OCTOBER 2016 at the SALON

Propaganda 2016
a late campaign discussion
Politicking, marketing and journalism have melded into one thing this year, called the US Presidential Campaign.  Journalists are adopting the language of the advertising world (optics, branding), analyzing debates in real time, and predicting how the public will respond to news about the candidates, as part of the “news” itself.  It’s always been a challenge for candidates to control their message, and never more so than today.

So the candidates go directly to the people, in person and in pre-packaged media.  This summer, both the Republicans and the Democrats produced propaganda films for their conventions. These are not political ads; they are documentaries that tell stories, highly-charged and very selective, of the lives of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.


This month we look closely at these short films, comparing them to each other and both to their filmmaking forefather, Triumph Des Willens (Triumph of the Will). What do they borrow from that chilling magnum opus of Leni Reifenstahl?  What new tricks have they picked up to convince the country to pledge allegience to Herr Donald and to Frau Hillary?

Friday, October 7
6:30p Food & Social
7:00p Screening & Discussion

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