In as much as Game Change is a dramatised account of the behind-the-scenes wrangling of Sarah Palin being picked for John McCain's presidential campaign and how that all played out, this HBO movie currently on M-Net is a great meta media study if you're a journalist, a publicist, or works in image or perception consulting.
Game Change can be watched and enjoyed from a media perspective as a very clever commentary and insightful exploration of the interplay between press and publicist, hype and hubris, marketing campaigns and mistakes, image and reputation destruction, and how the press works and what the media machine is after. It shows what publicists are willing to do and are willing to give to shape their messages.
Filled with senior advisors, campaign strategists, publicists and spin doctors, Game Change is also filled with extremely clever media observations. Here's some of the quotables.
"We're going to get serious blow-back from the press if we don't let them speak to her soon. They're really getting pissed."
"What about [interviews with] the local papers?" "There are no local papers anymore. Anything you say, goes national the instant you say it."
"We live in the age of YouTube and the 24 hour news cycle."
"Charlie Gibson is great as an interviewer, so I'm sure the questions will have some depth. Don't be afraid to elaborate if its a subject you feel comfortable with."
"I've come up with a list of questions Charlie is most likely to ask." "How do you know he'll ask these?" "It's my job to figure out the questions."
"If you answer these allegations, you will be defining yourself in a defensive posture. No news story lasts more than 48 hours anymore. News is no longer meant to be remembered. It's just entertainment. If you hit your convention speech out of the park, the next news cycle will be 'The comeback of Sarah Palin."
"I've always been very, very open with the press."
"She a red-light performer." [Meaning, not really good; but suddenly transformatively professional and charismatic during a real interview (i.e. when the "red light" of a camera goes on meaning the real interview is taking place.]
"Why did you make me do Katie Couric?" "Katie was a logical choice, she has been very fair to us this entire campaign." "You call that interview fair?" "Yes, governor, I do." "She was out to get me from the get-go." "No. She wasn't. The interview sucked because you didn't try."
"You need to stop watching Keith Olbermann and Fox News for that matter. It's all just bullsh*t. You should have a beer and watch ESPN. And while you're watching it, think about what the people who watch ESPN really need in their lives."
"I thought Katie really liked me." "She does. And the questions were fair. It was governor Palin who gave a terrible interview."
"All that they want is to be loved." - advisor on star politicians.
