Last week, a desert of boredom thanks to lack of activity at the Hammer Museum, proved void of any blog-worthy events. In fact, I can't recall what I wrote about as my daily activities were limited to work and homework or watching the news. Surely I concocted something to entertain my readers.
Fortunately, the Hammer Museum's calendar filled up again this week with its continuing series of documentaries focusing on past presidential elections. There was one screening last week, but of course it fell exactly during the time I have class, so I had to miss out. Last night's film focused on the media's portrayal of the race between Clinton and then-President Bush. Not exclusively, however; it was more of a critique on what goes on in media coverage that we do not see. The film's creator spent time listening to satellite feeds of news coverage, focusing specifically on what is said when reporters, TV show hosts and their subjects (in this case, mainly the presidential candidates) think no one can hear them (for example, their conversations during commercial breaks). The film, Spin, earned its title from the "spin" that the media puts on stories.
The content was certainly interesting, if not a bit eerie, perhaps thanks to the futuristic, outer-space-esque sound effects not foreign to '90s films. Larry King, whose behind-the-scenes comments made up a good deal of the documentary and completely deterred me from the talk show host, was a main focus of the film. The things he said when he thought no one was listening were borderline terrifying. It is during those times that people show their true colors.
The film also touched on how the media covers what it wants, and only that. For example, there was a man running for Democratic nominee against Clinton who I had never even heard of because the media banned him from participating in debates. Ironically, they reasoned that it was because he lacked substantial media coverage. There's a Catch 22 if I ever heard of one.
Tonight's film is about George W. Bush. Not sure specifically what about him, but given this is Los Angeles, I don't imagine it will be anything positive. Stay tuned!
Fortunately, the Hammer Museum's calendar filled up again this week with its continuing series of documentaries focusing on past presidential elections. There was one screening last week, but of course it fell exactly during the time I have class, so I had to miss out. Last night's film focused on the media's portrayal of the race between Clinton and then-President Bush. Not exclusively, however; it was more of a critique on what goes on in media coverage that we do not see. The film's creator spent time listening to satellite feeds of news coverage, focusing specifically on what is said when reporters, TV show hosts and their subjects (in this case, mainly the presidential candidates) think no one can hear them (for example, their conversations during commercial breaks). The film, Spin, earned its title from the "spin" that the media puts on stories.
The content was certainly interesting, if not a bit eerie, perhaps thanks to the futuristic, outer-space-esque sound effects not foreign to '90s films. Larry King, whose behind-the-scenes comments made up a good deal of the documentary and completely deterred me from the talk show host, was a main focus of the film. The things he said when he thought no one was listening were borderline terrifying. It is during those times that people show their true colors.
The film also touched on how the media covers what it wants, and only that. For example, there was a man running for Democratic nominee against Clinton who I had never even heard of because the media banned him from participating in debates. Ironically, they reasoned that it was because he lacked substantial media coverage. There's a Catch 22 if I ever heard of one.
Tonight's film is about George W. Bush. Not sure specifically what about him, but given this is Los Angeles, I don't imagine it will be anything positive. Stay tuned!
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