Mary L Kish, 10/30/2008 · 0 comments
For the second time in three months, Steve Seidman, associate professor and chair of the Department of Strategic Communication, was interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR). On October 28, NPR host Farai Chideya asked him about the wave of pop art that this year’s presidential candidates have inspired. The interview was aired on NPR’s News & Notes show.
According to Chideya, “No other presidential election cycle has matched this year in terms of visual propaganda and paraphernalia. The use of political images can shape not only elections but an entire cultural sensibility.”
Seidman was asked if he thinks that there is a danger in the “messianic” public images of Obama on some posters and t-shirts. He responded that with “expectations being set so high,” and if Obama is elected, “there might be disappointment for those who feel so fervently about him.”
When asked if the current gush of political paraphernalia will have staying power, Seidman replied that he thought so; this is known as the “basking in reflected glory effect.” While compiling research for his current book, Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History, he uncovered a study in Belgium that refers to a winning political party there that kept yard signs up for months after the campaign was over.
The complete interview can be heard on the NPR website, “Presidential Candidates Inspire Wave Of Pop Art.”
Seidman teaches courses in technology and visual design in the communication management and design program. He also has a popular blog on the Strategic Communication web site entitled, Posters and Election Propaganda.
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