People often complain about the media overdramatizing stories. Every time there is a virus going around the media ponders whether this is the start of the apocalypse and whether we’re not all better off just living the rest of our lives permanently indoors. The other day, I came across a great, although not immediately apparent, example of an overdramatized news story. The headline read: “Bush aims to just survive New Hampshire.”
Let’s pretend for a moment that the title of this article is literally true. Jeb Bush is in New Hampshire right now, and he may die within the next 24 hours depending on how the voters cast their ballots. You can imagine Jeb taking on a Bear Grylls-like survivalist persona as he fights for his life in suburban New Hampshire. The article points out that many people do not expect Jeb Bush to survive this ordeal, but Jeb is defiant and insists he will make it out alive against all odds, saying “You don’t have to listen to the pundits.”
All humor aside, this article is interesting for what it tells us about how we view campaigns. We think of the candidates as gladiator-like warriors brawling in an arena while the country attentively watches. People cheer for their respective fighter and are always entertained by a particularly dirty fight. Carl von Clausewitz said “war is merely the continuation of politics by other means.” Maybe it’s just as true to say “politics is merely the continuation of war by other means”
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/jeb-bush-new-hampshire-primary-218919
I think the purpose of dramatizing the title like that is to lure readers in to further read the article. If readers see words such as “escape” they must think that the person is in a difficult situation and the matter he or she is involved in is very difficult. Honestly, I feel like candidates running for office interpret campaigning as fighting a war. Not just on the basic level of winning or losing arguments or winning or losing the position in office, but strategically planning out his or her every move on camera or social media, deciding when he or she says what, and figuring out how to cleverly come across as being “better” for the country than his or her opponent.
I also liked how you incorporated humor on the literal sense of the title— dramatizing the already-dramatic title yourself.
I think the title of certain articles, especially those pertaining to the current presidential campaigns overly dramatize their titles to get people interested in their article and reading what they have to say about certain political events. I like how you compare the title of the article to literally having to survive and taking on a survivalist persona. I like how your response is humorous and also uses various quotes to explain what you have to say about the title of this particular piece.