Trump’s drunken dance: may be working

 Zeibekiko is a popular Greek nightclub dance, done by only one person at a time, a male performer, and everyone else has to kneel down, forming a circle around the dancer, clapping following the rhythm and encouraging the dancer. Zeibekiko dance does have some particular steps, but the most impressive dance is the one where the dancer shows his creativity, performing special feats, adding a little humor and personal touch to the occasion.

(Wikipedia)

Donald Trump moves with the creativity and freedom of a drunk or a Greek guy stumbling around the dance floor. The Zeibekiko dancer sometimes mimics a drunk.Trump stomps across the world stage with the stumbling grace of a drunk. He bellows around the White House or Mar a Lago or Trump Tower, stomps out of G7 gatherings, hires Rudy Giuliani as alternative drunk uncle to fend off Robert Mueller and the Stormy Daniels lawyer. Trump huffs and puffs and tweets like a man possessed, but still pulls off a meeting with North Korea. Donald J. Trump, a teetotaler, never has touched alcohol, but moves with the stumbling grace of a drunk.

Trumps lack of planning may be his secret. Presidential campaign? He hadn’t a clue. Came up with a great slogan—Make America Great Again. Surprised people by filling up stadiums on the campaign trail. He talked different. Trump delivers speeches like a standup comic. We all watch him wondering about his next move. The behavior of an improvisational performer attracts our attention. 

Trump’s understanding of modern electronic media may explain his mastery of the improvisational. Our social media network is very interactive. As Marshall McLuhan correctly predicted—the new era of electronic communications, the one we’re living in now, is all about engagement. Cellphones, video games, Facebook, etc. engage us more personally than books, newspapers and even the television of old.

Trump has integrated his Twitter account with the hours of coverage he attracts on cable television to become a broadcasting system all his own. How does he keep his viewership, readership, follower numbers at a high level?... He does it with outrageous statements, insults, provocative lies, and manufactured culture wars with American football players, and the timing, intonations and attitude of a seasoned standup comic.

I look for traces of Donald Trump in old footage of his early television appearances. He seems slightly shy but eager to master the TV studio. He has a glint in his eye. I see a Rascal.

Trump reveals in those brief TV appearances, traces of the rascal, the scamp, scalawag, scoundrel, who would come to fruition during his run for Presidency. He quickly wanted to master the TV performer’s craft. He had some success but really flourished when he began to control everything. 

“Emoluments? What is that? I want to make money and be President at the same time.” 

He seems out of control but then controls almost everything. 

The improvisational mode suits Trump and his spontaneity suits the new electronic media environment. Trump’s media enemies hate the ease of his approach and fault him for being stupid, a sign they do not “get” Trump’s mastery of their own medium.

And the Zeibekiko dance continues.... 

Trump totters at the edge of the nightclub stage, verges on a drunken stumble but always finds his footing. 

He somehow avoids falling down-- and surprises us again and again with the outrageous behavior of a wild standup comic.

El Papa Knows Best....Father Knows Best

A sitcom from the late 50s, "Father Knows Best", depicted life in America in idyllic terms. The grass was cut, the children behaved and most problems were small enough to be solved in 30 minutes, 22 minutes if you don't include the advertisements. The actor Robert Young depicted father as a gray-haired kindly man with the wisdom to keep the family on a healthy, happy course and that reflected the optimism of Post - WW II life in the United States.

What made me think of this show in the present era, a time of intense globalize, all-at-once communication was an article I read in a Spanish newspaper while on my travels in Northern Spain. My Spanish language is less than perfect, but... here's what it said. The Pope, El Papa, presiding over the mass of Corpus Christi, said (my interpretation follows) "pages move quickly and our exterior  life gets fragmented while our interior life stays inert." He added a cautionary word on the importance of memory saying with "living in the instant and we run the danger of living permanently in the superficial, in the style of the moment without understanding who we are and where we have been."

First, I apologize foe any mistake in translation. As a big fan of Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian media guru, a convert to Catholicism, I got a kick out of the Pope's observations on a topic that would interest Professor McLuhan.

