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UMI A Bell & HowcQ Ln&nnabon Company 300 Noith Zed) Road, Ann Arbor NQ 4S106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 PERFORMING POLITICS: A THEATRE-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE 1996 NATIONAL NOMINATING CONVENTIONS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by John Brooks Lawton m , A.B., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1998 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Thomas Postlewait, Adviser Professor Alan Woods Adviser Professor Herb Asher Theatre Graduate Program UMI Number: 9911220 Copyright 1998 by Lawton, John Brooks, III All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9911220 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by John Brooks Lawton III 1998 ABSTRACT In 1996, pundits of every political stripe derided the August political conventions as choreographed and meaningless spectacles. This dissertation argues that such criticism is unjustified. Conventions may not hold the political or electoral significance they once did, but they are anything but meaningless, so long as one is willing to look at them from a different perspective. From the point of view of a theatre scholar, conventions are treasure- troves of meaning. Like court masques of centuries past, conventions are elaborate theatrical performances of political power. They are grand stages on which the nation’s myths, dreams, and ideologies are enacted. And they are best understood using a theatre- based approach. Chapter I situates my research within a particular frame of theatre criticism. Following the approaches of Erika Fischer-Lichte, Marco De Marinis, and Marvin Carlson, I examine the characteristics that define a theatrical performance. Chapter 2 offers a narrative history of the political convention, explaining how it has evolved and has become a genre of theatrical performance. Its political functions have been stripped away gradually, leaving only the performative. Chapter 3 begins my examination of the 1996 conventions, looking at the socio-political context in which the conventions were staged in that election year. The differences were striking. Clinton faced no challenges from within his party; Dole sufiered through an expensive primary season and made a variety of political missteps over the course of the summer. Chapter 4 looks at another context of the 1996 conventions. namely the production itself. Comparing and contrasting the two different performance environments, I examine how and why the two conventions differed from each other. The remaining chapters of this dissertation looks at the convention performances themselves, concentrating on four particular codes which distinguish conventions from other genres of theatrical performance. Chapter 5 examines the televisual code. Using the Republican convention as a case-study, I analyze the ways in which that theatrical performance adapted and incorporated a television aesthetic. Chapter 6 analyzes the mimetic code whereby the convention performance imitated an idealized America. The focus of this chapter is Elizabeth Dole’s “audition” for the role of First Lady. Chapter 7 focuses on the spectacular code, noting how spectacle was used to influence the convention audience. In particular, I focus on the Democrats’ use of their videowall. Chapter 8 looks at the strucmral code, the ways in which the convention “plot” was crafted to create a dramatic arc to the four days. Special attention is paid to the Democratic convention and its parallel plotlines taking place in the convention hall and on Clinton’s train trip, the “21st Centmy Express.” Chapter 9 summarizes my analysis by comparing the four performance codes manifested in the acceptance speeches Bob Dole and Bill Clinton. ui Dedicated to the memory of Jack and Nancy Lawton IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my family for all of their help: My parents, Philip and Mary Lawton for their incredible love and support (even when I destroyed their car on the way to the Republican convention!); my brother and sister-in-law for allowing me to appropriate their wedding as an example; and, of course, Nina, who only entered my life in the last year of this project but who has made all the difference in the world during that year. I also want to thank all the friends and classmates who have helped and inspired me. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Freeman, Cristy Markham, Ken Canfield, Amy Taipale, Matt Kizer, and, of course, Steven Weiss who first blazed the trail. Thanks also go to the members of my committee for their help, patience, and good humor as I wrestled with this beast; to the faculty of the Department of Theatre for tolerating and assisting my political obsession since arriving at OSU; and to the Deans and staff of the Graduate School for helping in ways too numerous to describe. I also offer my thanks and best wishes to the many people who were invaluable to me as I conducted my research: the Republican and Democratic National Committees for providing me with credentials and giving me access to their archives; Robert Peterson for enabling me to really experience the convention as a participant; and Nicholas Martin for giving me a place to stay in Chicago. Finally, I offer my deep gratitude to the production personnel of both conventions for being extraordinarily forthcoming and generous to me. My research could not have been completed without their assistance. I only hope that this dissertation does justice to their fine work, their professionalism, and their commitment VTTA December 20, 1964 Bom - Montgomery, Alabama. 1987 ....................................................A.B. English, Harvard University. 1987 - 1989 .........................................English Teacher, Punahou School Honolulu, Hawaii. 1989 - 1990 .........................................M.A. Theatre, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas. 1990 - 1991 .........................................English/Drama Teacher, Loomis-Chaffee School, Windsor, Connecticut. 1992 - present .................................... Graduate Teaching and Administrative Associate, The Ohio State University. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre. Other areas of interest: Performance Studies, Politics, Communication. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract.....................................................................................................................................ii Dedication ............................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................v Vita.......................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures..........................................................................................................................x Chapters: 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................1 Negotiating the Definitional Territory ............................................................................2 Characteristics of the Theatrical Performance ................................................................6 Theatrical Performance vs. Cultural Performance.........................................................8 Theatrical Performance and Spectacle .......................................................................... 12 The Function of Theatrical Performance ...................................................................... 14 Methodology for Analyzing the Convention as Theatrical Performance .....................16 2. The Evolution of Political Conventions........................................................................21 Nineteenth Century .......................................................................................................22