Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Media Breaks up with President Obama 


This semester has been very eye-opening in terms of understanding the various patterns of the mass media industry. With every media era has come a different view of politicians and the roles that they have been expected to play in our society. Overall, we have grown more comfortable with the politicians who lead our towns, cities and country. We use sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live to illustrate and exaggerate the flaws our political leaders possess, making them appear more human. Television programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart provide honest critiques about political policies and controversies, removing the mystique and barriers that once existed between “normal” American citizens and politicians. Indeed, we have come a long way from the days when people were punished for speaking out against their political leaders. Today, people have a very passionate relationship with their politicians; we love them ferociously, with bumper stickers and Facebook groups proclaiming our support, yet we are not afraid to question some of their policies and decisions. 


I think that this American pattern relates to our current attitude towards President Obama. It’s no secret that the public’s opinion on the President has been steadily declining over the past few months, with many citing his suggested policies as anticlimactic and disappointing. The video posted below from CNN.com outlines the changes that have contributed to a more skeptical public response to President Obama. During his campaign, Obama appeared strong and fearless, appealing to many young college students and hopeful Americans who desperately wanted to see our country led in a more progressive, liberal direction.


Unfortunately, with power comes great responsibility, and becoming President of the United States meant that Obama would have to make some concessions to his ideological and hopeful campaign points in order to truly remodel the current American system. I think that some people were unprepared for the direction that President Obama took with some of his recent responsibilities, including job creation and the future in Afghanistan. The health care and deficit problems are also laid out for President Obama to tackle, but unemployment remains the main concern among Americans, as it went up to 10 percent last month. People are growing increasingly frustrated with Obama, and I think that the media’s new, unfriendly tone towards the President is somewhat to blame. As of late, the media has been diverted from the Obama-loving frenzy that filled newspapers and websites throughout the presidential campaign. I think that an unrealistically high set of expectations are to blame for the media’s recent disillusionment with President Obama; ironically, these expectations were set by media figures themselves. 


Watch the video here:



-Sarah

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