Listen to this quote from Janine Marchessault on page 182 of her book "Marshall McLuhan" (Sage Publications, 2005). She, explicating McLuhan, confronts the inert feeling inside of the digital generation:

"McLuhan sees the electric environment as a homeostatic system. According to Selye's theory, any physical extension is an attempt to maintain equilibrium. They regard any technological extension as an 'auto-amputation'. In the midst of the electronic environment we numb our central nervous system when it is extended 'or we will die'. The new media support an awareness of others and of social responsibility. They compel commitment and participation through their creation of Anxiety, for in 'the electric age we wear mankind as our skin'."

There's a lot there, including Selye's theory which I do not know. McLuhan stated all technology is an extension of the human body, from clothes, to hammers, to automobiles. The cellphone extends our central nervous system outward. We must numb ouselves to deflect the power of this extension. That may be what the Pope has observed?

Because Pope Francis has dared to go where no other leader seems comfortable on so many issues, including ecology and climate change, he must be applauded. Now he discusses the reality most of us choose to ignore, the way digital technology rules our every moment.

"History has become a thing of the past," as Marshall McLuhan and his colleague Edmund Carpenter, the anthropologist, so sagely warned, long before we had cellphones. They anticipated the terrible challenge of such formidable change ahead where we "wear mankind as our skin."

Pope Francis, El Papa, has stepped forward like Robert Young in the final 2-3 minutes of "Father Knows Best" with some fatherly advice. The question remains-- is any anybody paying attention? Or just going to their next text message or Facebook or Twitter post...

McLuhan Predicts-- an Era of Feelings

"We are heading into a very McLuhan-esque year. Marshall McLuhan-- the Patron Saint of WIRED-- made his name in the 1960s, studying how pivotal technologies produced widespread, non obvious changes. The Gutenberg press, he argued, created a spirit of "detachment" that propelled science while giving a new sense of agency to individuals. Electricity had a "tactile" effect, keeping us in contact with the world via telegraph, telephone and TV. "
The Social Medium is The Message (Feb 2017-- Wired magazine)

Clive Thompson's article, The Social Medium is the Message, appearing in this month's Wired magazine, explains so much about the present situation-- a world coming unglued by Trump's single week as President of the United States.

Donald Trump aroused a conflagration in 2016, getting elected against long odds and defeating Hillary Clinton, the heavy favorite. Hillary was favored by the most computer savvy people. I attended a dinner party on the night of the election, intended to be a celebration party for our group of liberal-minded friends. Instead, the party took on the feeling of a wake. We were shocked, along with the rest of the world.

The aftermath of Hillary's defeat proved as surprising as the actual loss. The supporters went into an extended period of mourning. The reason partly can be explained by Trump's extreme positions and shady track record. Trump displayed traits of a schoolyard bully. He oozed bile for his enemies-- beginning with Low Energy Jeb, followed by Lyin' Ted, Little Marco, and Crooked Hillary. The epithets had a catchy ring to them-- and you couldn't get them out of your head. Trump has some of the talent of a Madison Avenue composer of catchy phrases and memorable memes. But that Trumpian bombast and vitriol does not fully explain the deep sadness of the anti-Trump forces. After all, we had George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon in the nation's recent past.

Why didn't the liberal left collapse in a heap of emotions when right wing candidates took office in the past? The answer lies in Marshall McLuhan's prediction-- today's electronic man has feelings where the Gutenberg, literary man maintained an air of detachment. We are totally involved in our cellphones, our Facebook, our electronic Friends, our instant communications, and our feelings.

Trump has taken office  and instituted a number of actions, fitful and intense stabs at public policy. They include talk of a wall between Mexico and the US and trade tariffs. Trump ordered a shutdown of Muslim visitors to the United States from 7 Muslim countries--and feelings are raging at levels rarely seen in public discourse. Trump's wrongheaded policies and purple rhetoric does not totally explain the emotional response exhibited in big cities across the country. I attended Vietnam era anti-war rallies and did not see the level of emotion in today's rallies.

So what's going on.... The electronic vortex, the social media, news at 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light, has brought us all closer together. We are a global village, just like Marshall McLuhan predicted. We are the villagers crowded around the tribal campfire. We take events quickly to heart. We no longer are the detached, literary men of the era of newspapers and train transport. The world changes in the blink of an eye. The same explosive media tools used by Donald Trump, the Twitter, the catchy phrases, the anger hurled at enemies real and imagined, that worked to get him elected can bring also bring him down. The social media giveth-- and taketh away.

