ObamaPhobia: BAGnewsNotes NetrootsNation Presentation '08
In looking at the fearful or polarized treatment of Obama, it breaks down into three categories:
>> Obama as “Other.”
>> Obama as racial stereotype
>>And third, in descending order: Obama as shadow figure; Obama as man with a covert, anti-American agenda; Obama as Machiavellian mastermind; and Obama as closet Muslim and even Islamic Manchurian candidate.
For those of you who have yet to see it, I'm proud to bring you the "fuel injected" audio slideshow version of "ObamaPhobia," my presentation delivered July 19th, 2008 at the NetrootsNation conference in Austin.
"ObamaPhobia" was part of the "Don't Think Of Violence: Framing, Media And Policy" panel moderated by cultural anthropologist and political communications expert Jeffrey Feldman, author of "Framing the Debate" and "Outright Barbarous," and featuring David Neiwert, Firedoglake managing editor and author/editor of the blog Orcinus, and Andrea Batista Schlesinger of the Drum Major Institute.
The presentation -- which is visually-driven, of course -- runs a bit under 13 minutes, and outlines the racial and religious stereotypes in the media's visual coverage of the Obama campaign.
I would especially appreciate your critique and feedback -- especially since you know me best, and because I'm considering a similar format for at least some of our Democratic Convention coverage later this month.
Finally, I owe a mountain of thanks to Al Shaw, who produced and edited the piece. Al, my long-time blogospheric partner-in-crime, technical consultant and multimedia guru, is applying most of his talent this summer over at TPM.
