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 Today's political dialogue covers much more than promising a "chicken in every pot and a car in every garage". The Twin Towers collapse, whether undertaken by foreign or domestic agents, unveiled a new era of increasing uncertainty, where media hype/hysteria is complicit in the quest for mind control. Thus, in effect, "shock and awe" has become an expedient password.
Imagery is the United States' main export. Prior to computerized visual impressions and the earlier development of television, promoting fear had been one of Hollywood's basic functions. D.W. Griffith's 1915 "Birth of a Nation" - a KKK glorification film, established that trend. For While Griffith used his movie to vilify an essential part of the human family, Edgar Rice Burroughs released "Tarzan", as a way to ridicule and erase their historical greatness.
Subsequently, individuals would be seduced by sugary propaganda thru cinematic reels, or be shell-shocked at home, as was with "War of the Worlds", heard on Orson Welles' 1938 terrifying radio program. Welles fictitious narrative prophesied an escalation in collective paranoia. From WW II thru post-Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Elementary School Children were pictured hiding under their desks during atomic weapons attack drills.
In 1933, movie posters showed "King Kong" perched atop Manhattan's Empire State Building. The 1976 Bicentennial sequel featured a relatively new World Trade Center. What stood out beyond obvious connotations, was a fascinating climax scene with planes approaching tall buildings. ACTION - The giant (ape) is downed by aircraft - CUT. "Hollywood has always been an irresistible prefabricated metaphor..." says Neal Gabler.
Now, pretext in the aftermath of 9/11. Leading actors of the so called "Free" world are busy undermining freedom by way of a melodious ringtone known as the "Patriot Act". Free-dumb? Not. Billie Holliday's "strange fruit" noose is a permanent reminder of the Middle Passage chain of terror leading up to our current scenario: Non-fictional "Debaters" in Jena's schoolyard, a bulging prison population, or one of Tiger's golf balls dangling on a rope.
Are visions of hope a contrived delusion? Is hope an idealistic yearning, driven by human nature? Answers to these questions will not be found on a box office ticket stub. However, fact is, because a non-white man and a woman are blazing an historical trail of inclusiveness, it raises hope above a hard to ignore groundswell.
There's one who is being judged by the content of his character, inspiring faith in the realization of King's dream. However, it remains to be seen, if change may be asking too much from a conditioned mind-set with deep-seated insecurities around privilege.
Hillary's undoing is to be found in South Carolina's racial sewage, since voters care less about Monica's past Oval Office inhalations. Furthermore, Bill's foot in mouth episode was enjoined by Barack's harshest barrelled crabs in Andy Young & Bob Johnson. Their supporting role included a very poor imitation of The Three Stooges.
Our challenging times require a tapping into humanity's potential for greatness, minus regressive mudslinging. No wonder, masses of people who are seeking change, trip over each other at rallies and voting booths. Upon a ceremonial opening of the envelope, I heard a hopeful one announce, that "the opposite of abomination is Obama nation".
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The FreeStyles 
