Dear Friends and Colleagues: I hope you've had a chance to see and perhaps share my "Audiovisuality and Campaign 2016" piece that appeared in Flow Journal, and my "250 Words in 2.5 Days" campaign. Clinton's and Trump's campaign materials (rallies, political ads, and commercials) from the last two weeks have been complicated and forceful. I've created study questions for students to review tonight or for you to share in the classroom. I think they're interesting! I'll try to do a nicer mock up later today. For right now, here are the questions and links. http://www.flowjournal.org/ http://stanford.io/2fksd5C 250 words in 2.5 days<https://people.stanford. edu/cvernall/ <https://people.stanford.edu/cvernall/>> The call for "250 Words in 2.5 Days" is due today, but Trax on the Trail is not limited in terms of space. I've spoken with several respected online and academic journals about publishing more of the mini-essays. If you can get abstracts to me by 11/14 I'll see what I can do about getting them posted. Best wishes, Carol +++ *Clinton's Audiovisual Materials of these Last Days* *1)* What do you find socially engaged and/or groundbreaking in Beyoncé's and the Dixie Chicks' CMA performance of "Daddy Lessons" and Beyoncé's "Formation" performance for Clinton's Cleveland rally with Jay-Z? What strikes you about the music and image tracks in both performances? What have journalists and YouTube posts contributed to our understanding of these performances? How do these performances resonate with Beyoncé's *Lemonade* and *Formation* tour? (I've included my analyses of Beyoncé's *Lemonade* below.) Beyonce and Jay Z Concert Hillary Clinton (FULL SPEECH) Cleveland Rally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6CtVo47dkw&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=47 Beyoncé performs "Formation" for HRC campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2p27ubWPcQ Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Avant-Garde Aesthetics, and Music Video: “The Past and the Future Merge to Meet Us Here” http://quod.lib.umich.edu/f/fc/13761232.0040.315/--beyonce-s-lemonade-avant- garde-aesthetics-and-music-video?rgn=main;view=fulltext Beyoncé’s Lemonade: She Dreams in Both Worlds http://filmint.nu/?p=18413 *2)* What do you think about corporations like Tecate beer and Nike participating in presidential campaigns, either subtly or directly? Do you think the soundtrack and image of Mark Romanek's video with LeBron James "Come out of Nowhere" speaks directly or indirectly to immigration and if so, how? How is it understood by viewers? Come out of Nowhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOZxIpy6Gm4 *3)* How does Jonas Akerlund's video for Pussy Riot’s "Make America Great Again" strike you emotionally? What musical and visual genres does it draw upon? Pussy Riot was imprisoned in Russia and chastised by Putin: does this play into the election? What might carry over from Akerlund's and Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and "Paparazzi"? Pussy Riot - Make America Great Again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-bKFo30o2o *4)* GMMB (Clinton's ad campaign) produced these last clips for Clinton. They're using a house style to unify ads. Does this help or hinder these last clips? The best anti-Trump ads & web videos from Hillary for America - October & November 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJWoH2HUMpI&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=46 *Trump's Audiovisual Materials for November* *1)* Trump has far fewer surrogates supporting him than does Clinton. There are his rallies. What do you think of these as audiovisual events? Shazam can be helpful for identifying music in clips (fife and drums, Wagner). Do you think Trump’s team planned the long stretch of music on an empty podium in Sarasota, Florida? Are speakers missing, and who might they be? Or does the rally work like a rock concert, where the audience is encouraged to wait? LIVE Stream: Donald Trump Rally in Sarasota, Florida (11/7/2016) Trump Live Sarasota Florida Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojv8MHjo78&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=59 *2)* When Trump played Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" at a San Jose rally, journalists noted the music’s ties to fascism. YouTube clips from that rally that featured this music were removed or recut with different music. Now it's again part of his rally. What can we say about history, truth, knowledge, and preservation on YouTube? https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1& espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=san%20jose%20ride%20of%20the%20valkyries%20trump *3)* Trump's "The Most Powerful Trump Ad Ever" is clearly anti-immigration, and, as Al Franken and many others have noted, antisemitic. How might you be able to determine this? How different is Trump's message from Bernie Sanders' first clip of "America," or those of Occupy? Democrats have been known for embracing aesthetic values (great production, fine editing, use of music), and Republicans have been associated with unadorned patriotic messages (Reagan's "Morning in America"). Is it possible there’s been an inversion in this election cycle? The Most Powerful Trump Ad Ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5OCqBt2RdI&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=53 Donald Trump's Argument For America NEW AD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaYdFMhEBmk&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=52 Sen. Franken: Trump ad has 'Elders of Zion' feel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jlazMPcRjQ&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=54 America | Bernie Sanders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwRiuh1Cug *4)* What do you think of this PacMan ad audiovisually? Do you think Trump or SNL should now put out anything since the FBI cleared Clinton's emails? Is there something that Hillary Clinton should release now? New Trump Campaign Ad Oct. 18, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPXcQ6Fek3s&list=PL2RfrYR-- fhjxZRLuMyim0kcf3Qkc5gq8&index=51 *Considering the Election as a Whole* *1)* For many people this has been an exhausting, stressful, even frightening election season. Do we as a country need some form of catharsis, celebration, or spectacle to move past this election? What forms might it take? *2)* *SNL* and many other comedy shows have covered the election; humor has been one of the most powerful tools for changing opinions. *SNL*’s most recent clip has Hillary and Trump moving into the crowds embracing them in this last clip. Can we find a way to joyously, through humor, move through the transition to a new president? Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump Cold Open - SNL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxH6bKNPBIA *3)* In this British clip from the *NY Times* there's effigy-burning. Are you worried about violence after the election? What can we do to facilitate a transition to the next period in America's great experiment? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/world/europe/where- burning-effigies-not-just-guy-fawkess-is-part-of-the-fun.html ---- Learn to speak like a film/TV professor! Listen to the ScreenLex podcast: http://www.screenlex.org