Janet CollinsThe Politics of Popularity
August 13th 2008 12:23
If you have masochistic tendencies there are many careers you can choose these days but politics has to be number one. Take Liberal Opposition Leader, Brendon Nelson, for example. You can love him or loathe him but he has certainly copped more bashing since he became leader of his party than I think I have witnessed in my lifetime.
This week, once again, Newspoll published on the front page of our national newspaper The Australian dealt him yet another blow. Forty eight per cent of voters are dissatisfied with him and after twenty-one percent were uncommitted. His worst “rating” they said since he was elected Leader in December (and that’s saying something as he has been scoring the low “rating” – albeit with a slight rise earlier this year – since he got there). How would you cop that if you were Brendon?
These ratings have become part of our information diet these days. It used to be that most of the ego-busting was carried out in Parliament House. Name calling, mockery and jeering was just another day in that lovely institution. Now the internet has taken it regularly and maliciously for our entertainment.
Harsher than a teacher pulling you out in front of the class and brandishing your crappy project for the amusement of your classmates, tougher than being thrown into a boxing ring, it now resembles more of a village stoning in the middle ages.
The politicians are not the only ones subjected to the “popularity rating” of a nation. Our television shows reflect much of the same. There are dancing and singing shows where everyone can have their say and the participants are ripped to shreds. Take Idol and It Takes Two. And there is Big Brother where no talent was needed to participate but everyone had the chance to vote on who would get kicked out of the house each week.
It’s a sign of the times. It’s Australia in 2008. We might be more educated and sophisticated as a nation but we’ve become a savage mob really.
This week, once again, Newspoll published on the front page of our national newspaper The Australian dealt him yet another blow. Forty eight per cent of voters are dissatisfied with him and after twenty-one percent were uncommitted. His worst “rating” they said since he was elected Leader in December (and that’s saying something as he has been scoring the low “rating” – albeit with a slight rise earlier this year – since he got there). How would you cop that if you were Brendon?
These ratings have become part of our information diet these days. It used to be that most of the ego-busting was carried out in Parliament House. Name calling, mockery and jeering was just another day in that lovely institution. Now the internet has taken it regularly and maliciously for our entertainment.
Harsher than a teacher pulling you out in front of the class and brandishing your crappy project for the amusement of your classmates, tougher than being thrown into a boxing ring, it now resembles more of a village stoning in the middle ages.
The politicians are not the only ones subjected to the “popularity rating” of a nation. Our television shows reflect much of the same. There are dancing and singing shows where everyone can have their say and the participants are ripped to shreds. Take Idol and It Takes Two. And there is Big Brother where no talent was needed to participate but everyone had the chance to vote on who would get kicked out of the house each week.
It’s a sign of the times. It’s Australia in 2008. We might be more educated and sophisticated as a nation but we’ve become a savage mob really.
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Janet
You've hit on my pet subject. Aussie director, Peter Weir, in the late 80's had a warning for all of us voyeurs that our fascination with fatal flaws in human nature was prone to hijack by a ruthless media. How prophetic was 'The Truman Show' ?? Now all we seem to have is a showcase of fat people getting thin or a dance-off with stars from other fields totally ill-equipped to trip any lights, fantastic or otherwise. Add a dash of fading stars facing implosion and you have a low budget, high rating show that deludes millions. For Heaven's sake, I call on all rational Australians to watch Q & A on ABC and exercise your underperforming intellects.