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Covert Spectacles and the Contradictions of the Democratic Security State

Covert Spectacles and the Contradictions of the Democratic Security State Timothy Melley What exactly was revealed on February 24, 2013, when Michelle Obama opened the envelope announcing the winner of the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture of 2012? The First Lady stood in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, flanked by a dozen young servicemen and -women in full regalia (see fig. 1). They grinned uncharacteristically as Mrs. Obama described the year's best films as a set of "lessons" that "took us all around the world" and "reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough and fight hard enough" (Zakharin 2013). Despite this clichéd celebration of individual agency, the more obvious lesson of this spectacle--as conservative pundits were swift to deride--was its open celebration of the entwinement of the state and the entertainment industry. This is hardly news, but it is significant--not, as conservatives suggested, because it reflects the political sympathy between Hollywood Fig. 1. Michelle Obama opens the award for Best Motion Picture in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House during the 2013 Academy Awards. Official White House photo by Pete Souza. and the Democratic Party, but because it openly proclaims the symbiosis of the National Security http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png StoryWorlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies University of Nebraska Press

Covert Spectacles and the Contradictions of the Democratic Security State

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Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
Copyright
Copyright © University of Nebraska Press
ISSN
2156-7204
Publisher site
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Abstract

Timothy Melley What exactly was revealed on February 24, 2013, when Michelle Obama opened the envelope announcing the winner of the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture of 2012? The First Lady stood in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, flanked by a dozen young servicemen and -women in full regalia (see fig. 1). They grinned uncharacteristically as Mrs. Obama described the year's best films as a set of "lessons" that "took us all around the world" and "reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough and fight hard enough" (Zakharin 2013). Despite this clichéd celebration of individual agency, the more obvious lesson of this spectacle--as conservative pundits were swift to deride--was its open celebration of the entwinement of the state and the entertainment industry. This is hardly news, but it is significant--not, as conservatives suggested, because it reflects the political sympathy between Hollywood Fig. 1. Michelle Obama opens the award for Best Motion Picture in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House during the 2013 Academy Awards. Official White House photo by Pete Souza. and the Democratic Party, but because it openly proclaims the symbiosis of the National Security

Journal

StoryWorlds: A Journal of Narrative StudiesUniversity of Nebraska Press

Published: Apr 25, 2014

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