Arun Chaudhary answers this question and more as the first official White House videographer on the second day of the Witching Hour festival at the Englert in Iowa City.

Chaudhary began his speech joking that although now he’s “the most artsy guy in the White House,” he used to be “the most political guy in art school.” He then dived right into the content of his Power Point, explaining that because the digital age we live in is so different from what people have ever seen before, the way we present politics should change, too.

And he has a point – following President Barack Obama, who hired him in the very beginning of his 2008 campaign, the filmmaker has had a chance to see how storytelling works in today’s politics, and has aimed to focus less on the “sleek,” finished look of political photography and more on the backstage, personal, and human aspects of a politician. The main point with which Chaudhary led his talk was the fact that today, with all this instant access of information, people first have to care about something before they look it up. He says, “we need to make politics compelling.”

Chaudhary broke the rest of his speech into two parts, (and this is where the talk’s title begins to make more sense): Authenticity and Authorship.

The filmmaker explained that authenticity had quite a bit to do with narrative. “Put facts into an emotional framework,” he said, as he talked about the narrative he found in our president. He talked about how in order to be authentic and grab attention, he focuses not on what is happening, but about how the character reacts and changes as a response, how the narrative of a politician shows a hero’s journey.

Chaudhary also showed us his recent work as creative director of Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, calling him “the time stamp of authenticity.” For this campaign he basically took the message Sanders was trying to relate to the American people, that “someone gives a shit about you,” (in Chaudhary’s own words), and applied this narrative for everything media. He showed us a “404 Page Not Found” video featuring the senator standing against a brick wall, telling us to “scoot” to the bottom of the page to get back to the homepage. This video is a perfect example of the narrative in authenticity Chaudhary was explaining – this nice old man cares to personally guide us back to “home,” which follows Sanders’ initial message, and there is nothing staged or fake about it.

Authorship was the next step. Chaudhary’s style is very “hand-painted,” as he said. He wanted to be sure to be as real and gritty with the public and show as much truth and “behind-the-scenes” of Obama and Sanders’ personalities as possible, and we audience members were lucky enough to learn how he did just that. As a cinema major at the University of Iowa, I took avid notes that I am going to share with you now in points:

• A bit of humor makes the dark things seem more okay.

• Authorship in an editing timeline: Cutting audio and video together without overlap reminds a viewer that he or she is watching something from real life.

• “Editing is the ruthless suppression of being insignificant.”

• Be gritty, not glossy. Don’t stage, capture.

• Videos do not educate! Film is art, which represents ideas and points, but words educate. Represent to capture attention, then explain.

• Before you can have an idea, you need a notion.

• Match form to content, not content to form. Chaudhary showed a good example of this in a video comparing George Allen to a prescription drug. The video could be no longer than 15 seconds, which forced the creative way they showcased the content.

• Connect to the people and today’s culture.

• “The medium is the message” (Marshall McLuhan)

• Facts can be superfluous

• Propaganda is making the mundane seem extraordinary. Chaudhary’s grit comes from making the extraordinary seem mundane.

All this takes part in Chaudhary’s definition of authorship.

I feel really grateful to have been able to experience this talk – Arun Chaudhary is a very talented filmmaker as well as a funny, charming speaker who gave me a real look at a type political media most have never seen before. I do believe that soon politics will catch up to the rest of the rapidly evolving world, and it was very exciting to see the man who did it first.

If you’re curious to see what else Arun Chaudhary has done, check out Revolution Messaging or his Tumblr page. To keep up otherwise, follow him on Twitter!

The post Witching Hour: Authenticity and Authorship: Political Storytelling in the Digital Age @ The Englert 11/05/2016 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I know what you’re thinking, readers.

“Bernie Sanders? How is he an artist? Isn’t he just another dirty old politician? This column’s going to Hell.”

Bernie Sanders is definitely an old politician, but he qualifies as an artist because in 1987, he released “We Shall Overcome,” a folk album recorded with 30 other local musicians in Vermont. Sanders doesn’t exactly have golden pipes, so instead of actually singing, he sort of… talks through the lyrics. They’re still powerful! Listen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV4L_OHGpyo

If you aren’t convinced, he also acted in a movie called My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception as Rabbi Many Shevitz, where he drew from his own upbringing in Brooklyn to perform the role.

Actors and musicians are artists in my opinion! Now that we’ve established that I’m abiding by my own rules, let’s talk about how Sanders is decolonizing our minds.

