SYMBOLISM IN THE MEDIA

There is much more going on than meets the eye in the movies and the media. Take, for example, "The American President", "Independence Day" and the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

In the two movies, the president is pictured as young and handsome. Interestingly, in each movie the president is or becomes a widower, and so the writers have killed off the first lady, leaving the symbolic Chelsea symbol alone with daddy, having him all to herself.

The underlying wish of the American public is to have a perfect president. In these two movies and the Olympics, such a man is placed before us. He seems to have integrity, intelligence, courage and honor. Interestingly, he does not lack combat experience and he favors a strong military. In both movies he wishes to save the environment; in one he becomes an environmentalist and in the other he destroys alien invaders.

We are shocked in "Independence Day" to see the White House blown up. Rush Limbaugh seems to think the image is funny or that some audiences applaud. That is a horrifying notion, but it is indicative of the ambivalence with which we tend to regard parent-figures. In the unconscious, the leader of the nation is an idealized or hated parent.

"Independence Day" plays with the symbols of ethnic and racial stereotypes. It takes efforts of genius, skill and courage to save the day, as a Jewish computer whiz, an African-American astronaut and a WASP president save the planet from an alien pestilence. A black single mother who earns a living as a stripteaser tenderly nurses the dying first-lady. Hollywood writers seem ever willing to try to destroy remaining prejudices by reversing stereotypes.

In fact, the incumbent president is attempting to embrace the vast majority of Americans by excluding the extreme Left and the extreme Right. He hopes that the moderate middle is sufficiently wise and big enough to re-elect him and he is try to earn their trust and respect. The question is, can he be believed?

He presides over the Olympic festivities in which we see a tapestry of nations forming One World, hopefully a world of creativity and fulfillment, cooperation and peace.

Do the movies about the American president help or hinder him? What is their influence on the voting public? Do the audiences see similarities or differences between the media president and the actual president? It is hard to discern the actual president. What we see are daily photo-ops in which the president appears very presidential. Although we try, consciously, to be aware of the difference between reality and fantasy, good journalism and fiction, our unconscious tends to fuse and blur images sent to us by the media.

We cannot help but wonder whether The Media, which is heavily liberal, is trying to create a shoo-in for the upcoming presidential elections, in reaction to the conservative rebellion of 1992, which was headed by Newt Gingrich. The Media reports that in spite of downsizing and outsourcing, the economy is growing and stable. In spite of fluctations, the stock market continues to grow and inflation is in check. It's the economy, stupid? No more 'voodoo-economics'?

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics, with frequent closeups of the president and first lady, seem to show that we can afford to be extravagant and that the United States of America will lead the struggle to enforce the United Nations effort to have one world, in harmony and peace. The cameras avoided showing the face of Gingrich, while we could see glimpses of the top of his head. One wonders how much these shots were consciously and deliberately orchestrated.

Whoever the next president will be, we hope the spectre of terrorism will fade into the history of the 20th century. "Independence Day" says a diverse and multicultural 'we' will triumph over the alien invaders, but in reality, the real threat is terrestrial, as the real threat of nuclear terrorism grows with each passing day. Recent terrorist acts give no cause for comfort.

The question remains, what price will we have to pay for our having supported ruthless dictators in the past? We have contained the enemy evil empire, participated in its downfall, prevented the dominoes from falling, but have we planted the seeds of our own destruction? There are many who consider us "Satan".

Hopefully we will endure and prosper, and we seem to have no recourse but to entrust our leaders with our confidence. Therefore, it is incumbent on each of us to consider carefully who we want to be the next president of the United States. To do so, we must try to separate out, as best we can, the Media president from the actual president.