Oh Instagram...

The Republicans have really taken to social media this year for the RNC.  They are using everything from Twitter to Facebook and YouTube to spread the word about what is going on in Florida and campaign for Romney for President.  If you think about, it is pretty ingenious of them to do this because we are a society of people that are constantly connected to their smart phones and “apps”.  It is an opportunity for the people at the Republican National Convention to use social media to connect with America.  With a constant stream of information people can feel like they are in the know, that they are part of the political elite that has been invited to the RNC.  By using social media, the Republicans are really spreading their politics and beliefs to America, but especially the younger generation.  I feel like many people in their late teens and early twenties have no interest in politics because they don’t know how to access the information and it is not presented to them in a way that they can really understand it.  With the RNC using social media to their advantage, they are connecting with the young voters and helping them to develop their personal beliefs and politics, all while encouraging them to vote (and hopefully vote for Romney).  Below is a screen shot picture that I took with an explanation of the Convention Without Walls and icons of all of the different apps they are using. 

One of the many social media apps that the republicans at the RNC are using is the app Instagram.  For those of you who are more technologically challenged or who may not be up to date on what is “cool” in the app world, Instagram is an app that allows users to upload pictures that they have taken and then apply a “digital filter to it” and share it with the world.  In other words, it is the opportunity for the user to feel like they are a super artsy photography with just the click of a button.  It gives the images a feel of nostalgia, perhaps causing you to lose sight of what the image is really about because you are too busy admiring the artistic quality of the photo.  I will be honest, I had an Instagram account for a couple of weeks, which is illustrated by my picture on the right that I took and “instagramed” while in New York City.  I ended up deleting my account when my 13 year old sister told her friends that I was “on a trip to Instagram…. It’s a country, but it is like also a like i-Phone app”.  Just to clarify, I was visiting Amsterdam.  Comments like this leave me worried for the future of the world, but I digress.

There has been a Flickr account created for the RNC to upload the pictures that they have taken and “instagramed”.  The images are of everything from volunteer groups, to food that has been served at the convention, to tv appearances by important members of the Republican Party.  The pictures are snap shots of what is going on and are clearly a PR move by the republicans. Our blog assignment this week is to discuss one or more of the images that has been uploaded to Flickr and when my professor was telling us about the assignment, she mentioned that there was only picture of former president George Bush and this is the image I have chosen to blog about. 

I find it very interesting that there is only one picture of the former president on the website.  I would think that with all of the attention that is given to important Republican figures at the RNC, that his image would be on there a few more times.  I cannot help but think that perhaps this is some sort of form of damage control by the Republican Party.  Many people think, myself included, that a contributing factor as to why Obama was elected, even if he was not the most qualified candidate, was because it was a response to Bush’s two terms in office as president.  I know that there are many more reasons why Obama was elected other than that he is a democrat and the far opposite of George Bush, but I think that many people were unhappy with the republicans and Bush when it came time for the 2008 election and were not going to vote for a republican as a result.  For example, my home state of Virginia is typically a republican state during presidential elections but they went democrat in the 2008 election.  By not having too many pictures of President Bush, the republicans can avoid reminding America why Obama was elected in the first place. 

I also find the picture that was selected of Bush to be very interesting.  It is a candid shot that has once again been filtered with instagram.  He is shown with his wife Laura Bush and they are both relaxed, smiling, and dressed in informal clothes.  Perhaps if a picture had been shown of Bush in a suit, it would’ve been an unwelcome reminder to Americans of when he was president and some people would have been turned off by that image.  He is also shown with what look like children in Africa.  I can’t help but think this is a statement to African Americans, meaning something like, “See, white Republicans get along with black people too.  Don’t just vote for Obama because he is black, vote republican”.  I am sure every picture is carefully selected and thought out before being uploaded, which is why this picture was selected.  The Republicans did not want to completely ignore President Bush, so they meticulously selected an image that would paint him in a good light and leave the viewer with a feeling for nostalgia for the good things that happened when a republican was in office.            

While stumbling today...

