Presidential In 1992, armed with just a second-hand satellite dish, a worn amplifier he'd found in the back of an electronics shop and a mounting device constructed out of an old bedframe, Brian Springer created a contraption capable of destroying the American political system as we know it. OK, that's an exaggeration, but one thing's for sure -- after viewing his film "Spin," showing at the Contemporary Museum as part of an exhibition called "Political (S)elections," you'll never again see the relationship between politics and television in quite the same way.
wannabes
off the record
'Spin' lets viewers
spy on candidates when
they're off the airIsland residents won't feel left out
By Scott Vogel
either. While practicing an intro to a
story on Port-au-Prince, Dan Rather
mistakes Haiti for Hawaii, then quips,
"well, they all look alike, you know."
Star-BulletinThat's because the device Springer created allowed the filmmaker to spy on network news teams and politicans just before they go on-air, or sometimes between commercials. The satellite feeds, technically known as backhauls, were never intended for broadcast, and given the legal quagmire Springer might encounter should he try to distribute his film, it's unlikely you'll be seeing "Spin" on PBS -- or anywhere else -- anytime soon.
What the filmmaker discovered is more than idle chitchat between presidential candidates and anchormen. Springer opened a window most of us never knew existed, inviting the viewer to peer "Candid Camera"-like at media celebrities in the act of being themselves. And the results range from an innocuous make-up session in which a mannequin-like Bill Clinton is pounded with pancake, to Larry King extolling the virtues of a certain prescription drug to George Bush Sr. right before an interview broadcast worldwide. ("My brother is in the pharmaceutical business," King confides. "He says there is a pill coming from Israel better than Halcion.")
Bill Clinton also has a brief off-air conversation with King during the 1992 election campaign, a cryptic exchange that's both disturbing and fascinating at once.
King: Ted Turner changed the world. He's a big fan of yours.In the brisk world of "Spin," which whizzes by in a quick 58 minutes, you barely have time to ponder what sort of service King has in mind before being confronted by Pat Robertson's appearance on Turner's airwaves. The head of the Christian Broadcasting Network has just been told -- by a phone-in viewer -- that Pat's right-wing policies are the reason the caller voted against George Bush in 1992, despite being a Republican. CNN cuts to a commercial, at which point Robertson immediately addresses his handlers.
Clinton: Is he?
K: He would -- uh -- serve you. You know what I mean?
C: You're kidding.
K: Oh, you'd be surprised. He's ready. What's he got left in life to gain? I'd call him after you're elected. Think about it. No dope.
C: That's for sure.
K: Great guy to work for, too..."That guy was a homo, as sure as you're alive," says the televangelist. Robertson's spin doctors immediately come to his assistance, reassuring him that the interview is going well while simultaneously giving him pointers on how to avoid future callers' questions. Later, Robertson is seen grumbling about King's producers, whom he imagines are stacking the deck with heathen callers.
("That last one was OK," Robertson says, "but the first three were homosexuals.") The preacher appears during a few other choice moments in "Spin," and glimpses of a sinister side to Robertson are everywhere in evidence.
Island residents won't feel left out either. While practicing an intro to a story on Port-au-Prince, Dan Rather mistakes Haiti for Hawaii, then quips, "well, they all look alike, you know." And the lack of a minority presence on network television becomes even more obvious when you watch the mugs of Larry King and Diane Sawyer being made up by an assortment of ethnic-looking hands wielding brushes and powder puffs. "Spin" is a fascinating look at the dance of politicians and TV news, two monstrous entities that become more indistinguishable with each passing day.
FOR FURTHER evidence of this weird codependence, you need only watch Antonio Mutadas' and Marshall Reese's "Political Advertisement 2000," also being screened at the Contemporary. Comprised entirely of TV ads by presidential hopefuls from 1956 to the present, the film charts a steady rise in ad sophistication during the latter half of the 20th century, beginning with Adlai Stevenson supporters uttering platitudes in a monotone voice, and continuing through the Kellogg's-inspired "Morning in America" ads of the Reagan years.
The collection includes several of the most memorable political commercials -- including the famous Johnson ad juxtaposing nuclear war with a young girl plucking a daisy -- although Bush Sr.'s famous invocation of Willie Horton against Michael Dukakis (the "revolving door ad") is a notable omission. The stridency of Nixon's 1960 red-baiting tactics are contrasted with the catchy songs of the Kennedy ads: ("Do you want a man for president who's seasoned through and through, but not so doggone seasoned that he won't try something new?") And a pre-Viagra Bob Dole campaigns twice, appearing in war-hero-style ads for each of his failed presidential bids (1988 and 1996).Jobs, peace, deficits, character -- the same hot-button issues come up over and over again, television endlessly recycling and reshuffling the men who would be king. The mind becomes fuzzy after an hour or so of this, and the slogans run together, creating a vast morass of pomp and platitudes. But for once, television's collusion with presidential politics is finally presented for what it is: an expensive national carnival promoting candidates with few meaningful distinctions.
What: "Political (S)elections" What to see
When: "Spin": 12 noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays
"Political Advertisement 2000": 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and 2 to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays; 12 noon to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Through June 10.
Where: The Contemporary Museum, 2411 Makiki Heights Drive
Cost: $5; $3 for seniors and students; free for children under 12
Call: 526-0232
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