The Vermont senator has touted his record of actively supporting the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and he should! He marched in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr., opposed the Vietnam War, was a member of SNCC, and is one of the only candidates in the 2016 presidential election who has acknowledged the exigency of systematic, institutionalized racism and police brutality. He has vocally supported the Black Lives Matter movement, advocated women’s rights, LGBT+ rights, recognizes the threats of climate change and so many more issues. He has made incredible progress on veterans’ affairs and supports pretty much any disadvantaged group of people you can name. Sanders’ campaign for the presidency has made income equality a top priority, and makes the vital distinction that the problem affects minority communities in different, more severe ways. Sanders has been outspoken about how our country’s economy and government privileges wealthy people and ignores the struggles of the rest of the population.

I’m as surprised as you are!

A 74-year old straight white male politician represents my interests closer than any other candidate running in 2016.

His campaign has successfully brought high numbers of young people into the political process, which leads to an entire generation of voters (and future politicians) becoming knowledgeable, engaged, and aware of these important issues that he discusses. Since we will inevitably inherit these problems, his engagement with the younger community has educated them and instilled passion in the youth.

Many of my peers feel their votes don’t make a difference, and that real change is a Utopian idea. But Sanders has made the prospect of a “political revolution” seem real, possible, and more importantly, in our control.

Whether or not you support Bernie Sanders as a presidential candidate, he has undeniably dedicated a large part of his life to achieving justice for disadvantaged people. By integrating more young people into the political process, he has helped to educate a whole new generation of voters about serious issues that other politicians ignore. Bernie Sanders fights against establishment politics and decolonizes our minds by encouraging us to fight the rigged economy, the corrupt campaign finance system, and social injustices.

The idea of “decolonizing our minds” comes from writings of the author, feminist and social activist bell hooks. She encourages us to critically examine every thought and action, free ourselves from the coercive ideologies, and overcome the impacts of structural oppression. This monthly column will analyze spaces and times where and when we can pause and make strides in this arduous process, and also highlight figures who are helping us to decolonize ourselves.

The post Decolonize Your Mind: Feel the Bern! appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I’m sure you have seen the soldiers around campus. People leaping out of corners to ask you pointed questions to convince you that you’ve always felt a certain way. Carefully crafted loaded questions fired at you with expected responses. Protests and rallies to gain support for or against a certain individual or group of individuals. If you are an Iowa City resident of a few years this is nothing new. It is a norm of the political season and as a swing state we hold a tantalizing amount of power over the future of the leadership of our country. Politicians know it, and after months of campaigning major representatives have returned to Iowa city as a last ditch effort to seduce you into voting for them over their opponents.

Just yesterday I was attacked by a political volunteer while I was innocently buying books for class. This particularly energetic volunteer locked eyes with me from 50 feet away as I headed towards the bookstore in the basement of the IMU. I could tell by the wild look in her eye that she clearly wanted to say something to me and after mistakenly making eye contact I knew that I had sealed my fate and had to appease her with a conversation. As I came within shouting distance, our political activist friend Ol’ Wild Eyes hit me with her one line: “How do you feel about MONEY and LEGALIZING WEED?!”

As a typical college student I was taken aback.

I felt pretty good about those things and I had a suspicious feeling that was exactly why she asked me. After stammering out a shaky, “pretty good”, I looked over to Wild Eyes’ booth where other political activists were attempting to indoctrinate other innocent students to join their political candidate’s party. After receiving numerous political phone calls all week, I felt that I was prepared to have a well-informed conversation with Wild Eyes. I scanned her booth to find out which politician she was fighting for and realized it was a particular representative well-known for questionable political standpoints and several protests on campus.

This was precisely when I realized that I was in over my head and any further conversation with Wild Eyes would cost me time and get me nowhere. However, I had to respect her because she felt so strongly about the future of her country that she volunteered her valuable time and put herself out there knowing full well she might get denied.

After I politely informed my new friend wild eyes that I would not be voting for her political candidate I couldn’t help but think how volatile the situation in Iowa City is. Iowa is a powder keg waiting to ignite and every candidate is hoping it blows their campaign to new heights. Unfortunately this leaves us Iowans pulled in ten different directions; every candidate is promising to make your life better, but the only way to differentiate between the masses and rabble is to get informed. Many political activists are out there trying to get votes for their candidate at any cost, and had I been less active in current events I might have made a hasty uninformed decision that could have benefited the wrong individual.

If you can take anything from my story I hope it is the itch to find out what is going on in our country. I’m not the biggest fan of politics myself- as you can see by my annoyance of political activists- but I don’t allow that to get in the way of making an informed decision. It is easy to point fingers and claim that one candidate is crazy, but unless you take the steps to make a calculated informed decision, you are surrendering your voice, a constitutional right as an American citizen, and allowing someone else to tell you how to live.

If you like this article please check out some of the other pieces in my ongoing column!

The post Iowa at War appeared first on KRUI Radio.