‘Two days before the election, every talking head on television was assuring us that Trump didn’t have a chance, because he lacked a “ground game.” After his victory, one had to wonder whether some part of his ground game had been conducted night after night after night on television, under flattering studio lights and with excellent production values and comedy writing.’ ~ HOW LATE-NIGHT COMEDY FUELED THE RISE OF TRUMP
The Atlantic is finally putting words to a topic LocoMotive has been raising since September 2016: how the media, including the late-night shows with their perverse obsession on Trump, powered Trump’s prevalence, leading to his stunning victory.
The reason behind this self-sabotaging move? Ratings, and a penchant for cruelty. Be it liberal- or conservative-driven, cruelty is cruelty, and it’s all too apparent these days, operating everywhere, as is the race for the spotlight — everywhere. A feeding frenzy for the increasingly insane with no signs of abating, using righteousness to rally the troops. (These last words are not mentioned in The Atlantic’s essay. They are Pearl Coast’s added dose of pepper.)
But The Atlantic essay goes even deeper than 2016’s late-night shows, covering the rise of reality-TV presidents, the history of this phenomenon and the way it has become a casual necessity for all White House candidates. An expectation the audience wants met.
We’re talking the debasement of decency and common sense in the name of ratings and votes, a pogrom-smelling media process that perpetuates itself across the political spectrum, and from there on to the infotainment matrix, and from there to the fabric of everyday life, affecting people on both sides of the aisle.
‘My God, what have we become?’
The author poses the question, and with good cause.
From the bays of Pearl Coast,
Fish a ton of oysters, beware of the rotten ones.