Life At the Speed of Light

McLuhan said we get messages from satellite transmissions careening around the globe at the speed of light. That is the new reality.

Check out the article from Slate online magazine entitled-- "Is Facebook Live Video The Future Or The Latest Social Media Fad"

Mr. Zuckerberg knows that the faster moving process races around the slower media and will defeat the slower moving programs. TV defeats movies, Online media defeats newspapers. So getting you face-to-face, literally, with your Facebook friends is the place he is headed.

Marshall McLuhan makes life easier. He is the Oracle of Toronto!

See-you,

John

Super Bowl Sunday: Is it just a fantasy?

Fan interest for football is at a phenomenally high level. Like most pro football fans, I never played the game. I never liked putting a helmet on my head. Never wanted to bang into people. Football attracts fans in ways they may not even understand.

Marshall McLuhan, my media guru, successfully predicted football would overtake baseball as the most popular sport. Modern media is all about engagement. Football, where players do different things simultaneously, works like magic for the television audience. Simultaneous events mean engagement of the viewer. The cameras cut from one event to another: quarterback dropping back, cut to wide receiver being defended by the cornerback, cut to linebacker closing in to tackle the quarterback, all within the space of a few seconds. All within the space of a single play.

McLuhan correctly recognized the importance of the "instant replay." Taped replay allows us to watch the play again and again, studying in great depth. Instant replay has been added to actual playing of the game itself. Coaches have been granted the power to request a play be reviewed by the referees. The referees can reverse the on-field decision based on replay. The fans study the replay and participate with the referees's decision.

Baseball, formerly the national pastime, moves forward in a logical, straight-line sequence. Batter hits ball and only then can he run. The ball gets fielded. The batter runs to first base. Football moves forward simultaneously-- occurs on many different levels in the same moment. Fans achieve more in-depth involvement in the football game.

Engagement! Engagement! Engagement! So said McLuhan when explaining the electronic media environment. Our new media life, life itself you might say, is all about electronic engagement. We stay engaged in our cellphone, on Facebook, on Twitter and on Instagram and things like Snapchat. I don't even know what Snapchat is! Guess that reveals my age...

Football wins. With fantasy football we get an deeper involvement. We actually own the team and the players, even if it's just a fantasy. Football wins the electronic competition by keeping us deeply engaged.

Breaking Up with Nature...

How can we stay connected to nature? Probably a lost cause. We have broken up with Nature, and ending a relationship can be painful and fraught with confusion and denial. Breaking up is hard to do... (Breaking' Up Is Hard to Do, Neil Sedaka, 1962)

Nature is gone now, surrounded by man and his technology. The world is encompassed by satellites. Marshall McLuhan called the satellite--surround a the proscenium arch... turning the world into a stage and all of us into actors. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. (As You Like It, Act II, scene VII, William Shakespeare, 1599) McLuhan said Nature becomes an art form under such conditions. Earth photographed from space looked like a blue marble. The image indicated the whole world was in our hands.

Politicians have become actors fighting for the spotlight. Twitter and facebook postings provide us an identity... a global audience. And back on earth... well, Nature has become an art form.

Why did the death of Cecil cause us such pain? Many lions have been hunted down. The numbers dwindled down to such a point that every lion is now a Van Gogh, a Picasso, something treasured. Cecil's death signals our complete separation from Nature. We long for Nature, feel a nostalgia.

Why the proliferation of pets? Veterinarian shows are all over cable TV. We long for the natural world.

Why all the references to feces in movie comedy in recent years-- our obsession with shit is yet another expression of a disconnect from nature. Our bodily functions still involve the natural world.

A friend of mine states that our dreams remain our only connection to nature. Dreams cannot be controlled. The run free like lions across the savannah.

Baltimore-- The Revolution Will be Televised

Remember Gil Scott-Heron's famous song-- The Revoultion Will Not Be Televised? He produced the song in 1970, and maybe started Rap music with that poem spoken to congas and bongo drums. A brilliant song, no doubt. But I think Scott-Heron guessed incorrectly on one point-- the revolution actually will  be televised.

