Fernando Giannotti: August 2014

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Synthetic Thinking About Media Bias

Media Bias

Synthetic Thinking About Media Bias. Jon Stewart's Views and Opinions.

Jon Stewart Interview on Rachel Maddow

Race Relations and the Future

This essay on race relations, race and society, and the conceptions of race is aimed in the realms of theoretical and abstract thinking. It is meant less as a specific policy guide but more as a thought experiment for rumination. What follows is more a collection of thoughts than specific policies to be adopted by our elected public servants.

The ideas of race and race relations have been topics of discussion and of great importance from the founding of the United States to our present time. There are a multitude of many incredibly intelligent people who have in the past and currently speak passionately on the subject of race and I have no doubt they will be able to speak and write much more intelligently and succinctly than I. I have no pretensions of adding greatly to the existing debate. It is with these thoughts and disclaimers in mind I will begin.

In a broader sense, racism should be defined as a human characteristic, in the sense that racism is colorblind; it can affect any human being regardless of their race, whether they are black, brown, white, blue, or green[1]. Racism as the process of ranking and differentiating based on presumably inherent traits which can be utilized as justification for discrimination can be employed by any individual of any race against individuals of different racial or ethnic compositions. No one racial or ethnic group possesses a monopoly on racism.

Whey Casey Neistat’s Filmmaking Style is Popular

Casey Neistat is one of my favorite filmmakers and I have more than a hunch that I am not alone. His youtube videos have over a billion views. His ‘Do More’ Nike commercial and youtube videos such as ‘Bike Lanes’ show his unique style. I will expostulate on why I like Casey Neistat’s style and why I think his style has such mass appeal to others.

First let me describe Casey Neistat’s style as I see it. His youtube videos at their heart are simply video clips cut and put together in a specific order. He makes his own titles and often credits by shooting them as video and adding them later, as opposed to using a program to generate them, such as windows movie maker or imovie. Besides audio, his clips are rarely enhanced. This gives his videos a very home movie feel and look, they are clearly not polished products of much editing and enhancement. Since a large portion to a majority of his footage is filmed directly by himself, his videos have an inherent first person perspective, which is enhanced by his narrations. In my opinion, his style is an anti-establishment way of filmmaking, perhaps even gonzo. He doesn’t seek to produce a polished, glossed, enhanced, or finished quality to his films. I believe this is at the heart of why so many people find his filmmaking style entertaining, both immediately in a visual sense and at a philosophical level.

Visual media of all kinds ranging from magazines to television to movies is a highly polished product. Photos and videos have been enhanced to maximize color contrast and balance. The human subjects of those photos and videos have been enhanced as well; skin smoothed over, blemishes removed, muscles toned up, proportions altered, and so on. Something like 95% of images and video are altered or enhanced in some way. The enhancing and altering phenomena have become pervasive. These enhanced, glossy, finished photos and videos are the normal and thus are no longer impressive. Since they are so overwhelmingly common, the consumer takes them for granted; they no longer catch the user’s eye. Given this world where the consumer is fully acculturated to visual smoothness, something less polished, something raw is bound to draw the consumer’s eye, simply out of fact that it is different from 95 to 99% of other more enhanced media. I believe this is the first way Casey Neistat’s style stands out and excites people.

Changing the Format for Most American Sports Leagues from a Conference System to a League Standing System

Most major American team sports leagues are divided into conferences or smaller leagues and divisions. The MLB is divided between the National and American leagues, the NFL between the NFC and the AFC, the NBA between the Eastern and Western conferences, the NHL between Eastern and Western Conferences, and the MLS between the Eastern and Western conferences. The conference system with divisions is a fine way of determining a playoff bracket with the primary goal of regional representation in the playoffs, but does ensure the best performing teams, during the regular season, play in the playoffs. Disparities in conferences or divisions can lead deserving teams to be left out of the playoffs and to deny fans watching the best teams in the playoffs. If the ultimate goal is for the best teams to play in the playoffs, I believe the MLB, NHL, NBA, and the MLS should adopt a league table system ranked by win-loss records in a somewhat similar fashion as the English Premier League, in order to determine seeding in the playoffs. The higher ranked teams will earn higher seeds. For example, if a playoff included 10 teams, the top ten teams in the league table standings would be included in the playoffs and seeding done according to their rank, very similar to seeding a tennis tournament. The MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS have the ability to adopt a league table system. The NFL does not have the ability to adopt a league table system due primarily to the nature of play of American Football and limited number of games. Conferences and divisions can still be maintained in a league system to provide awards and promote regional rivalries, but they should not be utilized for determining qualification and seeding in the playoffs.

