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Edited on Sat Aug-27-05 12:01 PM by calimary
Hate to say this, but to some eyes, she's actually kind of a looker. Long blonde hair, "attractive" face, nice and slim, not some fattie, long legs, photographs well, and she's fast with a comment (even while everything that spills from her mouth is full of the most toxic bile). She looks good on camera.
WHAT THAT TRANSLATES TO, to the unsuspecting viewer:
AH! Lookie there! A woman speaking out for the republi-CONS. Wow, I guess they must not be so anti-woman after all, huh? And, say, she's kinda purty, too, isn't she?
Yes, I know, I know - you don't see it that way. I don't see it that way, either. The woman makes me almost literally physically ill. Everything she stands for makes me want to run screaming into the night. But I'm thinking of the mentality of the so-called "non-pro" here. The guy drinking beer in a bar in a red state (or home in his barcalounger after a hard day at work). It's all in the VISUALS. VISUALS. VISUALS have the most powerful mental impact of anything because most people WHO WATCH (repeat: WATCH) television are visually-oriented and process information visually.
Did you ever hear that story that CBS correspondent Leslie Stahl told - about a report she'd done for the "Evening News"? This was during the Reagan era. She's recounted this in public several times. She filed a report that was very critical of Ronald Reagan. Her voice track talked about how his policies were screwing the poor and the little guy and more people were suffering and being set back economically because of what he was doing. That's what she SAID on camera. HOWEVER: that same voice-track was accompanied by VERY DIFFERENT VISUALS. What you saw, along with that voice-track, was a cavalcade of images of Reagan smiling, waving to the crowd at the door of the airplane, strolling happily with his aides or hand-in-hand with Nancy after having arrived on the lawn of the White House from his helicopter, and other things. WHAT YOU SAW was a series of very benign, positive, warm-n-fuzzy, nice-guy images of Reagan, accompanying Leslie Stahl's voice track. The result? A subliminal message running under everything negative she was pointing out - that reinforced how nice and wonderful and warm-n-fuzzy and adorable Reagan was. THAT is what viewers picked up on. THAT is what hit home. THAT is what made, and left behind, the strongest impression in people's minds. NOT what she was saying. What she SHOWED. The VISUALS. As proof (and I guess, the punch-line of this story), an incredulous Stahl added that David Gergen, a White House senior staffer at the time, called her up to THANK HER for the wonderful report she'd just done on his boss. As she recounts this experience, she will openly admit that she was stunned by this - "but David, my report was negative, it didn't have good things to say about him." His response? Merely to point out that the visuals were so nice and reaffirming and positive and comforting and reassuring to viewers that it made no difference WHAT THE FUCK she said. What she SHOWED - THE VISUALS - spoke WAY more loudly.
VISUALS, my friend.
Further, remember that blonde hair photographs fabulously. MUCH better on camera than brunette or even redhead. If you don't believe me, look around at how many anchorwomen, talk show hosts, and female reporters are blonde. It just photographs better. Thick lips also photograph well and send a very sexy subliminal message. The way coulter wears her hair - wrapped around the back of her neck and cascading down front over one shoulder - some media consultant invariably told her that was a great way to wear her hair because it looks sexy - a GREAT and POWERFUL and HIGHLY EFFECTIVE subliminal message to telecast (even though I suspect it's to conceal the 666 tattoo on her neck).
republi-CONS, for a long time, had a hugely public problem in the constant drumbeat about their "gender gap." So when they found themselves a glib woman who photographed well, and was blonde, and always had a snappy, quote-worthy comeback, they shrewdly ran with it. They can point to her and say - "SEE? Women ARE with us!" Besides, that purty blonde with the snappy, clever comebacks does appeal to the NASCAR dad and Joe Sixpack contingent out there.
Besides, when you have manipulative, sexist pigs like Roger Ailes (a longtime republi-CON operative for Reagan and Bush I, becoming president of an outfit like Pox "news," you have that mentality directing the hiring of a major television network, whose influence will only grow with the mindless viewers who only know and respond to what looks good on camera. And then when they see an ann coulter working so well for them, time to crank up the cloning machinery. That's why you have people like Cheri Jacobus and that ridiculous Kelly-Ann bimbette and Laura Ingraham and all these other blonde twits, plus people like Paula Zahn and Greta Van Susteren and Rita Cosby and all the rest of 'em. They've thoroughly ingested the Kool-aid and are true believers, and they photograph well, so they're guaranteed a LOT of face time on camera.
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