’s because I’ve been cursed with a lack of perspective, an inability to align myself with some soul-enriching and more importantly profit-reaping cause.
But back to Reverend Al. I knew a guy who worked in production once upon a time and he was assigned to a news crew covering one of Al’s marches over the Brooklyn Bridge. He said Al was actually a kind and genial fellow, very polite, introduced himself to everyone covering the event (and full disclosure, this friend of mine was white) and making small talk before the event got underway. Well, the time to start the march had come and gone and a few of Al’s associates had yet to appear. Al impatiently looked at his watch and said “What are we, running this thing on CPT or something?”
I will not tell you what CPT stands for. You will have to figure it out for yourself. Let us just say it’s the sort of phrase that Al might’ve protested had someone else said it. My friend insists he heard this with his own ears so this isn’t some third-hand shaggy dog Internet story. And really, it’s not a big deal since people are generally allowed to make racist jokes about their own race if you go by the rules of society. It’s just a little glimpse behind the curtain of showbiz, which ultimately is what just about all of this stuff is. Bread and circuses. So you there on the right and you there on the left, keep fulminating. Keep the outrage coming. Maybe it’ll get the economy moving again.
Comments
Only someone who was desperate to be aggrieved would look at that cartoon and think monkey = Obama.
That was my point and I don't think I missed anything.
I suppose that, in some twisted fashion, it means we're on the same page. Or at least reading the same book. Or something.