The current conference system provides for great regional representation, with at least one team from each geographic region making the playoffs. Many years the system of regional representation coincides with the inclusion of the best teams in the playoffs, but too often it does not. The 2014 NBA playoffs were entertaining but the best teams did not all play in the playoffs. Much commentary has been placed on the disparity in depth and quality between the Eastern and Western conferences in the NBA, with the Western conference generally considered much stronger. This disparity in conference strength gives an advantage to teams qualifying for the playoffs in the Eastern conference. It is generally considered that there were several teams who barely missed the playoffs in the Western conference that would have made the playoffs if they were playing in the Eastern conference. So there were several teams that played in the NBA playoffs despite other better teams missing the playoffs. For a fan of pure basketball, one would want to see the best teams playing each other. Also if one is a fan of a team that was one of the best teams in a league, but was denied entry to the playoffs because they were in the wrong conference, one would be upset. In order to correct these problems, I advocate adopting a league table system for determining the playoffs.

Steps to Make the MLS and Football more Popular in the United States

At best soccer is the sixth most popular sport in the United States behind American football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and golf. If soccer is to become more popular in the United States, its major professional league, the MLS, must become more attractive to Americans. Making the MLS more popular will not on its own make soccer more popular in the United States, but it will greatly contribute to the increased popularity in the United States. In addition the United States needs to do more to bridge the excitement gap between World Cups, ideally with another international tournament like the Copa America.

The MLS must make itself a bit more like other national sports leagues. First, the MLS should get rid of ties and make each game end in a win or a loss. The MLS can use the same format as the World Cup, a 30 minute overtime period and if that results in a tie, then utilize a penalty kick shootout. If the addition of 30 minutes of extra time is too much time for broadcasting purposes, the 30 minutes could be made into a 30 minute sudden death period similar to the NHL. Another possibility of shortening extra time could be to go directly to penalty kicks. Ties, especially a 0-0 tie, leave fans feeling cheated and unentertained. People like resolution. Ties which do not happen with anywhere the frequency in other major American sports leave fans unenthusiastic and bluntly, fans do not want to watch a tie. Adding a definitive win or loss resolution to a game will help draw fans into a game and increase their investment in games which will have a similar resolution to most other American sports.

Much of the interest surrounding the 2014 World Cup in the United States stemmed more from patriotism and supporting a US sports team than from general interest in soccer. This patriotic sentiment can be used to the advantage of garnering attention for soccer within the United States by stoking it in between World Cups. The most feasible way would be for the United States and the rest of North America to join the Copa America. Having another international competition the summer after the World Cup would keep interest in soccer alive in the United States and build off of the interest generated from the previous World Cup. A tournament combining conmebol and concacaf would comprise several top national teams in the world. Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay have all won multiple World Cup titles. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States all advanced to the knockout round in the 2014 World Cup. Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, and Costa Rica made the quarterfinals. Argentina and Brazil made the semifinals and Argentina made the finals of the 2014 World Cup. With all of North and South America the Copa America will encompass nearly a billion people and would provide very large opportunities for television and marketing deals across North and South America. The addition of the United States and Mexican television markets would increase the popularity and marketing potential of the Copa America. With the addition of North American national teams the new Copa America could utilize the same format as the Euro Cup, making it a miniature World Cup the summer after the World Cup. With the large populations involved and prestige of countries playing in it, the new Copa America could provide a true rival to the Euro Cup. The existing popularity of the Euro Cup would also provide another avenue for soccer fans the summer following the new Copa America, but not as popular providing that the United States will not be playing. With the Copa America the summer after the World Cup and the Euro Cup the summer after that, these tournaments would do much to increase the popularity of soccer in the United States during the years in between World Cups.

Building off of the exposure garnered during the new Copa America, the MLS should do more to schedule matches between Brazilian and American clubs. While European teams enjoy relatively more notoriety with American sports fans, Brazilian clubs remain unknown. Opening the America market to Brazilian clubs can be a great opportunity for Brazilian clubs economically from merchandise sales to television revenues. These matches can also bring more exposure to soccer in the United States.

Increasing the popularity of soccer in the United States will be a difficult and long process. But if the United States is proactive and takes supportive steps, soccer can increase in popularity in the United States.

