The importance of Obama’s election: Art conditioning life

The importance of Obama’s election: Art conditioning life

Posted on June 20th, 2009 by Paula Marantz Cohen

Paula: We’ve talked about how the election of Barack Obama has changed the temper of race relations in this country. You’ve said you felt it. So have I. Obviously, the iconic value of the presidency means a lot. But I also think that much of our capacity to incorporate change in this country comes from our devotion to movies, which have taught us to see life in terms of simple dramatic narratives of change.

The dramatic narrative of Obama’s election is in the tradition of a Hollywood movie. On one level, we tend to see Hollywood movies as cliches, contrived narratives with little relation to reality. Yet we’ve been conditioned by them on some deep level: We’ve soaked them up; they structure our consciousness. When a real-life narrative resembles a Hollywood film, it takes control of our imagination. It’s a case of art conditioning the way we see life. In this sense, Obama’s election is not just a symbolic or a singular event, it is a guiding narrative that individuals can latch onto and make real on the level of their own lives.

Robert: I hadn’t thought about the connection between Obama’s dramatic rise and Hollywood movies. But I see your point. Obama didn’t “wait his turn.” He had been in the Senate only two years when he began his run for president. He challenged the mighty Clinton machine.

What I find so interesting is that Obama ran for president before most black people thought there could be a black president. He was ahead of the crowd. Many white Americans, I sense, might have said, “We’re ready to elect a black president.” But I’m not sure they meant now!

Yet once he threw his hat in the ring, people got caught up. Is it possible they said to themselves, “This is a GOOD story. Let’s push it!”?

Paula: Isn’t that the definition of a Hollywood story? — it’s a good story. It may not be realistic or practical, but it’s good, which is why it holds attention and makes money at the box office. I’m not saying that Obama’s story is only a Hollywood story; there are lots of other facets to it. But part of what makes it good is that he didn’t wait his turn, as you mentioned Hilary wanted him to; he jumped the line. As we know from all those gangster movies where characters grabbed what they wanted when they saw it, that makes a good story.