Sep 8, 2011

Ron Paul and the Great Debate

Sir, please spend whatever it costs to hire a good television coach. And pay attention when he explains the difference between television and the Shakespearean stage.

The images on tiny screens in millions of homes are fatal to the man who uses the broad gestures and large body language of live theatre. The rhetorical arts you learned in high school 60 years ago are deadly when teevee cameras zoom in. The shoulder lunges, in particular, say "crazy."

McLuhan and his followers illustrated how and why television is a "cool" medium requiring a "cool" approach.

It gags a man to suggest that you study the teevee style of Perry and Romney, but you should. Their relative mastery of television makes their bullshit sound almost plausible. Imagine what the approach would do for your message of recognizing reality and engaging in logical thought processes.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, Don Q. recognizing reality and engaging in logical thought are not abilities possessed by the average tv viewer/citizen, no matter how engaging the speaker.JAGSC

Jim said...

Yes. It makes me look especially goofy when read in conjunction with that Mencken quote I stole from Guffaw, one post up.

I guess I'm just a lost-cause pervert. For instance, I plan to write letter to Senator Grassley demanding a federal law requiring the Aggies to stay in the Big 12.

Anonymous said...

;-) What Big 12? It's already down to 10, and OU and OSU finally got the dust bowl memo and are belatedly heading to Golden California. JAGSC