The Tremendous Possibilities of the House of Lords and What the United States Can Learn

There exists a debate in the United Kingdom about keeping the House of Lords as an institution. The United Kingdom should keep the House of Lords but transform it into a non-partisan house of consciousness comprised of leading academic thinkers across many disciplines appointed by a non-partisan national committee. This new House of Lords would be devoid of any real legislative power and at most have the ability to delay a piece of legislation in the House of Commons one or two legislative periods, as the House of Lords currently can at present. This new House of Lords would have the primary duty of advising the House of Commons and proposing legislation for consideration by the House of Commons. Because this new House of Lords would be comprised of the leading minds of Great Britain who will be appointed for life, it will allow the House of Lords to leverage unrivaled knowledge without the political pressure which correspond to the needs of getting reelected. Given that his new House of Lords will be comprised of members who do not have to go through the compromising electoral process and are appointed for life, its members will not fall prey to the corrupting influences of politics. Members will be able to give opinions that are unpopular as well as propose legislation that is unpopular as well without the fear of electoral reprisals. They will be a House of Lords above politics and with the ability to be utilized as a House of consciousness. A governing body composed of the most intelligent people in society without the corrupting pressures of politics would be the envy of every democratic nation.

Defining Electoral Districts Based on Population and Geography

The United States needs to change the way we define electoral districts. Our current process of politically based gerrymandering is not representative of the pragmatic center that most Americans occupy, disenfranchising many Americans turning our democracy into a spectators sport. Politically based gerrymandering also allows ideologues and people on the extreme ends of the political spectrum to get elected. Politically based gerrymandering also creates incentives for parties in power to move towards being ideological pure and hinders effective compromise. The United States needs to change the ways individual states define political districts. Each state should adopt a non-partisan districting committee comprised of individuals without connections to a political party and who are experts in demography and geography. Political districts should be defined by demographic and geographic characteristics, not upon political considerations.

Our current system of politically based gerrymandering groups likeminded people together in order to create districts that are electorally safe for a particular political party. With relatively safe districts skewed to one political side of the aisle or the other, political candidates do not have to moderate their message to appeal to a wide range of voters. They can narrow their message to a specific group of people. If a particular gerrymandering district is very liberal or very conservative, any candidate will have to be either very liberal or very conservative in order to be elected by ideologically pure and narrow voters. In this type of electoral climate only ideologues and those that appeal to ideology over pragmatic solutions are elected. This produces the phenomena of ideologically pure and extreme members of Congress. These ideologically pure members of Congress do not feel compelled to compromise and reach across the aisle because they will not suffer any negative electoral effects of doing so. In actuality their constituents will reward them for not compromising and staying ideologically pure. The current politically based gerrymandering system creates elected public servants who are beholden to ideology over pragmatic effective solutions to the problems United States citizens are currently confronting. It seems plausible that unless we change the way we define electoral districts, the political divide, impasse, and lack of meaningful legislative progress in Congress will not abate. We must change the way we define our electoral districts.

Barack Obama: Man or Myth?

There was never a shred of doubt that once he took office Barack Obama would disappoint and fall short of the expectations of his supporters. It seems only natural enough. Many Americans remain cynical and jaded by modern political culture and not only accept, but expect politicians to be skew their intentions and capabilities once elected to office. We expect politicians to promise much more than they can deliver during their campaigns and then blame their lack of action on politics in Washington, the vague, universal rationalization for virtually any perceived problem in Washington. In my opinion the American people’s perception of the failure of Barack Obama to achieve what he promised the American people in 2007 and 2008 is an exception to the general failure to achieve campaign promises, not in its result, because he has certainly failed to deliver on his promises to the American people, but in the way the American people perceived him and created their expectations for his presidency. Barack Obama is unique among recent American presidents in the fact that he was mythologized before he entered the white house. Barack Obama became to the American people more than just a politician he came to represent aspects beyond being a human being; ideas, wishes, an entire movement. He was ascribed many extra-human qualities, in essence he became a myth, and what mortal man could live up to the expectations of a myth?

Usually presidents are mythologized after they have left office and the changes they brought come to define their myth. As time passes and they enter history, their shortcomings and failures seem smaller and inconsequential compared to their accomplishments, or the other way around and their success seem smaller and inconsequential compared to their failures. It is as if looking at a petrified butterfly in amber, the amber magnifies and distorts the butterfly encased within. What is unique about Barack Obama is that he was mythologized before he became and accomplished anything as President. In many ways he was mythologized based on expectations, tangible or otherwise. Barack Obama was able to construct a powerful imagine depicted in stark contrast to the image created by George W. Bush and his presidency.