4 from ritual to theater and back: the efficacy ... - AAAARG.ORG

selective inattention 217
To return now to President Ford and Romeo and Juliet. Ford’s actions tell a
story, contain an aesthetic component, follow a scenario. The President,
both consciously and at a non-conscious level, arranged the
release of information and timed the sequence of events to suit a sense
of drama that in turn would portray him as a character of determination,
self-will, strength, purpose, and independence: all qualities
expected of a president by the American people. But bumbling Gerry
Ford’s social drama did not work out as he had planned it. This failure
was clearly experienced in theatrical terms. From the New York Times of
November 4, 1975:
The strategy behind Vice President Rockefeller’s withdrawal, the dismissal
of Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger and other possible
moves yet to come is to put a distinct Ford imprimatur on his Administration’s
domestic and foreign policies, Administration sources said
today. The first move was to be the announcement of Mr. Rockefeller’s
decision not to be Mr. Ford’s running mate. . . . The second move –
the removal of Mr. Schlesinger [and the others] had been scheduled to
be announced this Wednesday. . . . But this carefully planned scenario
went awry yesterday when the dismissals and switches were leaked
prematurely to the press. In the absence of the Rockefeller
announcement, the officials said, the leaks gave off highly undesirable
and conflicting signals.
Thus the President and his stage managers had a script in mind, but
newsmen compete with each other to ventilate as many leaks as possible.
So a change designed to show a deft handling of affairs of state
became a confused shakeup. If the President’s “image” suffers, his
theatrical ineptitude will have repercussions on his career. Unlike TV
smoothy Ronald Reagan, Ford’s public manner has always been slow,
even dumb – not that there was much to choose from, theatrically
speaking, in the 1976 match-up of Ford versus Jimmy Carter.
Reciprocally, underneath Romeo and Juliet’s sentimental love story is a
political struggle that Shakespeare weaves into the play. Romeo is a
Montague, Juliet a Capulet, thereby guaranteeing that their fates will
have the profoundest effect on the fight between their families. In
doing this Shakespeare plays to Renaissance sensibilities of class and