In "The Waldo Moment," Waldo is introduced as a blue cartoon bear controlled by comedian, Jamie Salter, who interviews politicians for a popular late-night comedy show. Later, it is revealed the team behind Waldo decides to run in a local by-election to get more publicity for Waldo. This is similar to President-elect Donald Trump's pathway to the Presidency. Trump is a very well-known businessman and TV show host for "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice." In 2011, Trump worked his way into the political scene through donations and tried to develop a strong relationship with Mitt Romney. Trump hoped to be able to campaign and travel with Romney, but was denied because Romney's team thought he only wanted attention. This did not hinder Trump in his attempts to start a political career. Then in 2012, Trump leaves the presidential election race due to a season renewal of "The Apprentice." Many believed Trump's efforts in politics was a big publicity stunt and saw him as a distraction from major Republican candidates. In 2015, Trump announced his campaign for the presidency and, like Waldo, started to amass a large following.
There are some strong similarities between Trump's and Waldo's campaigns. The first was the idea of an outsider entering politics. This was a big point for Trump's campaign with hopes of him cleaning out Washington. For Waldo, the outsider point came up during a student interview with him and the other candidates. Conservative candidate, Liam Monroe, mocks Waldo which leads to Waldo ranting about how the politicians don't really care about the people. Waldo's speech got the attention of many citizens wanting change in the government. Another similarity between Waldo and Trump was shown when Waldo told the crowd to stop Jamie from hitting the truck and at the end when he got the crowd to throw shoes at Liam. In both situations, Waldo offered to pay whoever did it a large amount of money. This is similar to Trump telling his supporters to stop protestors. Instead of offering money, Trump says he will defend anyone in court who kicks out protestors. Waldo's followers share the same amount of fierce loyalty as Trump's. Both seeming to be willing to fight for their candidate. With Waldo, it can be argued it is only being done for money, but it is still hard to see it as being completely different from some of Trump's followers.
Unlike the TV show, we don't know for sure what will happen to our country's future, but hopefully it won't result in a cartoon as our leader.
3 comments:
I agree that both Waldo and Trump had supporters that were willing to fight for their candidate. This mentality exists in all forms of support whether it be in politics, sports, or other forms of prideful expression. However, Trump does not promote violence, but instead encourages taking the necessary action to maintain peace. Trump showcases more affection for his supporters than Waldo as he offers to defend them in court. Waldo insults his fans like he does to his opponents, but yet still has tremendous support in the end. The bullying mentality by the general public in "The Waldo Moment" represents the easily offended nature that exists within many people today who fail to think for themselves and rely on media to provide the truth.
@Jared - I agree with your statement about Trump showing more affection for his supporters than Waldo. He does seem to care about the wellbeing of the country and citizens. With your statement about Trump not promoting violence, I agree with it but not so much with the encouragement of taking the necessary actions to maintain peace. In the recent 60 Minutes interview Trump did, he acknowledges certain racial attacks have occurred but he calls them "a very small amount." I feel like he would have addressed these violent acts sooner.
I agree with your blog. The strange thing about Trump is that he sported such unpopular ideals, ones that degrade large groups of people. His aim was to gather supporters and to accrue attention from major media, much as Waldo did. The only difference is that Waldo did not win, he is not a human, but a personified bear.
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