True to my word, I am following up on my predictions, and here posting some quick, initial reactions, as well as my string of Twitter posts made live from the rally.
More thorough, and thoughtful, analysis will follow.
What I expect from the Rally is this:
1) It will be a predominantly younger crowd (median age in the late 20s/ early 30s)
2) It will be otherwise very diverse in terms of race, profession, religion, etc.
3) There will be lots of jokes aimed at both Democrats and Republicans
4) It will not be politically focused, perhaps not even having a strong politically neutral "get out the vote" message.
5) It will be a lot of fun.
Let's break that down one at a time.
1) It will be a predominantly younger crowd (median age in the late 20s/ early 30s)
While the expected demographic (20-34 year olds) was in strong attendance, it was a long way from being the dominant showing I expected. In what is only the first of what I'm sure will be dozens of unscientific estimates, I would say they were a little more than 2/3 of those present. Compare that with about a 27% share of the total population, and you can see that the "young adults" were certainly 'over represented' demographically. No surprise there, as both Stewart, Colbert, and their host network - Comedy Central - skew significantly toward younger audiences. The shocker was the number of not-20-somethings in attendance. No casual crowd photos I've seen yet have been entirely devoid of some 40, 50, or 60+ individual participating right alongside their generational children and grandchildren. A total number is impossible to surmount, but where I sat - in the dead center, 200 yards back, standing-room-only - I had a pair of 40-something soccer moms (friends, one from TX and another from VT) in front of me, a 55+ Muslim grandmother to my right, and an amorous early-50s couple in dressed up in their Sunday best to my left. I also had a pair of goth-wannabe teenagers nearby, but my visual vicinity was highly diverse in age, with a median probably in the high-30s. It will be otherwise very diverse in terms of race, profession, religion, etc.
2) It will be otherwise very diverse in terms of race, profession, religion, etc.
Again, statistics lacking, I can only rely on my observations. Most people - that is, reasonable people, don't wear their 'identities' on their sleeves. Yes, the Muslim grandmother sitting next to me was wearing a head scarf and cheered extra loud every time Jon said something about how we needed to stop associating all Muslims with terrorists. Others were even more overt, such as the man with a poster that read: "My wife is a Muslim and not a terrorist, but I'm still afraid of her." Students were easy enough to identify by social marking like fashion choices (cargo shorts and t-shirts; skinny jeans and hipster plaid), as were the more reasonably-dressed late-20s and 30+ professionals (slacks, sweaters, knee-length skirts). Religion I'm going to have to take a pass on - as very few Americans are easily identifiable by it, and there was only one chance to observe identity by affinity. During the 'benediction,' a comedy routine revival of the 1970s SNL character Father Guido Sarducci, there was effectively a roll call of different world religions. Methodists (me?) got practically no response, while Catholics, Baptists, Muslims, Buddhists and Rastafarians all drew appropriately moderate cheers.
3) There will be lots of jokes aimed at both Democrats and Republicans
Dead wrong. I've been racking my brain for the past two days to see if I can remember any reference made, either by Stewart, Colbert, or any of the other participants, to a single political figure during the entire rally. I'm still struggling to think of one. Surely, somewhere in there, somebody had to make a Christine O'Donnell joke, a Boehner joke, a crack about impotent Democrats or even Stewart's interview with the President this past Wednesday?
Nope, by my reckoning, not a single one-line, pun, or even a strong innuendo. If someone who attended the rally or watched on TV can think of one, please post it in the comments. I find it hard to believe politics was that entirely absent from a 3 hour political satire rally, but as of right now, I can find no evidence to the contrary.
4) It will not be politically focused, perhaps not even having a strong politically neutral "get out the vote" message.
True, but even here I didn't foresee the efforts to which Stewart & Co. would go to ensure no critic could convincingly accuse them of "crossing the line" between comedic satire and political activism. 3 days before a midterm election that has been rocked by controversy, including radical fringe candidates, dirty politics & attack ads by both sides, and the largest amount of anonymous (mostly corporate) funding manipulation in the history of American democracy. In a highly political environment, this rally succeeded in its improbably goal of being apolitical (much to the chagrin of NPR and other news outlets who - in perhaps an appropriate act of caution - chose to cover it as a political, rather than entertainment, event.
I assumed, at the very least, Stewart would end his rally with some admonition to his crowd to Vote - regardless of which party they voted for. Given the presumed "liberal bias" of his audience, this would clearly have been seen by his harshest critics as a pro-Democrat maneuver, and paradoxically a reasonable man requesting that US citizens exercise their civic obligation would have been painted as partisan hackery.