I wanted to share this link!  I am obsessed with StumbleUpon and while I was stumbling today, I came across this website.  It is an interactive timeline that shows what the top political priorities of Americans are each year.  It is really neat to go and look at what America, as a whole, and the individual political parties were concerned with each year, especially election years.

Enjoy!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7PJK6D/:uCUrqqiY:DThP$2Jt/awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1010/political-climate-chart/interactive.html/

My Definition of Politics

I must admit that I am nervous about writing a blog.  I have never felt like one of those super cool, trendy people who can sit down at their computer and tap out a blog fully of witty things to say for the whole world to read.  But this will be my attempt, so here we go…

I am currently in my first semester of graduate school, pursuing my master’s degree in Art History and Visual Studies.  I am extremely interested in Visual Studies and so I decided to take a course called Visual Culture of Politics.  I am very excited about the course and one of our assignments is to create a blog where we can write about and reflect on the things that relate to the class.  My mind was running a mile a minute with blog ideas during the first class.  I feel like there are just endless blog topics that relate to visual culture of politics, especially with this year being an election year.  Some of blogs are going to be direct and respond to specific assignments, while others may just have a movie review or an image that I feel represents this idea of the visual culture of politics.   

For our first blog entry, we were told to write about our own personal definition of politics.  To me, everything is political and the term does not have to only relate to the government.  After spending four years in a sorority, the politics surrounding elections is what immediately comes to my mind when I see or hear the world politics.  Obviously there is more to the word than just why someone should be elected to rush chair or social chair of Gamma Phi Beta.  In my eyes, the world politics is really an all-encompassing term for the activities that occur within any organization, specifically the government for this blog.  Whether it is the student government of a university, the government of the United States of America, or the exchange between the governments of multiple countries, politics describes the actions and practices behind those organizations. 

By my definition, the world politics describes how the government as a whole chooses to governs itself and also how each individual side guides themselves, as well as their followers, into believing and upholding certain thoughts, ideals, and practices.  The politics and beliefs of a certain group is what defines them and allows for others to stand behind them or oppose them. 

I think that politics can be very dirty and very much dominated by money.  Politics are a way in which government officials in public offices manipulate the public to believe certain things in order to achieve what they define as “good” or “right”.  It encompasses anything from campaigning tactics to how a bill gets passed.  When I think of politics, I think of campaign strategies, like ads for television, and how there are negative and positive ads.  I think of how an image can be used to paint an individual in a certain light, so that the members of the opposing side look better.  Money is the backbone of politics because you need it in order to demonstrate your personal politics and gain supporters.  A perfect example of how money dominates politics is incumbents, people that are already in a political office that run again and win their elections.  Incumbents are able to win back their seats a majority of the time because of politics and the money behind said politics.  

Because we are in an election year, I feel like all facets of the media are dominated by politics.  I cannot turn on the television, radio, or even log onto Facebook without the politics of a certain party being pushed.  Just last night while I was on Facebook, a friend posted the picture to the right.  It is a photograph of a coffee cup with President Barack Obama’s birth certificate on it.  I think that this is a perfect image that illustrates my definition of politics.  The campaign advisors and supporters of Obama have had a coffee cup made with his birth certificate as a way to positively advertise for his re-election.  The image on the mug will squash any doubts that non-supporters and the Republicans may have of Obama’s citizenship.  The mug is illustrating the politics of the supporters for Obama in the Democratic party by saying that he is a true American and you should vote for him!  I mean, really, what is more American than drinking a hot cup of coffee out of your ceramic mug? The coffee cup gives voice to some of their political campaign ideals and the way that Obama’s followers have painted him, as an American family man.  The fact that his website is on the bottom, which will take you to the internet “headquarters” for his re-election is even more proof of the political motives behind having such things made.  When politicians have t-shirts, magnets, bumper sticks, coffee mugs, etc made that are in support of their ideals and campaign, it is a physical representation of their politics.  It is a way for them to show their beliefs and for their supporters to show that they too believe in, support, and practice the politics of that candidate.  These manifestations of their politics are constantly used on all levels and by every kind of government.