Modern Media's Influence on Progressive Political Image

The cover of the August issue of People magazine depicts an informal image of the presidential family. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20214569_1,00.html

In the photo President Obama is relaxing in a casual flannel shirt and blue jeans, cradling his youngest child in a protective yet gentle fatherly embrace. His wife stands proudly at his side with a charming smile and her head nestled on his shoulder, while his older daughter leans at his right looking shy and sweet. This is a family that Americans can truly admire, we can be proud that such a wholesome and friendly family holds the most important leadership position in our country’s history. We can relate to them. We are them. What does this picture really prove to us as a political society? The Obamas can smile in flannel? Does this ideal image of the American nuclear family really have any relevant connotation to President Obama’s leadership ability? This picture was carefully planned down to the last flawless element. It paints a very significant portrait that is subconsciously trying to appeal to voters’ moral compass. Media portrays political images in order to move the opinions of voters to either negative or positive viewpoints; the People magazine article is an example of a media scripted homophily.

The media moves mass voter opinions’ of political figures by changing the way society observes them. The Obamas appeal to the family approval aspect by showing themselves as an everyday causal American family that just happens to live in the White House. The Obama’s are surveyed by the public as a normal American family that deals with typical family issues. In the August People magazine article President Obama explained that he pays his daughter one dollar a week to do chores like “clean up their half of the third floor where they play. They have a closet of toys they have to clean up. They have to practice their piano every day.” (Sandra Westfall 2) This image sculpting illustrates that the Obama girls are just like any ordinary American preteen children. The Obamas go onto describe how they teach their family the value of money and hard work, which are ironically some of the most important American societal values as well. They don’t spoil the girls. For example they don’t buy the girls birthday presents because they spend money on the party. “They get so much stuff that it just becomes numbing. Malia believes there is still a Santa Claus even though she's a little wary because some of her friends are non-believers. But Malia says, ‘Ma, I know there is a Santa because there's no way you'd buy me all that stuff.’” (Sandra Westfall 1) This political imagery creates simulations that the American public can easily relate to. Americans see that the Obamas experience that same family issues that everyday American families work through. This sham of a relational connection causes voters to become more attracted to the Obama family, which triggers people to support Obama’s political decisions, even though this ideal reflection of his family has absolutely nothing to do with the political legislation he promotes.

Included in the People magazine article on the Obama family is another picture that was taken in 1992 at Michelle and Barack Obama’s wedding. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20214569_5,00.html. The photograph is of President Obama sprawling out on an old park bench with his new wife carefully tucked into him. They are both peacefully pretending to sleep. The picture shows the couple leaning on each other for support just as they do today, portraying a strong intelligent partnership. From an American societal prospective this snapshot shows that President Obama is committed to being a pillar of strength to his wife, which causes Americans to believe that he will use this same kind of relaxed, effective leadership style when it comes to commanding our country. In the article the Obamas commented how that presidential campaign has changed their marriage. Michelle Obama states “I think it has made us stronger. Time and love and sacrifice and hard struggles, I think, make you stronger.” (Sandra Westfall 5) The article illustrates how the intense period of separation and limited family contact on the campaign trail has made their marriage stronger. The People article demonstrates that the Obamas face standard marriage issues that every conjugal couple faces, which ordinary American couples, can associate with. Through the use of political image tactics such as homophily, the Obamas create a more positive image that in turn allows for more support of his presidential political policy. Hollihan describes this persuasion tactic as “candidate’s image is homophily, or the natural tendency of people to bond with others like themselves.”(Hollihan 85) Michelle and Barack Obama put on a unified front that convince Americans that President Obama is a strong man, with a respectable moral character, that would never be caught in the middle of a juicy scandal. Through this media exposed image of the presidential family, American society puts their faith in President Obama’s capability to successfully lead The United States of America because People magazine published pictures of him being a devoted and trustworthy wife and father.

Now that politics has intertwined with American popular culture it is vital for candidates to reveal a fresh and modern image in order to gain popularity. President Obama has mastered the media art of creating a cool and relaxed image. Saturday Night Live often does satire of President Obama’s nonchalant attitude, like the video in this link, http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/obama-plays-it-cool/866342/. In this media political age candidate need to have spreads in magazines like People and O in order to get voter attention, because numerous citizens now relay on sources like The Late Show as the primary supply of political news. Hollihan describes the process of freshening a candidate’s image and uses the example of former presidential aspirant Steve Forbes. “When Steve decided to run again in 2000, he hired William Eisner, the head of a Milwaukee advertising agency, to freshen his image. The goal was to remake public perceptions of Forbes so he would be seen as a scintillating and witty man with the personality to sit in the Oval Office.” (Hollihan 88)

The mixture of new media and modern politics has created a contemporary form of personal political communication. As a mass political culture Americans no longer care about the professional legislative image of a candidate, but focus on their personal accomplishments like family and marriage. The People magazine article on President Obama demonstrates that creating an original, wholesome, good character impression trumps all obligations to attempt to gain support for any real political issues that a candidate supports. According Hollihan “Perhaps the greatest power of these news magazine is not content of their stories but the impact of their decisions regarding which candidates they will feature on their front covers. A favorable cover photo (one that does not portray a candidate, haggard, old, worried, ect.) can have a dramatic impact on the candidate’s viability and credibility.” (Hollihan 107) Our modern political society is so concerned with mass media, that Americans’ central important aspect of politics is to feel as though they know the candidate and their character. As long as the American public believes that a candidate is essentially a decent person they adamantly give their support for the contender without even researching their political stance on significant topics.

Popular media merging with progressive political communication seems inevitable, but it is in the hands of our society to unite and discover how to resist mass media’s slanted political jargon and realize that weeks of preparation go into every detail of that perfectly, domestic representation on People magazine. We as a society must move outside media influence and focus on political figures as our country’s leaders, not how cool the looked on Saturday Night Live last week. Let us challenge our neighbors to become sensible comprehensive citizens, and capture American politics out of People magazine and back in the hands of the American people.

Work Cited

Hollihan, Thomas. Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns of the Media Age. 2nd. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2008. Print.

Sandra Westfall, . "Barack Obama Gives Daughter $1 Allowance a Week." People Magazine 23072008: 5. Print.