Symbolic production and mise-en-scene are two important concepts that are introduced to us in the introduction of Mast’s The Performative Presidency. These two elements of performance are critical in being able to fully understand the gravity of the democratic debates. Symbolic production is the way that the physical objects that surround the actor convey and add meaning to their performance. (Mast; 2012) Mise-en-scene refers to the way that all the elements of a performance are choreographed in a specific way to convey meaning, it is more so about the way that space and timing are utilized in a performance. (Mast; 2012) In this blog, we will be taking a closer look at how Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden’s performances in the 9th democratic debate, and how symbolic production and mise-en-scene played into said performances.
In terms of symbolic production, the debate starts off with what seems to be a ‘highlight reel’ of all the candidates. Each one seems to be about five seconds long, and it would appear that these clips are meant to communicate the main message of each candidate. In Sanders’ clip, he appears to be at a rally and says, “let us, create the political revolution this country needs.” (Sanders, 2020). Biden’s clip, also appearing to come from one of his rallies, shows him saying, “I can’t do it alone, I need your help to climb that mountain. And together we’re gonna beat Donald Trump!” (Biden, 2020). Both candidates are calling for unity here, but the cause for which they are fighting for appears to be somewhat different, and the choice to use these specific clips in this intro is important to understanding that. Sanders’ goal, like any other democratic candidate, is to defeat Trump—but unlike Biden, it is not his main point when he calls for people to come together. Rather than asking for people to come together against Trump, Sanders asks for the American people to come together for themselves and against the unfair systems of this country. Biden’s message, on the other hand, is one that often specifically calls out Trump and calls for unity against him. He does not want the ‘revolution’ that Bernie calls for, but rather a return to something more similar to the Obama administration, which he often refers to during debates. While these clips are just small parts of a much larger event, the fact that they are in the very beginning and are so short give them an almost iconic feel that can stick with the viewer throughout the entirety of the debate; they make it easy to understand who a candidate is and what they stand for.
Following this, we are introduced to the democratic candidates on stage, and behind them is what appears to be a digital display of the white house. In the lineup of candidates, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are directly next to each other in the middle. This all is a part of the mise-en-scene, and it conveys a powerful message about these two candidates and their standing in comparison to the other candidates on stage. Furthermore, it seems to imply almost a direct competition between the two of them that is separate from the general competition on stage. In terms of the way camera angles and the way that Biden and Sanders are displayed while they are speaking, I personally felt there were more isolated shots of Bernie in this debate than the previous one, or shots with him and just one other candidate. This made it so there was more attention directly on Sanders, but perhaps it was also meant to communicate that Sanders is separated from his fellow candidates in terms of policy and his vision for the United States. Biden was displayed similarly to how he was in the previous debate, but also was shown engaging with his fellow candidates more than Bernie did, such as when he had an exchange with Mayor Pete Buttigieg regarding Bloomberg’s disclosure agreements.
These debates are large-scale, comprehensive events that have multitudes of meanings attached to them. So, while it may seem like I am only looking at small moments in this blog post, it is important to note that these ‘small moments’ must be perceived and understood in order to truly be able to see the bigger picture regarding the performances of both candidates here.
Mast, Jason L. 2012. The Performative Presidency Crisis and Resurrection during the Clinton
Years. Cambridge, Ma: Cambridge University Press.
Anon. 2020. “ The Full NBC News/MSNBC Democratic Debate In Las Vegas | NBC News.” Youtube. Retrieved April 26, 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZkV0ISxcQY).
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