One of the greatest use of symbols in a short amount of time. The music and images of an early campaign ad of Spencer Pratt’s dated as 10/26/24. Made by Pratt’s company Dxfilms. What a brilliant advertising strategy totally against the grain in this genre of advertising. In late ’24. Much ahead of today’s growing movement against LA mayor Karen Bass. Little wonder that Spencer Pratt is upsetting the old apple cart.
Since this commercial, Pratt has made a number of other videos. Many receiving high praise from leaders in the Hollywood and global community. Yet the above video is legendary in my mind: it doesn’t advertise the candidate as much as the world this candidate is fighting to change. A commercial that shows the reality of the world.
It’s a reality that is hard to face in the land of dreams LA (my hometown). The “image” is what LA is about (as Joan Dideon reminded in the 70s and 80s.) It’s a fairly hard thing to damage for those who hold tightly to this image of an old, beautiful, LA of the 1950s when I was growing up there.
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It is this image of fantasy and unreality that Pratt immediately attacks in his powerful commercial that appears – not in color – but black and white. Starting out as war footage type of content with a rap song and lyrics to images of a black and white LA. Not promotional images of LA. But the real LA but felt by many Angelenos.
The choice of black and white suggests two interesting symbols connected to this. One involves the ability to keep the constant battle between black (evil) and white (good) in a dynamic, dramatic context.
There is also the context of “cool” that Marshall McLuhan used in his media theories. In effect, McLuhan argued that some media of communication sent to one for a response is either broadcast media (non-participatory) or interactive media (participative). One can refer to these two as one-way (broadcast) communication (newspapers, the three TV networks,common culture and products) and two-way modern (interactive) communication (Internet, social media, AI, etc.).
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In terms of media theory, just the colors and shades of black and white might invite more “participation” from the audience/viewer of the film. One thinks how the great films like Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Sunset Boulevard all are in black and white. It is the official color of the “noir” period in movies most about detective fiction.
Color TV was not yet invented, and society watched a black and white world from the small sets of the 50s. In terms of the idea of participation or non-participation in culture, these years were those of a collective “participation” in culture and society. Black and white media still required “participation” by the audience to create a final image or story.
The area of participation or non-participation in communication was addressed by media theorist/ecologist Marshall McLuhan from his early days. He was a literary historian and scholar as well as a media theorist and provided a very interesting quote from Sir Francis Bacon in Understanding Media that participation might be a function of literary devices (media content) as well as media context noting:
Francis Bacon never tired of contrasting hot and cool prose. Writing in ‘methods’ or complete packages, he contrasted with writing in aphorisms, or single observations such as ‘Revenge is a kind of wild justice.’ The passive consumer wants packages, but those, he suggested, who are concerned in pursuing knowledge and in seeking causes will resort to aphorisms, just because they are incomplete and require participation in depth.
So, not only is there “hot” and “cool” media allowing for less or more participation, but there is also “hot” and “cool” devices within media (such as Bacons aphorisms) allowing for less-or-more participation. In this way, aphorisms can be labeled “cool” literary devices because they are incomplete, demanding participation for their completion. In contrast to them, there are “hot” literary devices that deliver “complete packages” with no demand for participatory completion. In effect, “cool” and “hot” literary devices find a correspondence with “cool” and “hot” media. But at the same time, they are not dependent on the media for their definition. In other words, “hot” media might contain “cool” technique and “cool” media might contain “hot” content.”
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Black and white commercials, films, videos today also indirectly refer to Black and White genres of American films. As well as periods of time. A connection of images and time pulled together magnetically. Black and white images in film invite more viewer/audience participation or involvement with than color images in a film. (The best color images know their position in the context of the movies images.)
The degree a modern viewer is familiar with past genres of films, the more the B&W commercial of Spencer Pratt has impact. Those who remember a “golden state” of California in the 40s and 50s, who lived in this truly golden state, are perhaps the true target market for the Pratt campaign. Those who remember a gorgeous town.
By Spencer Pratt using black and white to convey his ideas invites this participation or invitation to the audience to come into the narrative. It is interactive, two-way, not the traditional one-way broadcast method.
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Interesting, the commercial was perhaps the first grand use of AI characters from real politics. Leaders placed in positions, playing out parts, that many in culture were happy to see. It gives a new type of power to those in opposition to power. Yet, too early to tell the outcome of this whole thing. One question is whether one’s images are protected under law.
But the commercial filled with hard images across LA. The Zombies of the homeless population a constant theme that Pratt doesn’t let up on. Much fascinating animating mixed to the scenes of the commercial. It is almost like one great comic book – or video game – playing itself out in front of us. A scene where the zombies of the homeless are walking at us in Hollywood with the Hollywood sign in the hills in the background.
At a time, the media of technology can provide any duplication of reality, Pratt chooses to duplicate the reality using Black and White rather than color that he and many others felt about the LA. That once gorgeous gem of sparkling colors turned into a darkness that hung over the city like smog in the late summer days of LA in the 60s and 70s. The darkness, almost like some spell over the city.
The “spells” woven by the current mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom (as well as a familiar cast of others) are the targets of the commercial. Targeted in a new way. Not by presenting the candidate as much as the state of reality. As he sees it. And, as it is quickly turning out, many others see it this way too.