2016: The Election Entertainers Loved

The 2016 election has left many disappointed. Millenials and Gen Xers, now make up the majority of eligible voters. They also have to choose between the two least popular candidates in over 30 years.I'm upset that my first vote will be for this lineup of candidates. But I don't cry over spilled milk. I'm more interested in why this happened in the first place. 

The Media is to Blame

Trump was popular with the media from the beginning. It was big enough that in January of 2016 I was asked hypothetically, "What would you choose if given the choice between Trump or Hillary?" I said that would never happen.It was big enough that in January of 2016 I was asked, "What would you choose given the choice between Trump or Hillary?" I said that would never happen. Sigh...I remember early on, Jimmy Fallon would start his show by mentioning Donald Trump's candidacy. He'd say how thrilled to have something to make fun of. This lasted for months.The media's constant reports of Donald Trump's exploits are directly responsible for where we are today. 

Power Unleased

My friend Daniel made a video about how all of this attention (good and bad) was only helping Trump. Boy,that was an understatement.Donald Trump is in the election now mainly because the media spent so much time on him. See for yourself how he compares to other candidates in television mentions.I really like the Newsies. There's a powerful quote from that movie.

"Power of the press is the greatest power of them all. Itell this city how to think. I tell this city how to vote. I shape its future."

Our country loves to be entertained. We spend millions on entertainment. We get endless amounts of content and we rarely question that intake.The media force-fed the candidates we are left with now. Our inability to recognize this strategy for what it is has led to the situation we're in. We can't get out of it now. So what do we do? 

Help Fix Our Culture

Our culture LOVES entertainment. We're obsessed with it. For crying out loud, more and more gas stations are installing TVs in their GAS PUMPS. As if we can't stand 5 minutes without entertainment.I'm a video producer. It's tough to say it, but we need to step back. We need to begin questioning and thinking hard about the media we consume. If we can't do this, we need to seriously cut back on how much we allow it into our lives.