But it didn't happen. Jon Stewart, it seems, doesn't care whether his "minions" vote or not. It could therefore be surmised that he doesn't see the upcoming midterm as the momentous, history-changing political apocalypse that it is being portrayed as. It suggests that he recognizes that politics is ever-changing, and it is only our perception of politics - colored via an increasingly inobjective media - that is the problem. Hence his call not for us to vote, but for us to stop listening to ridiculous hyperbole in the press. Jon Stewart asks not that we support a political party, only that we not support partisan media. Rather than 'Get out the Vote,' he suggests, 'Turn off the TV.'
5) It will be a lot of fun.
Bingo. I arrived at the National Mall shortly after 10 am, right when the 'pre-show' was starting. When you go to one of Stewart or Colbert's live tapings in New York (something I've now done 5+ times, and HIGHLY recommend), you are treated in the drab waiting rooms to nothing more than 2, 3, even 4-year old episode reruns. It's funny - sort of - but most of the zing has worn off.
Not so, the Rally to Restore Sanity. This 2 hour pre-show montage featured clips of all the relevant Rally-specific bits done on both the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, which additional special features like a "Daily Show Correspondent Memory Game" and a video screen "Rally Race" in which an animated Jon, Stephen, wereBear and a Robot digitally raced around DC landmarks (the robot won, but was then dismantled by an upset werebear). The rally started (on time!) with a 40-minute set by the Roots, who stayed on as the house band all day, and later musical guests included John Legend, Cat Stevens, Ozzie Ozborne, the O'Jays, Mavis Staples, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, and on, and on.
The MythBusters - Adam Savage & Jamie Hyneman - were the 'warm up' comics, and took the opportunity of having 200,000+ people at their bidding to conduct some experiments. The wave - perhaps the largest ever? - was awesome, and while the 'meat orchestra' fell a bit flat, there was still something to say for hearing that many people "finger pop" at the same time. The simultaneous jump - which registered "100 times more powerful than a car impacting a barrier at 35 mph," - or, as Adam put it, "you're more powerful than a minor car accident" - was also shockingly impressive in person.
Stewart and Colbert did their Schtick, ostensibly fighting eachother to the inevitable victory of Stewart, to much applause, and while some elements of the Rally clearly worked better than others (Fear award to Anderson Cooper's shirt was great, Sanity apology from one of the House Wives of Beverly Hills was weak), all in all, it was tons - TONS of fun to be a part of.
My complete Twitter feed (@richardrweber) follows:
Bush your teeth and get some coffee. It's the Rational thing to do.#Rally4Sanity pre-show starts in 1 hour. 9:01 AM Oct 30th
Arrived at rally4sanity. This is incredible. Metro is packed. 2 blocks of spectators 1 hour before it starts. 10:43 AM Oct 30th
Getting close. The rally is very upbeat and friendly. We are 300 yards away from the stage - about the middle - and its standing room only. 11:53 PM Oct 30th
John legend is perhaps making this rally 4 sanity too reasonable. Bring on the comedians. 12:24 PM Oct 30th
Stewart on stage. Colbert emerging from his bunker. this rally will go down in history. 1:07 PM Oct 30th
Sam waterston is terrifying 150,000 people in poetry form. Rally awesome. 1:22 PM Oct 30th
Pop culture proxy war at rally4sanity. Ozzie ozborn takes on cat stevens on the same stage. 1:29 PM Oct 30th
Steven rips NPR with fear award. Hilarious. So far this event is about as political as my bowling league - and i dont even have a bowlin... 1:48 PM Oct 30th
Jon stewart says- everyone has the right to be patriotic. Dueling american flag sweater duet at rally4sanity. 2:00 PM Oct 30th
Kid rock, mavis staples, the roots, ozzie, sheryl crow, TI, cat stevens... does the rally4sanity miss a demographic? 2:15 PM Oct 30th
Stewart to make the keynote speech- interrupted for a debate with colbert. Quotes FDR, Nixon. Pending corabmite threat. Good job trekkies. 2:28 PM Oct 30th
R2-D2, Kareem Abdul Jabar, who is the next ambassador against fear, yogi? rally4sanity 2:33 PM Oct 30th
Stewart- we live now in hard times, not end times. We can have animus without becoming enemies. assails partisan media. 2:47 PM Oct 30th
Rally over are you satisfied? Those of up here seem to be quite pleased. 3:07 PM Oct 30th
Jon Stewart #rally4sanity - full text of his (awesome) closing speech. http://exm.nr/a2Yv38 6:59 PM Oct 30th
Weber
::(lame)Texpatriot
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment