The Spectacle of Trump

Trump and the election has really been weighing on me heavily given its nature this election season. I really wanted to ruminate on this in comparing it to much of what we see in the Circuits of Visibility text. My goal here is to take analyze Trump in a similar way that many of the chapters in Circuits of Visibility do (specifically the Chapter on Ceca has the most connection to me). I just keep imaging a chapter on Donald Trump. As Hedge writes "The essays engage with global dynamics of media in order to render visible the selective promotion of gendered identities within new cultural, political, and economic configurations. " (pg. 15) The global and nation state dynamics are profound in this election.

Throughout this election and especially in the last few weeks I am continually overcome by the spectacle of Trump. The collusion of trump with the nation-state of conservative america seems profound. There are also clear gender differences occurring in the presidential election with Hillary vs Donald. Just as our chapters in Circuits of Visibility Hillary's choice of clothing is always important while Donald's is invisible. What is most interesting to me is the way in which Hillary is forced to take on more masculine traits and stereotypes from her dress to the way in which she presents herself. She needs to fit in to the global neoliberal business man image (which is entirely what Trump is, yet she also needs to balance this in order to not be overly masculine. The difficulty of this is unimaginable to me. I was reading that in Bill Clinton's first run for Governor in Arkansas folks actually blamed his loss on the fact that Hillary had not yet taken his last name. Incredible the power of gendered constructions in influence the mind. All of Hillary's decisions must be calculated, and she still has a leg up on non-western folks.

It truly is spectacle that continues to be fed to us by media and Trump himself. I was struck by the connection to the analysis of Ceca in which Trump has this deep connection to hegemonic and hyper gendered norms which a specific population of people love. Folks will hear what they want to hear when ever Trump speaks. Similar (though far worse in many ways) to Ceca, Trump can say anything yet, his followers and those who love him will find a greater connection and won't be swayed.

Just as Ceca's music was a tool to "convey are a real reflection of the

authentic voice of the people" (pg.37), it seems Trump's spin is an attempt to be a "real reflection" of "true america". His popularity in some ways seems to be unexplainable just as Ceca's was. Ceca's ties to killing and mafia work are evident, while Trump's ties are to sexual assault, failed businesses, and not paying taxes. Here gender of course is a great difference, but again Trump feeds off of nationalism and a fear of the other. Using language of power and making america great again. The difference is a believe Trump's influence is only with the Nation-State. His influence in the presidency is not Global, though his business brand was. It seems most folks globally have denounced Trump which is far unlike Ceca is which she was able to be a transnational star.

The global dynamics of media are clearly at play here. The spectacle of Trump is using them both to his advantage and hopefully disadvantage come election day. Trump is clearly a prodigal neoliberal capitalist. He exudes capitalism, even convincing folks that not paying taxes isn't a problem because he's found a loophole. The same here for his use of global underpaid worker and undocumented workers in building all of his buildings. This is praised by his supporters as being a sign of an excellent business man. Trump's business brand has been a transnational success, and he has been a model for capitalism. There is a mythology about him just as there is Ceca. Trump's mythology allows folks to see past the fact that he has lost billions of dollars and done terrible things.

I feel that Trump's mythology is a great example of what Mohanty writes as "Capitalist or corporate models of citizenship craft loyalty to the nation in the image of capitalist market relations, folding the ideas of democracy and freedom into the logic of the market. (pg. 185). Loyalty to Trump in the Nation State is crafted though this connection to a capitalist model of citizenship.

Trump is a good example to me of all that is wrong with global capitalism and the reason that we need to bring together capitalism, anti globalism and feminism.

Either way Trump has become a larger than life figure. He has masterfully used the media and politics for his neoliberal business work (such as promoting his brand and hotels). Whether he wins or loses he will keep making money, and may even make more after this. He has used his visibility in the media to reinforce hegemonic power structures and spew racist and sexist filth, all while doing this under the guise of making america great and keeping it safe. All of his language have been veiled for something more sinister, such as Law & Order and clear veil for racist policing.

I think I am going to have to go back to this entry after election time to clean it up a bit! I am still reflecting, and anxious about the whole thing but I felt I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not reflect this way in conjunction with the readings. They are far too many links in my mind, and this spectacle is to important to not think through.

My biggest struggle is thinking of how to sit in this tension and also intervene. It seems voting, and collaborating with local groups to have conversations and open folks eyes to different ways of seeing the world are important here. I fear for what may happen after election day, because to intervene and breakdown the mythology of Trump, means that we have to break down every other ism in the world. What I mean is that it's going to take a full social justice education for folks to the see the world differently. Trump's nationalism uses power and privilege to keep folks stagnant, and tell them it's ok to think the way they think, there is no need to change. Everything needs to return to the "good ole' days". I wonder then what real intervention looks like on this level. It seems to be doing the same things we are already doing by collaborating within our communities across party lines. This seemed to be easier in the old days of republicans and democrats, but the country seems so divisive right now, I am struggling to see strong solutions.... Hopefully this will change for me after election day.

Hegde, R., S. (Ed.). (2011). Circuits of visibility: Gender and transnational media cultures. NY: New York University Press. (CV)

Talpade Mohanty, C. (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. (FWB)