Marshall McLuhan, the brilliant media philosopher, felt print media, books, newspapers, etc. had not been especially kind to the situation of African-Americans. The electronic formats-- radio, television, computers, cellphones, Twitter, etc.-- make things more immediate and personal than the traditional forms of written communication. Digital communication has changed all of us in profound ways, as McLuhan correctly surmised.

The Civil Rights movement really got started in the Sixties with the rise of television. Now we have an array of communication formats- and individuals participate on their own through Twitter and Facebook.

CNN covers the race riots in Baltimore and Ferguson and amazingly nobody, or very few, get killed. Everything is up close and personal and moves in an instant-- the news creates news. The digital world of instant communication brings us all closer. Changes happen faster. The digital universe seems a add an element of compassion for fellow human beings that was lacking in the pre-digital days. If television ended the Vietnam War, maybe the social network and electronic vortex ends racial discord-- or at least turns the corner on racial divisions.

We see a cellphone recording of Eric Garner being  killed on the streets of Staten Island. Demonstrations happen. Some police officers are ambushed and murdered, seemingly in retaliation for Eric Garner's death. The demonstrations subside. The information comes to us in a steady stream. Each event becomes a media event and another event rises from it. Ferguson, Missouri follows a similar pattern but the demonstrations turn violent.

The next development is a recording that shows Freddie Gray being arrested on the streets of Baltimore. He screams for help. His legs seem immobilized and he mysteriously dies while in police custody. The immediacy of the horror brings people to the streets almost instantly. Young kids communicate via cellphone and organize a plunder of the local mall. But, the riots end in a single day. Everything moves quickly. The peaceful leaders of the African-American community move into the streets. College kids come to Baltimore and immediately start sweeping the streets clean of debris. The Bloods and Crips put their hatred aside and work together! We meet an impressive "Mom of the Year" popping her son in the head and successfully getting him out of the riot. We admire her courage. We learn about each other quickly and suddenly community leaders take control of the streets.

Baltimore does not get burned to the ground-- like the neighborhoods that went up in flames following the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. The violence never reaches the epic  proportions of the riots in Los Angeles in 1994, following the Rodney King beating.

The revolution actually is being televised-- along with a million other forms of coverage by the citizens-- but it still is a revolution, a revolution of compassion. Mr. McLuhan got it right! But he said there would be all kinds of disharmony and a cacophony of voices and opinions rising in the new environment-- just like any other village.

Global Village

The electronic vortex (see McLuhan) whirls viciously
And we wonder where we fit and do we matter
a kidnapping in California
Chinese kids working farms in Japan
A-Rod on steroids
Glee star dies of overdose

The electronic vortex (read McLuhan) whirls deliciously
can't wait to get up in the morning
turn on the computer
images flash by so fleshily
are they me?
am I them?

Facebook friends are no friends at all
oh yes, facebook friends help me stand tall
Have we all become the Third Man
is life a film noir
What does anderson cooper think?
How about Dr. drew's pinky?

We all end up in rehab
sticker shock, computer glow dimming our eyes
dimming our prospects
But now my battery gets charged as I speak.
All is well
and the electronic vortex (nee McLuhan) understands judiciously.

Facebook and Its Followers

I have been on Facebook for number of years. In my student advising days a computer sciences major encouraged me to join. Ironically he seemed to be a shy kid. A shy kid introduced me to a club with about 600 million members! I don't use it much. But I see that some people use it all the time. Facebook appeals to those seeking self-expression. But don't we all seek self-expression? The only requirement is the knowledge of typing. You have an audience-- your Friends, or at least those friends who logon. You express a point-of-view. But Marshall McLuhan explains there is no point of view in the electronic world. Information comes at you from infinite directions. There is no margin and no center. What is a point-of-view in a simultaneous world? Everything comes, goes and leaves. The experience of expressing yourself is real. We have become creators of news. The guy, Jason Russell, with the Kony 2012 video presents an interesting case. He felt passionately about Uganda and children and produced a video that got 80 million hits-- possibly a record success. He was overwhelmed by the criticism of his piece, so the theory goes, and had a breakdown. He made himself part of the story and the criticism felt especially personal. So you have to play the internet carefully or be the kind of personality confident enough to weather the firestorm of comments. Andy Warhol warned about that 15 minutes!